Match Report vs OLDHAM ATHLETIC

Following the excellent performance against Man City in mid-week you'd be forgiven for expecting the Royals to do better against the team currently bottom of the first division. However you should also remember Reading's shite away performances so far this season, so getting a valuable away point to stretch the unbeaten run to four games really isn't too bad. Unlike the game. The result was probably a fair one with neither team really looking like scoring - no surprise then that both the goals came from penalties - although at least Reading deserved theirs.

The team was pretty much unchanged from the one that did so well against City with, once again, five in defence and Lambert and Gilkes supporting Nogan and Morley up front. Wright appeared in goal again with rumour of a possible contract being offered. Apparantly Mihaylov was injured this time around instead of being dropped. However when the game got underway the Royals looked little like they did mid-week. Both Nogan and Morley seemed out of the action in contrast to Nogans confident performance on Tuesday. Neither team seemed to be creating any real chances and the keepers must have been starting to go to sleep. The first real chance fell to Oldham but the shot was easily saved by Tommy Wright in the Reading goal. Lee Nogs could have put Reading ahead just before half time when the ball came through to him leaving a shot on goal - again saved by the Oldham keeper.

Oldhams penalty came after a dismal first sixty minutes to the game. The Oldham forward broke into the Reading box and Paul Bodin was judged to have pushed him off the ball. Despite Reading protests at an incident that looked 50-50 the ref gave the penalty which was fired home. 0-1. More than a little harsh?

Reading replied with a double substitution, Morley went off and Quinn and Parkie came into the action. Was this Sir Jimmy's first appearance since the calls for his head? I think so. Quinn had a lot to do to silence the critics. And he promptly delivered, willed on only by Mike Lewis. With about 15 minutes of the game remaining he worked his way into the box and was duely hacked down for a penalty. With Morley off the pitch it was always going to be Jimmy Quinn to step up to take it. If he missed it may have prompted another good chorus of 'Quinn Has Got To Go', but in true Quinny style he thumped the ball home. 1-1. So Quinn secured the point and Reading's fourth game undefeated, and probably his job for a while longer.

A dissapointing game, a dissapointing result but not disasterous, and Swindon at home next week with Nogan to put in a hattrick.

Graham