Match Report - Home versus Port Vale

Division One
15th April 1995

READING 3 Port Vale 3
(Nogan all 3)

Attendence: 8,600

With the game at 3-0 at half time following an excellent first half performance from the Royals I was expecting at least a further 3 goals in the second half -- to Reading NOT Port Vale. Quite how a team playing as shite as Port Vale were managed to get three past us is beyond me. As a result Barnsley stole our play off spot and things are looking very tight for us. Things would have been so different if the situation at half time remained.

Reading looked like they mean't business and Lee 'worth at least 0.5 million' Nogan was in shit hot form. Although he wouldn't have got any of the goals if it hadn't been for some great team work to set him up for them.

Nogan's hatrick came in an amazing 17 minute spell in the first half as Reading dominated. In the Second half the Royals just laid back and did nothing and 3 goals were scored by very average opposition.

Nogans first game from some sexy passing. Gilkes got the ball in midfield and fell over to the dismay of the South Bank... but recovered nicely and played the ball wide to the left to Kerr. Dyl took the ball in his stride and legged it down the wing and hoofed a cross over to Nogan waiting in the middle. Nogans head connected and we were one up. The second was helped along by some more dodgy defending by Port Vale. A misplaced back pass found Scottie Taylor in space who played it to Nogan also with plenty of place who unleashed a mighty shot into the net. The third came from a Lovell cross. Nogan waiting just on the edge of the box just right of middle. He let off a great half volley and his hatrick was complete.

Port Vales goals were crap. I'm not quite sure what happened to the defence, maybe they were just settting up a more exciting end to the season for us! The first one was a bit of a bundle which I lost sight of a bit and the ball trickled over the line. The second still has me mystified. A harmless Port Vale cross went across and Bernal in the middle thought he might as well stick his arm on it. So he did. I couldn't believe it when the ref gave a penalty. While on the subject of the ref... he was crap. Did his linesmen understand the offside rule? And whatabout when Gilksey was tripped right on the edge of the area when almost clean through - a definate foul maybe a penalty. The ref waved play on. Anyway, back to the handball. Andy Bernal picked up a yellow card and the ball was in the net high to Shakas right. 3-2. At 3-2 I thought Reading would start to play again and push forward to seal victory but it didn't happen.

When Vale equalised there was silence around the ground except a few hundred in the away end who were going mental in a fashion to how we had when we made it 3-0. It still could have been worse as Vale almost got a fourth... the ball going right across the goal mouth. In the second half Reading were almost non-existant except maybe one good shot: Reading had a great shot from I think Scott Taylor who ran into one defender and then another and somehow got past. Finding himself getting ever closer to the target and in a shooting position he sidefooted past another defender and blasted a great shot that was well tipped over.

Our U-Boat (Uwe) spent most of the second half warming up - ready to come on but didn't -- too late to make impression. Gilkes was on the field but didn't want to play. Nogan took his chances well. Bernal and Kerr both had great games. Bernal esp. in the first half - put in so much effort all over the place making many good tackles...

We can still make the play offs yet!

Graham