What was your best Crimbo present? Mine is knowing that I’m not an ‘armchair fan’. Yes, I don’t go away anywhere near as much as I should, but having to watch the last two games ‘virtually’ has left me pining for a return to a stadium.
I genuinely thought this game was on Sky, so popped on my training shirt, filled up my Joel Pereira cup (with water thank you) and settled down like those fans who support big clubs do on a Sunday when they plonk themselves in front of the telly box.
To my absolute horror,
our game was nowhere to be seen among the glamour ties which the powers that be at BSkyB had chosen for the nation’s viewing pleasure. Desperate times, desperate measures. I won’t go into detail but I was able to watch it, in full.
One of the things that literally does my head in about this team currently is the long-ball nonsense. It literally, literally does my head in. If we didn’t have players that could pass the ball, I’d get it, but they are constantly overlooked in the middle because Paudie O’Connor, the full-backs etc just want lob it long. Why? It’s genuinely mindless.
Ironic then that our goal came from a passing move straight out of the pantheon of the gods (or something). A hearty cheer from me sent the sleeping cat beside me into disarray and confusion while the lads on the pitch were anything but.
At that point, you wanted us to push a little more to get a second, or at least threaten to anyway. What followed instead was over an hour of sitting back and inviting the pressure, like a man eating a sandwich around swans.
At half-time I waddled off to the kitchen to fill up my Joel cup (with water, thank you) and to see if there was anything to nibble on as it had been at least 45 minutes since my last eating session. I realised I didn’t need anything and that was a just conforming to that whole “Twixmas” thing which is stupid and made-up.
I slumped back down on the sofa to begin the second half. From the kick-off, I felt instantly stressed and like something bad was going to happen, like in that film Final Destination where everyone is marked for death and you can see it coming but you don’t know when it will happen. In this case, our ‘death’ was conceding and our ‘final destination’ was not winning.
Wonder saves by JP and a few desperate blocks could only last so long as the Posh equalised on the 78th minute. The marking and overall defensive tendencies for the goal were severely lacking and it wasn’t a surprise to anyone that the scoreline had become 1-1.
Having mustered two shots up until this point, it was highly unlikely we’d go on to score another, but there was still a little energy in the team, even thought that couldn’t be converted into a second goal for us.
From a Peterborough point of view, there would have been disappointment if they’d not got a result out of the game. From a Reading perspective, the irritation lies in the fact that we couldn’t add a second (or even remotely push for one).
Seven points from the last three games is a good return and sees us end the year in 10th. Where we will finish at the season’s end is anyone’s guess, but the key is to keep picking up points. The league is very open with most of the middle chunk of teams on a par with each other quality-wise.
We’re going to need a bit more spark in key areas of the pitch if we’re to stick our heads above the parapet and really cause a stir in the league this season. With a New Year ahead and plenty of games yet to come, plus the much-talked-about January window that has yet to open, we could still see some significant movement position-wise. Which way we move however is very much up for debate and prediction.
Have a great New Year and see you in 2026.
Until next time.
