Skip to main content

Boring, Boring Reading

A first win in eight as Reading beat a surprisingly dull Leeds side. In many ways the story was not so different to matches within our winless run, but thankfully we came up against a far more profligate outfit.

Much like against Norwich the first half was excellent. There was much more cohesion going forward, although there weren't many chances. The best coming from Aluko, who forced a good save down low to the keeper's right. It must be said, at times Leeds made Beerens seem like Messi, but the final ball was often lacking. Perhaps surprisingly with only four at the back, Reading excelled defensively. The most complete performance at the back that I have seen in quite a while - Leeds basically didn't have a sniff. There were a couple of chances that they managed to get behind, but Ilori and Bacuna managed to get back and make the tackle.

Bacuna was particularly impressive all game, after half time there was a chance where three Leeds players were bearing down on Manone and he somehow managed to get a last ditch tackle to avert the danger. And, it must be said, Gunter down the left was incredibly solid. Personally I quite like Blackett, although his tendancy to switch off is a big issue, but Wales' player of the year brought much needed rigidity.

The second half saw the home side come into the game much more, and I think they'll be disappointed not to get something from the game - but in truth they rarely tested. Jansson smashed a good chance into the proverbial Row Z. Barrow's introduction helped - he really has been missed. At a not dissimilar angle to where he got his goal he stung Lonergan's hands, and a really well taken finish for the winner meant that we were bagged our first victory in 49 days. And on that note the pass, and celebration, from JVDB were incredible.

That said, I think that at the end if Hernandez had converted the penalty it would be a very similar story to the Norwich game. A very promising half in the end cancelled out by stupid defensive mistakes. There is no way that Sáiz should have been allowed to get the ball in the first place, let alone then attack further into the box and draw the foul. The only comfort was how atrocious the penalty was.

Stam did change the approach. Bodvarsson came back in, and linked up well with the midfield - which has been missing - although he didn't offer much in terms of goal threat. We also went, on the whole, more direct. We attempted almost 350 less passes than against Hull, which says a great deal. I think in part that's because we were playing more defensively. I think it's worth pointing out that we did, in fact, play very well in spurts against Norwich when trying a more possession based approach, although we had fewer key passes in the entire game.

I also think that Leeds probably have a point in regards to the referee not being at his best. There were a couple of instances where I thought Joey was on thin ice. As a caveat, his first was ridiculous, having been warned seconds earlier about booting the ball away before he did it again. There also seemed to be a lot of inconsistency around the fouls given. The situation that got their fans really riled though wasn't really the ref's fault; he blew for an offside and they thought he'd given a foul to them. So when Reading took the free kick they were outraged. Perhaps he could have more clearly signalled in Reading's favour.

In the end a good win. It was Leeds' first defeat at Elland Road of the season and, while they haven't played anybody of particular note there, it's always a difficult place to go. Bramall Lane next week will be no less tough, but fingers crossed.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Scout Report: Brentford

It almost feels superfluous to write about a Brentford team who have already been covered so extensively. Famed for their player recruitment the core of their side is a young, attack-minded group of players who seemingly love to play together. They tend to play 4-3-3, with Watkins as the main striker, and Benrahma and Mbeumo attempting to find space to either side of him. The midfield three is given stability by Christian Norgaard in the holding role, while Dasilva and Jensen are free to push on. Even goalkeeper David Raya Martin is crucial to the team's attacking intent. His quick distribution reminiscent of Marcus Hahnemann bowling out to Bobby Convey to set the winger away. That said defensively the Spaniard can occasionally be caught out, infamously allowing Ryan Tafazolli to pass the ball from the halfway line into the Brentford net. That's not the only mistake he's made this year - a missed punch condemned Brentford to a loss at Kenilworth Road, and similarly lead to

Reading FC Season Review | 2020/2021

When your season starts with your manager having to watch your opening match from the hotel because he's not been hired in time to beat the quarantine, anything above getting relegated should probably be classed as a success. And Reading exceeded surely even the most optimistic of pre-season predictions. Veljko Paunovic Veljko Paunovic almost exclusively utilised a core group of players in a 4-2-3-1, only changing things when enforced. One of the consequences of that is that Reading had more players play over 3,000 minutes than any other side (roughly three-quarters of the season). That consistency is often seen as a good thing, but in a condensed season, it surely contributed to the injury woes. It can't have helped that the manager also used the second-fewest number of players over the course of the season. His substitutions were often categorised as late (Reading's subs played just 16 minutes on average, only Norwich's played fewer) or non-existent (Reading were 19t

If Anything, Reading's Win In Wales Is Just More Of The Same

Paunovic has been under increasing pressure in recent weeks. Last Tuesday he received criticism from all quarters after a dire midweek defeat to Sheffield United, where he changed the shape of the team to nullify the opposition threat. Although there were some interesting takes by those who didn't seem to fully appreciate the formation, it was clear that it wasn't just the opposition's attacking threat that the manager put the mockers on. And yet, one win seems to redeem all. My personal view on The Gaffer is that, given the injuries in the squad, he's doing as well as could reasonably be expected. Obviously he's made errors, but he's also been handicapped by off field matters. The six-point deduction has made the gap to relegation closer than it ought to be, but the team are clearly good enough to comfortably pull clear over the course of the season and, indeed, have been achieving if Reading had started on minus 6.  So my issue isn't with him, but with th