What a frustrating and disappointing night this turned out to be. A small and subdued crowd witnessed a game that was not worthy of this great competition. Walsall eventually took advantage of the Royal's poor finishing going through by virtue of being able to strike the ball firmly and accurately over a distance of twelve yards, a challenge which appeared to be beyond the majority of the Reading squad. Reading were the better side and could and should have won. On this performance, neither side deserved a place in the next round.

Reading were awful for the first half an hour. Passes went astray and although Forster looked lively up front we had to wait until the twenty-seventh minute for our first attempt on target. (A tame header from Forster.) By then Reading had already fallen behind following a rash decision by Hahnemann to go for a deep cross that he was never likely to, or indeed needed to reach. When he did lose possession Walsall took full advantage with a simple cross which Wrack was able to nod comfortably past the defender on the line while the Reading keeper was floundering several yards out of position.

An equally scrappy goal brought the scores level. Tyson looked to be going nowhere down the line when he was hauled over. Newman sent over a decent cross from the free kick, nobody seemed to want it, and the ball dribbled over the line off Aranalde's shin. This sparked the Royals into life. Butler timed his run well and slid the ball across perfectly for Forster who somehow managed to avoid scoring from close range. Igoe was wide with a good effort, and just before half time Forster made room for a shot with his pace and shot just wide.

Reading dominated the second half as the bookings started to mount up for both sides, mainly for clumsy challenges. Harper was having a good game getting through a tremendous amount of work defensively and always making himself available to receive the ball. Unfortunately his industry was not matched by his finishing prowess as he dragged a shot wide having worked himself into an excellent scoring position on seventy minutes. Shorey should have done better when set up by Butler, and then Hughes missed the best chance of the game in the last minute of normal time.

Not much happened in extra time as the game drifted towards the inevitable penalties, and I hate to admit it but, apart from Cureton, I did not feel confident about any Reading player putting their penalty away. Butler failed to hit the target, Cureton scored emphatically and Harper had his effort saved. Walsall scored convincingly four times in a row and that was that.

When I got home was amazed to hear that we are planning to buy Sidwell from Arsenal-another midfield player. I agree we should always be looking to strengthen the squad but surely we need a striker. Ever since the start of the season it has been clear in my mind that we need someone who can play up front with either Forster or Cureton who can score a few goals, head the ball and keep possession of the ball. (Sorry if I keep repeating myself on this issue!) There are plenty playing in our division. Solution - buy one!

What seems to have happened recently is that Pardew decided that we were not scoring enough, which absolutely right. To rectify the situation Butler has been brought in at the expense of a midfield player. The good run we had was built on having a midfield of five which effectively shut out the opposition and we were then snatching the odd goal. The system worked well with the players we have available and we were winning games. Playing Butler is not the answer because he does not look capable of scoring regularly in this division and it has weakened the defensive system that was so strong during November.

It was hard not to feel a bit agitated by tonight's performance, and at the moment I don't feel too excited at the prospect of meeting Walsall again on Saturday. However, just like most supporters, I'll have to be there just to see what will happen next!
Report by John Wells