Match Preview

When Saturday 20 April 2002, 3.00pm kick-off
Who and Where BRENTFORD (Away, Griffin Park, League Division Two)
Ticket Info

ALL TICKETS ARE SOLD OUT FOR THIS FIXTURE.

Reading were allocated approximately 2,500 tickets which went on sale to season ticket holders who made postal applications only. All tickets were sold out before being released for general sale.

The big screen at the Madejski Stadium has also sold out. A total of 5,000 tickets were issued.

Travel,
Food and Beer.

Griffin Park, Braemar Road, Brentford.
Telephone: 020 8847 2511

Brentford is famous for having a pub on every corner of the ground. So the best bet is just to turn up at the ground and then dive into whichever pub takes your fancy! All of them are supposed to be decent enough - arrive early and it could be quite a unique pub crawl without even moving away from the ground. Food in the ground isn't anything special, but there's plenty of takeaways not too far from Griffin Park.

Reading fans are being advised that all the pubs around Griffin Park will close at 2pm tomorrow on police advice. The early closures suggest it might be worth getting to Brentford a bit earlier, and then getting into the ground just after 2pm to soak up a bit of atmosphere. The New Inn and Princess Royal pubs have been designated as away fan pubs for the day and are sure to be filled with Reading fans getting ready for the final push towards automatic promotion.

By Car:
Leave Reading towards London on the M4 and get off at Junction 2 to get onto the A4. You can't miss the ground. For parking it's best to get there early and there's limited street parking available.

By Train:
Brentford station is just a couple of minutes walk from the ground - so it's a good choice to travel by train.

Team news

Well this is it... the whole season rests on this one fixture. The team that wins gets automatic promotion, while a draw will be good enough for the Royals. The introduction of Igoe and Butler at half time on Saturday turned the game around. Expect Rougier to be relegated to the bench and one of Igoe or Butler to get a start. Meanwhile, Mackie will be out of action after picking up a serious ankle injury. Williams should step into the side. A pairing of either Forster and Butler or Forster and Cureton seems likely with the player missing out ready on the bench.

Reading - from: Whitehead, Murty, Williams, Viveash, Shorey, Watson, Parkinson, Hughes, Harper, Salako, Henderson, Forster, Butler, Cureton, Rougier, Talia, Savage.

Brentford - from: Smith, Anderson, Dobson, Ingimarsson, Powell, Theobald, Hunt, Sidwell, Evans, Rowlands, Boxall, Burgess, Owusu, McCammon, Gottskalksson, O'Connor.

Form Guide

View Latest Second Division Table And Form Table

Previous Meetings 

Reading have had way more wins than Brenford through history - so lets hope the pattern continues...
Reading wins: 35
Draws: 22
Brentford wins: 24
Figures include League, FA Cup and League Cup only.

2001/2002 Season:
Earlier this season Brentford looked very impressive at the Madejski Stadium to beat Reading by two goals to one:
27 October 2001: Reading 1 Brentford 2 (Division Two)

2000/2001 Season:
Last season Brentford were one of the many teams we stuffed at the Madejski Stadium. Reading ran out 4-0 winners with a hat-trick from Jamie Cureton and a penalty from Darren Caskey that put the Royals 3-0 up at half time. At their place we completed the double later in the season - goals from Parkinson and Igoe saw us pull off a 2-1 victory at Griffin Park.
10 February 2001: Brentford 1 Reading 2
9 September 2000: Reading 4 Brentford 0

1999/2000 Season:
Reading got the better of Brentford during the 1999/2000 season - a single goal by Adie Williams gave us the three points at home and a rare Andy Gurney goal earnt us a share of the points at their place:
11 March 2000: Reading 1 Brentford 0
2 November 1999: Brentford 1 Reading 1
Click on the result for match reports.

Match Odds Available at William Hill
Brentford are favourites for home victory.
The odds suggest the most unlikely result will be a Reading win.
Reading win: 9/4
Draw: 2/1
Brentford win: 11/10
Place your bet on a Reading win!
Predictions Who could predict this one??
We've just got to get the draw that takes us up. The only way to do that is to really go for it and play for the win - which we might just get with the right approach. So, a Reading win and automatic promotion. Come on you Royals!!
What do you think?
Enter your Prediction now!
Opposition Site The Griffin Park Grapevine - Discussion Forums:
http://www.gpgrapevine.co.uk/

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