Reading should be firm favourites to progress to round four of the FA Cup after playing out a goalless draw at the Bescot stadium. The draw means Walsall have to visit the Madejski in ten days time for the replay - just four days before they are due to visit in the league fixture. A draw might not have been the perfect result for the Royals with two games to catch up with already in the league - but it does mean we still have a chance to move on in the cup with home advantage giving us the edge and the possibility of a good draw in round four.

Pardew mostly stuck to the side that started in the abandoned fixture against Leicester City on New Years Day with Tyson and Igoe on the wings and Butler and Cureton paired up front. Nicky Forster made his return from injury and come on with just over twenty minutes to play for Cureton, who was clearly disappointed not to have completed the full ninety minutes. In defence Williams was missing with a knee injury that isn't expected to keep him out for more than just this game, and in his place came Mackie who had a solid game alongside Brown.

Just like the Leicester fixture, the pitch wasn't in the best condition and didn't lend itself to the best football. After the recent run of rain the pitch was only just about playable after passing a 10am pitch inspection for the game to go ahead, and right from kick-off it started cutting up early. It meant that the game wasn't ever going to see the best display of football but the Royals more than played their part in the fixture and made the most of the conditions to look the more likely side across the ninety minutes.

Reading probably should have been ahead by half time. Walsall enjoyed a bit of early pressure before Reading quickly settled down and created some solid chances. Ricky Newman forced the first save from the Walsall goalkeeper from an early free-kick. Martin Butler found the post with a shot and Jamie Cureton nearly volleyed home the rebound only to see his effort blocked on the line. Later in the half Jamie Cureton nearly gave the Royals the lead with an effort that saw the Walsall keeper make a great save, getting down to his right to push the ball wide. Nathan Tyson was having a good game down the wing and put in a couple of good crosses the test the defence and keeper. Later Walker, in goal for Walsall, was to be named man of the match by the home fans - perhaps an indication of the balance of play.

Down the other end Hahnemann was in excellent form as well. Not long before the half time break a defensive mistake saw Walsall clean through but Hahnemann read the situation well to come steaming out of his goal to chase down the ball. In the second half Reading created a few more chances to nearly snatch the win. Butler put in a decent header from an Igoe cross and Nicky Forster managed to get in a shot on target after coming off the bench to complete his return from injury. Despite Forster nearly scoring the goal to send Reading through, the home side nearly sneaked it at the end when Reading conceeded a free-kick which was driven against the crossbar. A Walsall goal wouldn't have been a fair reflection of the game however, and Reading should look forward to finishing the fixture off in the replay at the Madejski Stadium.