Reading carried on where they left off on Boxing Day. Quick into the tackle and clearly going for an early goal. Today's opponents were far easier to see off than Cardiff however. After thirty minutes Forster scored a superb goal when he picked up the ball from a short corner on the left, dribbled across the edge of the area, and when his acceleration gave him a yard of space he hammered a shot into the net inside the near post. The power of the strike left Rogers with no chance. It was a very good goal and looked enough to secure the points at that point. Most the half was like a training session for Reading. The Royals kept possession for long spells and if I had a criticism it would be that they could have created more scoring opportunities. They were not helped by Harper getting injured. He was Reading's best player at Cardiff and was looking sharp again. Apparently the injury is quite serious. (We are having rotten luck with injuries again!)

If the rules allowed Denis Smith would probably substituted the whole team at half time. He was clearly not happy and made three changes during the interval. The changes certainly had an initial impact as Wrexham forced Reading back by adopting a more positive approach. They dominated the game briefly but Reading defended well and looked likely to break away and score a second. Wrexham came close to an equaliser when Falconbridge headed narrowly wide. Conditions were deteriorating and the snow began to fall.

Reading finally beat the off-side trap and Salako had the simple task of tapping the ball over the line from two yards. The cross which created the goal was perfectly timed and delivered and I thought it came from Hughes. (The Official Reading website report attributed it to Forster - anyone else like to confirm it?) Either way it was a pleasant surprise because neither player has been passing very well recently! Forster was typically frustrating when he failed to notice Salako unmarked to his left on the edge of the area shortly after the second goal. A simple ball to his left would almost certainly produced a third goal. There was more than one Royals fan on their feet offering advice! Hughes was not brilliant but he certainly worked hard and deserves credit for his commitment.

This was the sort of away performance we need to keep us in the hunt and I hope we can produce the same form at home next week. The home team match sponsors nominated Dennis Lawrence as their Man of the Match and Forster found it difficult to get the better of the giant centre back, but Wrexham had little else to offer. For the second game in succession Rougier was superb. Keep it up Tony!

Results are going our way and the teams I expected to fade are dropping points. Bristol City and Stoke look likely to pose the greatest threat to our ambitions. The snow was falling quite heavily as the crowd left but in spite of the prospect of a long journey home in foul weather the Royals contingent were singing. They obviously felt it was worth the trip.

Report by John Wells.

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