Back from the game - Ipswich (H)

[West_Reading]

A pretty dull first half, probably the worst I've seen this season (In about 9 home games). We stepped it up in the second half and just about deserved a 1-0 win. Ipswich had no real chances of note, although Emmanuel-Thomas (Looked good throughout) had a rocket shot which clipped the bar in the first half. The ref and lino in front of the East stand were awful. The lino missed the most obvious corner when he was a yard away from the play as well as flagging McAnuff offside when he was at least three yards on.

Overall an excellent three points, four wins on the trot and four clean sheets. Looking very solid right now. MOTM either Pearce or Karacan. Also a word on Feds. He hasn't had a great deal to do in the last three games but his handling has been impeccable. Takes the pressure of the defence.

[Rex]

I hope the injury he sustained was just a flash of pain.
The first half summed up the conundrum of supporting Reading quite well. Expecting a brisk out of the traps from the team they appeared too respectful and playing it safe. It really was not that inspiring to watch but that was not aided by the ref. The team slugged it out and carried on regardless with a game plan despite the strange decisions such as pulling back for a free kick when we had clearly broken through. No advantage then.
The team eased into the second half nicely and thankfully the goal came to free them up from the porridge passes. A result is a result and happy with that.
That goal celebration almost had Hunt carted off to hospital. And seeing Pearce skipping over to the corner flag was a joy to behold.

[Chaney]

hard fought out game, its the way we have to get used to the way we win games, two very simular teams shutting down space all over the park, it was always going to take a set piece to decide it, for all their probing Ipswich didn`t threaten apart from a couple of long rang efforts.
we will never be a fluent passing team this season, our game centres around getting in the faces of the opposition and feeding the ball out wide when the chances arise, Jem and Ledge are masters of this art the former being my MOTM today by covering every blade of grass all over the pitch.
I am a little concerned with the lack of attacking options that Griffin offers because of his lack of pace, Jobie has to take on a solo role on that side of the pitch, Kebe teaming up with Cummings on the other side posed a constant threat, a deserved win IMO but with harder tests to come.

[robbieroyal]

A bloody amazing result. We all know it's a good sign when you play bad but win games!!

Jem and L'wood were both quality today, Jem MotM tho his workrate today and tackling were first class. Feds, Gorkks and Pearce were quality again.
Thought Grif should have been replaced today with Harte. I'd be suprised if he starts against Cardiff.

Hunt changed the game when he was introduces and he too deserves a start Monday.

Thought Y25/26 were in fantastic voice today too. Well done lads.......

Big LOL to the bellend Lee Bowyer!

[purleyroyal]

what sort of reception did Sonko get? And were we right to forego taking him on this season on today's evidence (although perhaps given how Pearce and Gorkks are doing that might be an academic question)?

[SCIAG]

Ipswich pressed well and we didn't bring our A-game, but they tired and we found our way into it a bit more. A goal was somewhat inevitable, I thought Hunt or HRK would get it but they didn't need to.

Karacan and Legs were quite poor defensively and left us vulnerable to long shots (Legs was also sloppier in possession than normal). Gorkss and especially Pearce were excellent though, so there wasn't much threat from near the goal.

MOTM Pearce, even without his goal.

Sonko got a good reception, was better for Ipswich than he ever was for Pompey but not good enough to get in our side.

[robbieroyal]

what sort of reception did Sonko get? And were we right to forego taking him on this season on today's evidence (although perhaps given how Pearce and Gorkks are doing that might be an academic question)?

Sonko got a good reception before game. He won everything that went near him. in hinsdsight we done OK not to give into his contact/wage demands.

[Boston Royal]

This was my first game since the playoff final (since I live in the US). Atrocious ref (and linesmen); dull first half; better second half; delighted with the result.

I thought our passing and general alertness were off today. Many passes made it to the intended recipient but were a couple of yards to his left or right. Had the recipient been alert and moved towards the ball, it would have been fine, but the slowness to react meant that Ipswich (who pressed well the whole game) were onto the player immediately and often got in a tackle or induced a misplaced pass. Similarly, sometimes when we were in a position to launch a breakaway, lack of alertness meant that we dithered and Ipswich got players back.

Kebe was generally frustrating and reminded me of Rougier, Saar, Meaker etc. He'd dribble the ball into good positions and neither pass nor shoot but end up getting tackled (or tackle himself). The Ipswich goalie barely had a save to make, although he did a good job of catching crosses to snuff out danger.

Hunt provided a spark when he came on and Church's workrate was good throughout, particularly when he ran 40 yards to tackle the Ipswich goalie. The two centre-backs were excellent, and Fed did everything he was called on to do.

[Woodcote Royal]

Game no5 for me.

I totally agreed with Brian McDermott when he said we had to win ugly. Ipswich, arriving on something of a roll, did a very good job of closing us down in the first half and creating good chances on the break. They went in at the interval as the better side.

At that point, it looked as if it was just a matter of whether the Tractor Boys could sustain their efforts over 90mins against a very fit Reading side who have beaten so many teams in the final quarter of an hour, including scoring twice in stoppage time to rob 3pts in the corresponding fixture.

Thanks to McD's timely intervention this scenario never came to pass. The very talented, but still frustratingly poorly utilised, Adam Le Fondre was sacrificed to make way for Noel Hunt and, almost immediately, we were a goal up thanks to McAnuff's pin-point cross onto Pearce's head at the far post.

This led to our agricultural friends firing up their Massey Ferguson to haul on some ageing live stock from the bench but it rarely looked like having the desired effect.

Perhaps the man who has got Ipswich back on track had already worked out that defeat for him would leave his opposite number with little chance of avoiding the dreaded curse of Manager of the Month

So, here we are, 5th and 6 points from the automatic places Our new lofty position should not be seen as a sign off weakness in this division but much more as evidence that we support a club that goes about it's business in the right way.........................I wish Mat Mills every success but his transfer said most of what needs to be said on this subject.

This side is better than last season's and I think we all know it can be so much better. Like all good teams it's being built from the back and the sharp end is still lacking in penetration. If this gets sorted in the window we could be half way through our 3rd best season ever.

Top of my wish list would be another Glen Little.................................Le Fondre is crying out for the service that would guarantee him 25+ goals a season but it's currently almost non existent. Buckle up and enjoy the ride !!!

[phil in cornwall]

I hope the injury he sustained was just a flash of pain.

Who?

[Rex]

Fedders. He appeared to injure his right hand.

[Jackson Corner]

This one won't live long in the memory in fact I've already forgoten it! But a welcome 3 points up to 5th happy days....

[Barry the bird boggler]

We were poor but won, they say that's a sign of a good team going places. While I can take performances like that every time if we win it can be rather frustrating and irritating to watch.

Game didn't really come to life until Hunt replaced Le Fondre then we looked a little more lively, however as Pearce scored shortly after Hunt's arrival, I think perhaps the fact that Ipswich had to drop any game plan, they might have had, had more to do with it than Hunt being there.

Karacan was man of the match.

[Royal Lady]

Bit of a "meh" game in all honesty but I don't care how we get our 3 points, as long as we keep getting them.

What were the ref and lino on though? Even I know that if a player is running away from play and holding his hands up, he's not offside ffs! And there were 2 obvious handballs right in front of the ref that he just ignored! Officials are ruining the game these days imo.

[Snowball]

Looked the Ipswich line-up and couldn't believe they were so low in the table.

Football is a funny thing.

Thought we started OK, ten minutes or so, but then Ipswich seemed to improve
and the warning signs were there. All my bets had Ipswich scoring first and it
looked like I'd be right.

But it goes for you when it's going for you, and results elsewhere were great, still happy at H-T


Getting to really like Pearce and Gorks, and Karacan-Elwood but let's not forget we allowed Ipswich
11 shots, 3 on target and the ball flashed across the goal a few times. We are giving away a lot of
chances and half-chances. It wouldn't surprise me if one match they all go in and we lose badly or draw 3-3

Karacan was brilliant today, easily my MoM. Pearce even with his goal, is edged.

Elwood was patchy, a curate's egg. Some great moments but also gave away a lot of ball. They all did
a bit of that, and frankly, they looked like they HAD celebrated Xmas and a bit too hard. We got lucky.

Ipswich worked hard and I've never seen so much sky-ball, not since watching Newport County in the old 4th Division

Thought Kebe did OK. Not sure what the moans are for. McAnuff quieter.

Cummings continues to improve. A few years on he might well be a top top player. Still a skinny kid.

Griffin worked hard but one great overlapping run showed that he simply hasn't got the speed to do it any more.
I like him a lot, but next season, if he's still here, he can surely only be backup? We have a major problem finding
fast overlapping FBs. Harte can't do it, Griffin can't, not really. Cummings hasn't yet grown the balls to do it, leaving
just Millsy who we might not even keep. Time to find a new Shorey methinks and probably two. Or bring the two kids
on more and get them driving forward.

I know Church worked hard, tried hard, but ATM he looks a long way from ever being Shane Long II.

Alf is a great player IMO, one exquisite through ball. In front of the right kind of midfield
or with a J-E-T or Long to take the weight, he could get 25 goals a season

Federici is getting ever better and starting to dominate the area more. Right now he's justifiably our Number 1.


PS Hunt was lively. I would prefer Hunt-Alf as the top two

[robbieroyal]

Agree totally with Snowball's comments.

Ipswich's left back Cresswell was the best left back i've seen at Mad stad this season. Think we should keep tabs on him? I see on the web tho he is attracting interest from the Premiership.

[Plymouth_Royal]

One thing that really impressed me about Karacan today was his passing. He always, as with most reading players, gets credited for his work rate. But today his passing and control were absolute class.

[andrew1957]

Against Brighton I thought everyone played well whereas yesterday we were a bit patchy with some players outstanding and some less so. However, the lads stuck in there and got a fantastic result and that is a sign of a team in form.

Ipswich did well to cut out much of the threat from Kebe and McAnuff by closing them down all the time - which did not help the flow of our game.

Karacan was absolutely outstanding and my MOTM by a mile – and as Plymouth Royal just said his passing was almost perfect - everything he played seemed to find his man (which has not always been his strong point in the past). Pearce and Gorkss are looking to be the best CB pairing we have had since Ingi and Sonks at their best and could be even better in time. They look like a PL pair to me.

Church also had a very good game - much more effective than against Brighton and Hunt looked really up for it when he came on too.

[Victor Meldrew]

Game no5 for me.

I totally agreed with Brian McDermott when he said we had to win ugly. Ipswich, arriving on something of a roll, did a very good job of closing us down in the first half and creating good chances on the break. They went in at the interval as the better side.

At that point, it looked as if it was just a matter of whether the Tractor Boys could sustain their efforts over 90mins against a very fit Reading side who have beaten so many teams in the final quarter of an hour, including scoring twice in stoppage time to rob 3pts in the corresponding fixture.

Thanks to McD's timely intervention this scenario never came to pass. The very talented, but still frustratingly poorly utilised, Adam Le Fondre was sacrificed to make way for Noel Hunt and, almost immediately, we were a goal up thanks to McAnuff's pin-point cross onto Pearce's head at the far post.

This led to our agricultural friends firing up their Massey Ferguson to haul on some ageing live stock from the bench but it rarely looked like having the desired effect.

Perhaps the man who has got Ipswich back on track had already worked out that defeat for him would leave his opposite number with little chance of avoiding the dreaded curse of Manager of the Month

So, here we are, 5th and 6 points from the automatic places Our new lofty position should not be seen as a sign off weakness in this division but much more as evidence that we support a club that goes about it's business in the right way.........................I wish Mat Mills every success but his transfer said most of what needs to be said on this subject.

This side is better than last season's and I think we all know it can be so much better. Like all good teams it's being built from the back and the sharp end is still lacking in penetration. If this gets sorted in the window we could be half way through our 3rd best season ever.

Top of my wish list would be another Glen Little.................................Le Fondre is crying out for the service that would guarantee him 25+ goals a season but it's currently almost non existent. Buckle up and enjoy the ride !!!

Agree with that.
Don't you think that we looked like Wimbledon especially in the first half?

[sandman]

Feds - Handling good. Alert when he was called upon to claim the ball. 7
Cummings - Good defensively. Needs to overlap more as Kebe's being doubled up on. 7
Gorkks - How soul destroying must it be for the opposition to see him and Pearce standing in their way? Even if you get past them you've still got to beat the best keeper in the league. 8
Pearce - Improving all the time. Footballing brain makes up for lack of pace. 8
Griffin - Mistake in the first half sending Ipswich through with a bad pass. Hard playing out of position tbf. Improved after the break. 6

Kebe - Knock it past them and run Jimmy it's not as if you haven't got the pace. Should have squared to Noel who had an easy tap in in the second half. Quiet 6
Karacan - What can you say? Covered every blade of grass and kept things simple. He improved his passing a lot in 2011 and needs to continue in that vain in 2012 . Good pass to Jobi out on the wing. 9
Ledge - Didn't think he was quite up to the standard he's shown in recent weeks but still played well. 7
McAnuff - Couple of good runs. Leaving his journeyman reputation behind and has found a real home at Reading.

ALF - Quiet. Suffering from a lack of confidence. Might need to be given a spell on the bench. 6
Church - Did well without looking like scoring due to the scrappy nature of the game. Showed great attitude chasing down the Ipswich keeper late on. 7

Hunt - Should get a run in the team with Alfie's struggles. Made a good impact and could have scored if Jimmy had squared the ball to him. 7