Torrential rain on an already saturated Madejski Stadium pitch led to a near expected half time abondonment this afternoon. The game was called off with the score at 0-0 and the likelyhood of any decent football being played on a soaking pitch looking less and less likely. It was still a massive disappointment with Reading showing some bright signs despite the ball being continually caught up in the mud during the first half. The half time announcement stated both managers had agreed to call the game off - but it turned out later that the decision was purely the referees with both managers saying they were not consulted and had wanted to continue the game. As it turned out it stopped raining at half time and the rain held out for what would have been the second half - but it would have made no difference with the pitch clearly not playable.

It would perhaps of been wrong to blame the referee for not postponing the game before it kicked off - at 1pm the pitch was just about playable - it was only as the rain came down with the game underway that it started to look in doubt. An earlier postponement might not have saved the Leicester fans a wasted journey but it might well have saved Reading fans from venturing out. It would have certainly saved all fans a lot of money spent on attending the game which they will now be expected to pay out again thanks to the weather, the referee's decision and the policies of Reading Football Club in choosing to charge fans again for the re-arranged fixture.

The game itself means nothing in terms of the league table - but leaves Reading in sixth position in the table with a further game in hand on some teams. It was interesting to see the Royals start the game with the same line-up that had beaten Derby County - a line-up that looked good against Leicester City who are one of the best sides in the Division. There wasn't the conditions or the time to show what we could do, but Sammy Igoe was again excellent in his involvement in the game. On the other wing Tyson failed to cope with the massive amount of surface water on his side of the pitch and prodded a number of passes way too short as it got caught up in the water to lose possession. Hardly his fault given the weather.

Up front we showed that perhaps we had the edge of the visitors by winning eight corners without a single one going the other way. Jamie Cureton had one of Reading's best chances when he broke through the defence but put the shot the wrong side of the post when trying to beat the goal keeper. Martin Butler also nearly broke through the City defence but was effectively tackled by the pitch when the ball held up and he failed to run through to finish the job. One of Reading's best moves came when the ball was chipped forward down the right wing allowing Igoe to run on and put in a great cross - but play started to break down more and more as the half went on as it became increasingly impossible to play football on the ground.

Reading's defence also looked a lot tighter than Leicesters. While we managed to so nearly break through a couple of times the visitors were restricted to a few long range efforts. Even so, Hahnemann needed to be in good form to keep City out and made a couple of good saves, and also did well to claim a couple of crosses. It was all good signs that should see Reading in with a good chance of the full three points when this game is played out in full on a new date. However, the new fixture will, without doubt, be a totally different style of game - unless we have a repeat of the massive quantity of rainfall we saw during the 45 minute spell today.
Graham

Following report from John Wells:
Although this game will count for nothing at the end of the season it was still interesting to see how the Royals measured up to opponents which at this stage must be considered as strong favourites for an automatic promotion spot. The City line up included several players of Premiership quality in Walker, Elliot, Izzet, Impey and Deane. This was to be a real test for Reading.

From the kick-off the ball was sticking in places as Tyson in particular found on several occasions as he left the ball behind in an attempt to dribble past Impey. The rain lashed down shortly after kick off and conditions deteriorated to make even a simple pass difficult in certain areas of the field. Neither side could claim to have mastered the awful conditions but it was Reading that created the clearer openings. The best chance fell to Cureton after thirty-two minutes when he found himself with only Walker to beat, but as the 'keeper advanced he slipped his shot wide of the upright.

When half time came I think it was fair to say that Reading had more than held their own against an experienced and physically strong team. Certainly, on this performance they can face City in the re-arranged fixture with confidence and expect to get something from the game.

The referee was right to call the game off because conditions were not suitable for a decent game of football. I suspect the pitch was waterlogged quite early in the day, and given the weather forecast and the length of the journey Leicester fans had to make, I think the game should have been called off much earlier in the day. Hindsight is a wonderful thing!