Some days things just don't go your way. Today was one of those days. Reading dropped three vital points this evening in a game they did not deserve to lose. In spite of the Royals dominating the play for most of the game Brighton snatched two goals and won the match with some quick thinking and the assistance of some dreadful errors by Hahnemann and the referee.

The atmosphere was just what you would expect for such a crucial game for both clubs. Both sets of fans were in fine voice and the opening ten minutes were fast and furious. Brighton were clearly going to make a real game of it. They registered the first attempt on goal as early as the first minute and were closing down quickly all over the pitch. Reading strengthened by the inclusion of Little, were composed in defence, and breaking well from midfield.

On sixteen minutes the Royals conceded a bizarre goal. Hahnemann picked up the ball from a back pass. The referee gave a free kick. The Reading defence froze, Hahnamann tossed the ball away and turned his back on the game. Zamora eagerly grabbed the ball slid it to Booker who tucked it away before anyone could react. Quick thinking by Brighton , but hardly as Sky Sports proclaimed "the cleverest goal of the season". Typical of the sensational garbage peddled by their presenters. The goal clearly shook Reading and it took them about ten minutes to regain their momentum, but as half time approached they could have scored three goals. Little saw his header headed off the line with Beasant beaten, and then shortly after struck a full blooded volley which hit Beasant. I think he was lucky that it went straight at him. Just before half time Forster was brought down by a desperate lunge inside the box but for some strange reason emphatically denied Reading a penalty. I wonder if the "injury" which prevented him from coming out for the second half was aggravated by seeing the replay of the incident at half time!

Reading continued to press forward in the second half but found it hard to break down a determined and well organised Brighton defence. Pardew tried to improve the quality of passing by replacing Newman with Watson. Then he improved the passing capability of his team significantly by taking Hughes off. A move which was long overdue. Cureton came on in his place. Four minutes later Brighton appeared to put the game out Reading's reach when Kitson nodded a quickly taken free kick at Hahnemann and the ball slipped under the big keeper and trickled over the line. You could ask why he was not challenged, but I would expect a ball pumped into the six yard box to be caught by the keeper. He is clearly a good keeper but does have a problem with crosses sometimes.

Tyson replaced Chadwick who had a good first half but seemed to be too easily brushed aside by defenders when in possession. What has happened to Salako? We could have done with an experienced player who keeps possession on the left towards the end. Cureton was looking surprisingly sharp after such a long lay off. With ten minutes left he turned sharply on the edge of the box and was prevented from scoring by good challenge. Four minutes later Harper battled hard to win possession and the ball fell to the little striker some twenty-five yards out. He struck a superb swerving and dipping shot over Beasant into the net to give Reading hope of salvaging a point. Even with the additional five minutes Reading could not break through. Coppell questioned the amount of time added. Most of it was for time wasting Steve!

This the point of the season when we start looking at the remaining fixtures to see which games are likely to yield points. Its going to be very tight but I think we will just scrape into the play-offs. Signing Little is clearly going to help our cause and I think we are going to need a couple of goals from Cureton again. I am hopeful because I thought the team played well this evening. Pardew sounds calm and in control which is also encouraging and he was spot on in his description of the Brigthon fan's behaviour. It was unsavoury, as was Zamora's. Is it club policy to attack small children going about their duties as ball-boys? I was not in the best of moods walking back to the car but I did manage to raise a smile when I overheard a Reading fan say "If we had Caskey in that side we would be in the Premiership by now". We have definitely moved on from those days!
Report by John Wells

Following report by Ali Costelloe
Good atmosphere before the start, both flags making a welcome appearance. Brighton started well, having the first chance of the match, getting the ball in the reading Box then losing it. Steve brown was then booked for a pretty innocuous looking challenge on the half way line, which led to a Brighton free kick, which was cleared away for a throw in. Reading were on the back foot for a good 15 minutes, then a dodgy looking decision from the referee helped Brighton with the first goal. After a Brighton attack the ball bounced off a couple of reading players, came back to Hahnemann, who took a couple of touches, then as Zamora was harrying him, he picked it up. Zamora waved like a madman to get the indirect free kick, then as it was awarded, put the ball on the floor, slipped it to Brooker, who tapped it into the back of the net. 1-0 Brighton. I didn't hear the referee blow his whistle, and nor did many people in the stadium, but I would be interested to see the replay. I believe that Reading had failed to do the research, as Brighton used the same set play against forest, and also got a goal.

Zamora knew exactly what he was doing, and had tried to get another indirect free kick a few minutes earlier. I think he was looking for them. Back at the other end, Reading were pushing forwards, and were unlucky to see the ball cleared off the line as it was heading for the bottom corner from a header. Reading continued to push up, putting the Brighton defence under a lot of pressure, but poor finishing had let the team down, many shots being hammered high into what seemed to be row HH. Nearing the end of the first half, with Brighton still holding on, Forster ran into the box, and was challenged by a defender. Forster was clearly brought down, although whether the ball was going out anyway I do not know. It could have been a penalty, but it wasn't to be, and after a pretty much even first half Brighton went in a goal ahead.

As the Reading players stood out on the pitch, waiting to kick off for the first half, the Brighton players were still in the dressing room, and failed to come out when they should have done, which led to a lot of booing from the Reading faithful when they did emerge. Reading kicked off for the second half, clearly looking for the goal which would draw the two teams level, and instantly attacked, bringing the ball into the box, only for it to be cleared away for a series of throw-ins. Brighton knew they would be in for a long night, so began to put 10 men behind the ball, frustrating Reading immensely. Nicky Forster was then gifted a good chance, Harper putting the ball through, for him to then hammer the ball into the irritated north stand.

Another similar chance then came, and it looked like Reading had equalised. Forster was put into a similar position, and then tapped the ball right towards what appeared to be the bottom corner, the ball beat Beasant, but failed to reach the bottom corner it had been aimed for, and Brighton were awarded a goal kick. From this goal kick, Brighton pushed forwards, and after some good passing in the left corner, a free kick was awarded after a clumsy looking challenge. The ball was played in, Hahnemann failed to reach it, and Kitson tapped the ball into the net, after Hahnemann had fumbled it. 2-0 Brighton, and it looked like the few chances Brighton had were capitalised on, where Reading failed to finish the moves when the opportunities arose. Reading pushed forwards, determined to gain something from the game, and Pardew realised he had to do something about the lack of finishing, so put Cureton on.

Cureton looked surprisingly sharp, after such a long time out, and had a good 20 minutes, in my opinion. Reading set up camp in the Brighton half, and before long Cureton had a good chance, but an equally good challenge dispossessed him. Within a couple of minutes, Reading had pulled a goal back, Cureton receiving the ball 30 yards out, looking up, then hitting a superb dipper over Beasant, and not this time into the north stand. A beautiful goal from a player who could walk into most first division teams. With 6 minutes left on the clock, there was plenty of time left to grab an equaliser, but as time flew away, there was not much created, as Brighton put 11 men behind the ball, playing out the time in order to get a fifth away win of the season.

Five minutes injury time were added, much to the anger of the Albion fans and Reading looked to use these well, pushing forwards, but failing, once again, to make anything of the chances made. The referee looked at his watch, and then blew the whistle for a hard earned Brighton victory.The Royals failed again to make the most of the chances, and were left wanting.

Statistics: (Shots - Corners - Fouls)
Reading: 11-9-8
Brighton: 3-0-13