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Reading City U23s 2-1 Wokingham & Emmbrook Reserves

Reading City had never beaten Wokingham & Emmbrook before going into this game and Deano’s U23s looked to end that in this friendly at Rivers on Thursday evening.

The referee gave a penalty to Wokingham & Emmbrook after just three minutes. Their penalty taker put it to the right but the Reading City goalkeeper guessed correctly and saved it to keep it 0-0.

Seventeen minutes in and Reading City U23s were counter-attacking, a through ball was played for the forward to run onto and he put it away only for the referee to pull it back for offside.

Reading City U23s dominated the first half in terms of possession and chances but couldn’t finish them to give themselves a lead. However, this changed in the 33rd minute when midfielder Bobbie got the ball from the striker who drew two defenders in leaving a gap behind him around the penalty spot where Bobbie received the ball as the striker backheeled it to him and he finished the chance to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.

The lead only lasted a minute though, a long ball out of the Wokingham & Emmbrook Reserves defence led to a race for the ball between their striker and the Reading City U23s goalkeeper but unfortunately for the home side the striker won the race allowing him to put it into an empty net and tie up the game, 1-1.

The game was only tied for three minutes as a Wokingham & Emmbrook defender gave away a penalty after a handball. Captain on the night Kris Tuffour stepped up to take the penalty and calmly put it down the middle to reinstate his sides 1 goal lead, 2-1.

The score remained the same going into half time. The home side was in complete control in the first half with Wokingham & Emmbrook struggling to get on the ball for long enough to create many chances. Reading City could easily have been up by a three or four at half time but if they can start finishing the chances going into the Thames Valley Premier League season they will be a tough side to beat.

The second half was a much more end to end affair but few chances challenged the keepers enough.

The biggest chance for Reading City U23s of the 2nd half came as one of the forwards got past the defence and was in a 1 on 1 with the goalkeeper who came out to shut down the angles and did well to make the save as he tried to keep his side in the game.

There was almost a repeat of Wokingham & Emmbrook’s first goal as there was another race for the ball but this time the Reading City goalkeeper came out on top.

The game ended Reading City U23s 2-1 Wokingham & Emmbrook Reserves which meant that Reading City had their first-ever win over Wokingham & Emmbrook and it was a deserved one. A very strong showing from the home side, if they can continue this form into the season it will be a very positive season.

Reading City 1-0 Burnham

Burnham visited Rivermoor Stadium on their second game back in the Hellenic Premier Division after an opening day defeat to Fairford Town 3-0. Reading looked to continue their good form from the opening day win over Shrivenham with another win here vs Burnham.

It was a much quicker start by Reading City with a header going close from a corner only five minutes after the start. Burnham replied minutes later with a corner of their own saved by Charlie York to deny an early goal for the visitors.

McKoy Palmer showed great pace from a Reading attack right after that corner with a strong run down the left to the byline which forced a corner. The corner was swung in by McKoy but the resulting shot went just wide.

McKoy once again had a strong run to the edge of the box and had a shot which just missed the target. A strong start from the left-winger.

However, Burnham was the side who were having more of the ball and were committing lots of men going forward allowing them to keep the ball in the Reading City half. Although they had lots of possession they struggled to get many shots on goal that Charlie York had to worry about and the defence did a great job of shutting them down. Reading City couldn’t get the ball on the floor and subsequently created very few chances.

Despite the Burnham possession it was Reading City who had the best chance of the game so far as they counter-attacked down the right, a ball was then put into Khalid Simmo who had a shot well saved by Burnham keeper Sam Buntig but the keeper couldn’t hold onto it and Reading City retained possession leading to another shot from midfielder Dan Davies in the same place saved by Buntig again. City should have taken the lead but Buntig did very well to keep his side level.

Five minutes later Burnham was on the attack and the ball was crossed from the right-hand side to Ollie James in the box, Steve Lee was holding him up well before James went down in the box which lead to appeals from both sides for a penalty and a dive respectively. However, referee Simon Weston dismissed the appeals from both sides.

Dan Davies got his second yellow card of the season after a late tackle in the middle of the park on 38 minutes. The free-kick was decisively claimed by Charlie York who came out and caught the ball before anyone else could get on the end of it.

On 40 minutes Burnham had a corner cleared by Reading City, Khalid Simmo got on the ball and it was a 2v2 as Khalid carried it from the edge of the City box to the Burnham box, skipping over challenges from recovering Burnham players on the way. He had an attempt at goal which was blocked by a defender. Nothing came from the corner initially but when the ball was put back into the box Reading City captain Josh Blackwood looked for goal of the season as he attempted a bicycle kick but narrowly missed the ball.

It was only three minutes later though when Blackwood found himself high in Burnham half when he saw the opportunity to dispossess a Burnham player on the edge of their box, he did so allowing him to get into the box and drive a shot across goal past the goalkeeper and into the back of the net to give the home side a lead going into half-time, Reading City 1-0 Burnham.

Reading City started fastest after the break, Khalid Simmo made a run down the right, something we’ve already become accustomed to seeing from the pacy winger, he cut inside but the Burnham defence didn’t allow him to get a shot away.

Another chance fell soon after for City as a clearance by Burnham fell nicely just outside the box for Matt Stockill who hit the ball on the half volley but the shot was deflected wide for a corner.

Khalid Simmo created the first big chance in a while in the 61st minute as he drove down the right again and cut inside drawing the final two Burnham defenders before offloading the ball to Fergus Burton who had his shot charged down quickly by Buntig he couldn’t get to the rebound which he would have likely put in to make it 2-0.

Burnham had their first good chance of the half with just over 20 minutes to go as substitute Duncan Berry had a long-range shot that Charlie York saved well.

McKoy Palmer found himself playing upfront as Fergus Burton was substituted and Yashwa Romeo was only on for 15 minutes before having to come off again injured. Palmer broke on the counter and played the ball to substitute Mo Davies, Davies had a go at goal but the keeper saved it stopping Reading City from increasing their lead.

The last chance of the game came for Matt Stockill, he had the ball just inside the box, his shot was blocked but the keeper wasn’t on his line when the ball dipped due to the block and barely went over the bar.

The game ended Reading City 1-0 Burnham, City deserved the win as they had the best chances and they should have won by a couple more but couldn’t finish their chances.

Man Of The Match was goalscorer and captain Josh Blackwood thanks to his goal and a leading a great defensive performance from the winning side.

Reading City 3-1 Shrivenham

Reading City kicked off their season against Shrivenham yet again this season and were trying to replicate their 5-1 win away against Shrivenham in last seasons opening fixture.

The game kicked off to a scrappy start with both sides looking to get control of the game and there was a lot of possession changes in the middle third. Shrivenham won two free kicks early both on the right hand side, the second of these free kicks came in the 6th minute just outside the box, the ball was whipped into the box by Shrivenham captain Sam Ockwell and the ball was cleared only as far as Antonio Gerrish the Shrivenham striker who put his shot through the crowd and into the back of the net to make it 1-0 to Shrivenham.

A couple of minutes later a long ball out of the defence to Khalid Simmo on the right hand side allowed him to use his pace to create Reading City’s first chance of the game as he crossed it into Dan Davies who couldn’t quite put the finish away. Straight after this Shrivenham had two penalty appeals in a close space of time but Gifford Manyange the referee dismissed the appeals of the players and managers of Shrivenham.

Shrivenham took control of the game and had more of the ball with a notable link between Ryan Stanners and Antonio Gerrish which caused problems for the Reading City defence but captain Josh Blackwood continually stopped their efforts to get forward and create goal scoring opportunities.

Then Reading City started to get more of a foothold into the game and 23 minutes in the tall centre back Steve Lee got on the end of a good corner from Matt Stockill but the header went just wide of the left post. Shortly after Khalid Simmo was unleashed again with a blistering run on the counter and won Reading City a corner which came to nothing but showed yet again how Shrivenham couldn’t seem to stop Khalid when he was going forward.

Going into the latter stages of the first half the game was end to end but with very few chances causing the goalkeepers much harm. The best chance came in the late stages yet again from a Khalid Simmo run in the 44th minute on the counter, he cut into the box but his shot was deflected wide for a goal kick as Yashwa Romeo tried to turn it in.

At half time it was Reading City 0-1 Shrivenham, Shrivenham were the better side in the first half but only slightly as both sides looked good.

The second half was a more hot headed affair. There were a couple of early set pieces for both sides with Shrivenham’s Sam Ockwell putting a free kick just over the bar.

The first big chance of the second half was for Reading City as Jehmeil McNeil had a shot saved by Michael Alexander the Shrivenham keeper as he made himself big. Shortly after this yet another great chance fell for Reading City as Steve Lee, who was up for a free kick, he forced a great save out of Alexander again to put the shot over the bar to keep his side in the lead.

The game was increasing in tempo as Reading were in complete control now thanks to them utilising the wings more which unlocked the pace of Khalid and Jehmeil down the flanks. Khalid was all over Shrivenham and excited the crowd especially as he sat down Shrivenham left back Matty Horsell with some great skills which was followed by a shot which went just wide.

In the 70th minute Shrivenham right back Luke Cordery got a yellow card a couple of yards outside the box. The ball was whipped in and Luke Cordery brought down a Reading City player and the referee awarded the home side a penalty. There were appeals from the crowd for Cordery to get a second yellow card in under a minute. Devonn Reid stepped up to take the penalty and calmly placed it into the bottom left to tie up the game and the momentum swung even more in Reading City’s favour now thanks to this goal which had seemed inevitable since the early stages of the half.

There was a yellow card for substitute Mo Davies after a foul on the halfway line on the 80th minute mark.

Another long ball to Khalid Simmo down the right hand side allowed him to out pace the left back, he then drove into the box cutting inside onto his left foot and drove a shot low into the bottom left hand corner to give Reading City the lead in the 84th minute, Reading City 2-1 Shrivenham.

Only two minutes later Reading City substitute Jerry Fomboua was one on one with Michael Alexander who came out to shut him down, Fomboua attempted the chip shot but the shot had just too much on it and the ball went over the bar.

The game got quite hot-headed as the referee tried to keep control of the game while both sides appealed his decision and called for cards. This forced the ref to give a yellow card to the Shrivenham manager.

Then there was a 5min break in play as Shrivenham left back Matty Horsell was treated for a head injury after he went for a header at the same time as Dan Davies and they collided.

Play got started again and only about a minute later Khalid Simmo broke away down the right hand side with a great run into the box and drove to the byline by the six yard box and cut back inside which lost his defender trying to stop him, he then pulled it back for substitute Mo Davies and he finished it through the traffic to seal the victory for Reading City 3-1.

Man Of The Match was Khalid Simmo who absolutely ran the show, Shrivenham couldn’t stop him.