There were enough scoring opportunities for either side to have claimed a victory in this game, but the Royals just had the edge in class, as was demonstrated by the goal which narrowly separated the teams in the end. Little's superbly weighted pass caught the Stoke defence napping, and the alert Morgan popped up to latch onto it and slide in a tempting low cross for Kitson to divert in to the net from close range. It was a stylish goal worthy of being a match winner. I can't imagine what the unusually subdued fans were thinking of when they chanted "to the referee one nil" in the second half!

It was a fairly scrappy opening. Sidwell had a shot blocked and Hahnemann saved comfortably from Russell. Owusu, who bustles and unsettles defenders effectively, had a half chance but failed to make a good contact. Morgan created a chance with some clever play to go past his full back but when he cut inside his shot was off target. Stoke's best chance fell to Asaba but his volley well saved by Hahnemann.

The second half was more of the same except the referee became less tolerant of Stoke's over robust challenges, (Kitson again was subjected to a battering) and booked Russell and Greenacre. He should have booked more had he been consistent and dished out cards for the type of offence for which he chose to penalise Sidwell in the first half. He was a poor referee, but equally poor for both teams. Reading continued to defend well and kept their heads when Stoke attempted to intimidate. Halls was particularly guilty, and Morgan, to his credit, refused to react. Reading's defensive organisation was excellent. On several occasions midfield players dropped into defensive gaps when back four players were drawn out of position.

Into the last ten minutes Reading enjoyed a spell of possession which frustrated Stoke. I lost count of the consecutive passes. It was good to watch as Soke laboured in vain to retrieve the ball. Reading survived a scare when Akinbiyi got in the way of Greenacre's goalbound strike. Reading should have made it two when Little beat the offside trap and crossed for Brooker. Although he struck it cleanly, it was too close to substitute 'keeper Simonsen, and his shot was well saved.

Another team good team performance. Harper and Sidwell again got through a lot of work, but for me Kitson was man of the match. He played quite deep at times to link up with midfield and defence, but he also closed down defenders, held the ball and passed it well, and of course he was in the right place again for the winner. I was also pleased to see Morgan start. He is clearly desperate to break into the first team, he undoubtedly has tremendous potential, and he looked very sharp at times today. It was also good to get another win but, in view of Wigan's defeat this afternoon, it appears that a point at Plymouth was not such a bad result after all.
Report by John Wells