Back from the Game - Villa

[FiNeRaIn]

How anyone could suggest that the team bottled it today is completely beyond me. What utter nonsense.

They played with great heart, skill and determination and, despite a spell of 15 minutes where a team chock full of decent international players ripped us apart at will, we looked a damned good footballing team during the other 75 minutes.

A terrific game and a terrific performance for the most part.

Nice spin, but we conceded an utterly awful goal within a minute of the restart and then stood off and totally capitulated within a further 7 or 8 minutes. And it so very bloody obvious what would happen just as soon as Bertrand shanked that woeful attempt of a clearance under zero pressure. We ripped ourselves apart at will. It was a choke so severe that the St John's Ambulance had to perform a post-match heimlich manouvere on the entire team.

Agreed, any time that concedes 3 in the space of 10 minutes right after half time needs to take a look at themselves.

Proud of the players for the cup run, would rather have lost properly in a decent fashion. Players unfortunately need to shoulder the blame for coming out and bottling it. Still, not gonna moan on about it. Good run but we're out, now we need to win 3/4 more games to stay up and look to next season.

[Seal]

A few observations from a cracking but ultimately gut wrenching FA Cup tie:-

- Kebe fantastic first half, I got the feeling Villa hadn't done their homework as Warnock seemed genuinely shocked by his pace
- Can't really comment on the Villa goals as they were all down the other end. Not really sure if from good play or bad defending (apart from the first which was clearly an error)
- We pressed so well in the first half but there was no way we could keep that intensity up. Kebe for example looked dead after about 60 minutes
- Our bench just wasn't strong enough to pull the game back. Gunner came up and just gave the ball away for 15 minutes. Not really the added dynamism we needed
- James Milner the best player on the pitch. Great energy. Clearly looked a cut above the rest
- First half the best atmosphere in the north stand I've heard in a long time. Almost like being in a proper football stadium

In summary. Great cup tie, immensely proud of a first half performance. Gutted by the capitulation but at least we went out in style.

Also from a PR perspective, I think the cup run (and being on terrestrial TV a couple of times), has done wonders for our reputation and image. Lots of neutrals in the office this morning commenting on how they were routing for us, we played so well, etc etc

[yorksroyal]

@ Seal: Can help but this is a bit unfair on Bryn. In the first half we held onto the ball really well, but at the start of the second half the defence just panicked and kept banging the ball aimlessly away from the box, and with Long dropping deeper and deeper and standing no chance of holding it up Villa just kept coming. There are way too many good players at Villa to abandon your game plan and shape for 15 minutes and hope to get away with it.

I suspect Bryn was sent on and just told to put his foot on the ball and calm things down. He did. Everyone around him started to calm down and play as they had been playing and we started to look OK again. At that time we needed someone who was the opposite of dynamic. Other than that, I think a pretty fair summary.

[Maguire]

It was there for the taking but sadly the boys completely bottled it. Completely. That's it.

Do you have a point to make or do you only deal in emoticons?

floyd has it spot on - it was a spectacular choke by a group of players who were plainly overwhelmed by the prospect of actually getting to an FA Cup semi-final. Did anyone really think we would win once Ashley Young scored? What happened afterwards was wholly predictable.

Still, some good performances out there against awkward opponents. Thought Tabb has his best game for Reading, Kebe was awesome but was plainly out on his feet after about an hour, and I think Mills looked several levels better than Ivar (who got owned, i'm afraid).

[Jack Celliers]

http://www.itv.com/sport/football/news/facup/matchreports/report-reading-v-aston-villa-171471881.html
Probably somewhere else already, but here are ITV's highlights.

We were good!

There were three great goals in the game: our second and their second and third and we had two great chances at 3-2.

I'm still gutted beyond belief though.

[bigshaka'away']

I find the ratings very odd for this game - Griffin was found out time and time again down by Young, and frankly he can take the blame for at least two goals. He has been brilliant for us, but perhaps this game shows why he never quite did it in the top flight. Ingi was not very good, Bertrand was not as bad as some are making out and was second best defender after Mills. The Sig was pure class.

Overall it was a fantastic game, and the first half we played the best football i have seen at the Mad for years.

Also i dont understand people having a go at the fans for singing at half time - why the hell not??? We are not Man U, its not often (if ever again) we are in the FA cup quarterfinals and winning 2-0, so enjoy it, sing all the time. Sing the Wembley song, sing anything you want at anytime. Enjoy the moment, dont criticise.

[Man Friday]

Agree with the majority of the comments i.e. proud of the team but we did bottle it. Every Reading fan's and player's head went down when they scored straight after half time. You could just sense it. The colour drained from our faces. We all thought "here we go" and inevitably "there we went". The emotion was tangible. We needed to hang on and we didn't. We sort of bottled it. Still proud though.

[Ian Royal]

@ Seal: Can help but this is a bit unfair on Bryn. In the first half we held onto the ball really well, but at the start of the second half the defence just panicked and kept banging the ball aimlessly away from the box, and with Long dropping deeper and deeper and standing no chance of holding it up Villa just kept coming. There are way too many good players at Villa to abandon your game plan and shape for 15 minutes and hope to get away with it.

I suspect Bryn was sent on and just told to put his foot on the ball and calm things down. He did. Everyone around him started to calm down and play as they had been playing and we started to look OK again. At that time we needed someone who was the opposite of dynamic. Other than that, I think a pretty fair summary.

Not harsh at all. He came on to stiffen our vanished spine and then proceeded to give the ball away every time he had it. He nearly tripped over his own feet at one point. Hit pass after pass straight at Villa players or off the end of the pitch. Did very little defensively.

Worst showing in a very long time for gunnar.

[CMRoyal]

I find the ratings very odd for this game - Griffin was found out time and time again down by Young,

Good move tactically by O'Neill but I would not blame Griffin - he needed more support from his team-mates. It's not his fault he's slow, and after all he was up against one of the quickest in the game.

[Sarah Star]

@ Seal: Can help but this is a bit unfair on Bryn. In the first half we held onto the ball really well, but at the start of the second half the defence just panicked and kept banging the ball aimlessly away from the box, and with Long dropping deeper and deeper and standing no chance of holding it up Villa just kept coming. There are way too many good players at Villa to abandon your game plan and shape for 15 minutes and hope to get away with it.

I suspect Bryn was sent on and just told to put his foot on the ball and calm things down. He did. Everyone around him started to calm down and play as they had been playing and we started to look OK again. At that time we needed someone who was the opposite of dynamic. Other than that, I think a pretty fair summary.

Not harsh at all. He came on to stiffen our vanished spine and then proceeded to give the ball away every time he had it. He nearly tripped over his own feet at one point. Hit pass after pass straight at Villa players or off the end of the pitch. Did very little defensively.

Worst showing in a very long time for gunnar.

Was reading on the OS that Gunarsson coming on for Howard was pre-planned as Howard had been ill and thought he couldn't manage more than 60 minutes. I did wonder about it at the time because I thought Howard would have been more of a goal threat than Bryn.

[Ian Royal]

Looks like Howard was wrong. He managed 45 though.

[Madstad to Nadderud]

Great first half from Reading, but I think the ghost of BR came back to haunt them in the second half because the goals were gifted to Villa. It was good to see a cup run though at long last.

[Mad Dog's Ghost]

Great first half and showed some spirit after shipping 3. But we were simply terrified for 15 mins. Terrified of Villa, terrified of the ball.

Just hope all these extra games, suspensions and injuries don't catch up with us. Plan B of Gunnarsson and Rasiak Sunday was very depressing.

[Tilehurst End]

The 2 things I was hoping for on the way to the game were that we'd give a good account of ourselves and the game would not be decided by a poor refereeing decision so from that point of view have to be satisfied but at 2-0 you start to dream.........

The third goal of the game was always going to be crucial and we certainly lost our shape and composure for 15 minutes afterwards.

By-the-by now but for the first time disagreed with a McD substitution and would have moved Sig to the centre where he's more of a goal threat and put HRK's pace down the left wing against Cuellar who's not a full back.Brynn would have been right had it still been 2-0.

[james15]

The first half performance was the best I have ever seen Reading play

That's a bit of a stretch.

I have watched Reading a few times over 10 years, the first being Bournemouth at home in the year 2000, which includes about 4 home games and two away a season on average and 2 season tickets thrown in there, so I haven't seen everything needless to say...

[BR2]

A few observations from a cracking but ultimately gut wrenching FA Cup tie:-

- Kebe fantastic first half, I got the feeling Villa hadn't done their homework as Warnock seemed genuinely shocked by his pace
- Can't really comment on the Villa goals as they were all down the other end. Not really sure if from good play or bad defending (apart from the first which was clearly an error)
- We pressed so well in the first half but there was no way we could keep that intensity up. Kebe for example looked dead after about 60 minutes
- Our bench just wasn't strong enough to pull the game back. Gunner came up and just gave the ball away for 15 minutes. Not really the added dynamism we needed
- James Milner the best player on the pitch. Great energy. Clearly looked a cut above the rest
- First half the best atmosphere in the north stand I've heard in a long time. Almost like being in a proper football stadium

In summary. Great cup tie, immensely proud of a first half performance. Gutted by the capitulation but at least we went out in style.

Also from a PR perspective, I think the cup run (and being on terrestrial TV a couple of times), has done wonders for our reputation and image. Lots of neutrals in the office this morning commenting on how they were routing for us, we played so well, etc etc

Have to disagree with you on one thing Seal-James Milner.
In my eyes he is just a trier and a plodder and it summed it up for me late on when he kicked the ball past Griffin and in a run chase Griffin won easily.
There were a number of times he was caught in possession in the hubub of central midfield and as my brother said to me "that's why he plays out wide"-another example of an overhyped English player and is just today's version of Phil Neville,a utility player who has no position where he excels but is capable of playing in a number of different roles so is a valuable squad player.
If he is a World Cup starter we have problems.

[Man Friday]

The 2 things I was hoping for on the way to the game were that we'd give a good account of ourselves and the game would not be decided by a poor refereeing decision so from that point of view have to be satisfied but at 2-0 you start to dream.........

The third goal of the game was always going to be crucial and we certainly lost our shape and composure for 15 minutes afterwards.

By-the-by now but for the first time disagreed with a McD substitution and would have moved Sig to the centre where he's more of a goal threat and put HRK's pace down the left wing against Cuellar who's not a full back.Brynn would have been right had it still been 2-0.

My views/feelings precisely.

[bcubed]

I find the ratings very odd for this game - Griffin was found out time and time again down by Young, and frankly he can take the blame for at least two goals. He has been brilliant for us, but perhaps this game shows why he never quite did it in the top flight. Ingi was not very good, Bertrand was not as bad as some are making out and was second best defender after Mills. The Sig was pure class.

Overall it was a fantastic game, and the first half we played the best football i have seen at the Mad for years.

Also i dont understand people having a go at the fans for singing at half time - why the hell not??? We are not Man U, its not often (if ever again) we are in the FA cup quarterfinals and winning 2-0, so enjoy it, sing all the time. Sing the Wembley song, sing anything you want at anytime. Enjoy the moment, dont criticise.

Agree with all this
Griffin seemed to run in slow motion for their third. At first he looked as he could make a tackle to stop the cross with ease. In the end he got nowhere near the ball

And it was a great first half - crowd was better than I can ever remember (when were we last allowed to stand the whole game?) and the performance has to be right up there with anything we produced when in the Premier League

[Tommy Youlden's Ears]

Hmmmm. Today's Guardian encapsulates the biggest downside of the cup run - too much Sig on telly....

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog ... ll-weekend

The best dead-ball specialist in England plays in the Championship

The large number of top-flight professional footballers who suffer from a chronic inability to clear the first man (or chronic ability to clear nearby advertising hoardings) with free-kicks and corners – yes, you Steven Gerrard – is, quite frankly, depressing. Most of them could learn a thing or two from the Reading midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson. One of the hallmarks of, and reasons for, the Berkshire club's impressive Cup run was the 20-year-old Icelandic international's unerring ability to pick out team-mates from dead-ball situations, whether whipping the ball across the edge of the six-yard box from a corner or arrowing or lofting it towards the corridor of uncertainty between goalkeeper and central defenders from free-kicks. His added-time equaliser against Liverpool in the third round proved he's equally adept under pressure from the penalty spot, while his pass to help set up Reading's second yesterday demonstrated that his vision, awareness and technical savvy isn't restricted to dead-ball situations. Reading will do well to hold on to him this summer; the boy, as they say, is a bit special.

[Royal_Delight]

The problem was the defence. Poor marking by Mills and Ivar. Failed to mark Young and Carew for the first 3 goals. Bertrand also had an nightmare against Milner and Downing. Kudos to Villa though, O'Neil must have oxf*rd them up hard during half-time to have such a comeback after 2 goals down.