14 December 2014
By Hob Nob Anyone?
Reading's defensive problems were back on full show as the Royals were thrashed 1-6 away at Birmingham City. The huge defeat saw Birmingham City overturn the goal difference and move a place above Reading as the Royals sunk to 16th. Nigel Adkins will certainly be feeling the pressure now after such a dramatic collapse, against
a team that started the weekend in 19th place, was followed by chants of "Adkins Out" from the travelling fans. As Reading continue to struggle against opposition around them in the table the signs do not look good for any major recovery. Mid-table would appear to be the most likely, perhaps most optimistic, outcome for this season at a time when home crowds are dropping off, the new owners remain a mystery and the lack of investment may be set to continue.
Again it wasn't as one sided as the scoreline suggested. The Royals had more five more shots than Birmingham's 11. However Reading managed to get just four on target compared to Birmingham's seven. The home side made the most of their chances - no more so than Demarai Gray who scored a first half hat-trick to make it 1-4 at half time and ensure there was no way back for Reading. The Royals were two goals down after eleven minutes but a Glenn Murray header on nineteen minutes, with Reading well in the game, built up some hope that Reading could recover. Any optimism was short lived. After the break it was immediately 1-5 as it became just a case of seeing how many more of their chances Birmingham would score. Thankfully they settled for six with the last goal on sixty minutes.
Nigel Adkins, famous for taking the positives, summed it up as "very, very close in terms of the game". However it did admit "...but it wasn't in terms of the scoreline."
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