There was a noticeably more positive and confident mood amoungst the home fans today than in recent games, which mirrored a much improved attitude within this radically changed Reading team. Up against very strong Villa side with realistic promotion ambitions, the Royals played with a conviction and belief which has been frequently lacking this season. There was no evidence of the weakness which surfaced again earlier in the week when two points were dropped as the defence leaked a stoppage time equaliser to fellow strugglers Bolton.
After an evenly contested first half in which Reading had more possession, Villa launched a sustained assault on the home side immediately after half time. Reading dug in stubbornly to keep Villa at bay, and only in the final phase of the game did they eventually begin to threaten their opponent's goal. Only five attempts on target (three from Villa and two from Reading) were registered in the entire game, although it was far from a dull goalless draw. Read More...
Reading Work Hard For Point
From the Discussion
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UR URZZZZ 2 Feb 2019 · 6:05pm
Disappointed to be honest, they were there for the taking, we wouldn't have scored if we played till tomorrow Martinez 7 - great save of Abraham and looks comfortable with the ball at his feet Yiadom 6 - did OK Moore 7 - as said before, very good at the back but so slow on the ball Miazga 8 - promising early signs, looks like a better Ilori to me, but appreciate it's early days Blackett 8 - MOTM, played a few decent balls into the box/into the forward line, and defended very well Rino 7 - few sloppy passes aside, very good again, class above the midfield Swift 4 - poor Ejaria 3 - a Sone Aluko 17/18 performance, drifted inside and…
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PI PieEater 2 Feb 2019 · 6:13pm
That's a good point against a decent Villa side. Martinez look like a really good keeper. My only beef is Baker taking that free kick. wtf?
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WI windermereROYAL 2 Feb 2019 · 6:16pm
Ejaria 3 - You were not at the game.
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HO Hound 2 Feb 2019 · 6:23pm
Swift was decent as well. Not brilliant but certainly not a 4. Worked hard and played some nice stuff Played a lot better than Rino on this occasion imo
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UR URZZZZ 2 Feb 2019 · 6:25pm
Ejaria 3 - You were not at the game. Tbf a lot of people put Ejaria as MOTM, I just didn't see it TBH, we created nothing from out wide, he kept drifting inside and kept running the ball into them. However, I did get him and Blackett confused a lot so maybe that explains the high rating for Blackett and the low rating for Ejaria
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RD Rea Ding 2 Feb 2019 · 6:27pm
Missed opportunity imo, another game closer to the end with us still being in the Relo zone. Having said that we are playing better and no one had a shocker today. Decent game for a 0-0. Villa won’t get playoffs
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ST Schmeichel the dog 2 Feb 2019 · 6:36pm
Ejaria 3 - You were not at the game. Thought Ejaria had a very decent game, along with the keeper (who won us the point) and Miazga who was solid and calm. Slight disappointments for me were Yiadom, who was not at his usual level, Baker who obviously has talent but was too casual at times today and Harriet who couldn’t impose himself. Honourable mentions for Moore, Oliveira, rinomhota and Blackett. Swift was Swift. I’d have taken a point before the game so not disappointed. We’ve stopped the rot and are playing more attractive football. But we do need to start turning draws into wins soon. Rotherham game is massive.........
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ST Schmeichel the dog 2 Feb 2019 · 6:36pm
Ejaria 3 - You were not at the game. Thought Ejaria had a very decent game, along with the keeper (who won us the point) and Miazga who was solid and calm. Slight disappointments for me were Yiadom, who was not at his usual level, Baker who obviously has talent but was too casual at times today and Harriet who couldn’t impose himself. Honourable mentions for Moore, Oliveira, rinomhota and Blackett. Swift was Swift. I’d have taken a point before the game so not disappointed. We’ve stopped the rot and are playing more attractive football. But we do need to start turning draws into wins soon. Rotherham game is massive.........