Before 2017, all we really had in common with Huddersfield Town was the fact we both played in blue and white. However, since then they’ve probably had more of an effect on our destiny as a club than any other.
Obviously, there was the playoff final. Then it was Huddersfield’s win against Sheffield United that sealed our relegation to League One in 2023. And then on the last day of last season, Leyton Orient beating the Terriers saw us miss out on the top six.
It remains to be seen whether today is
another one of those defining games, but the fact that it’s the Terriers again inflicting the damage is not lost on me.
I am yet to check the Reading FC hashtag on Twitter or the consensus of the fans, but I imagine there may be some synergies being drawn between today and the draw at Port Vale not too long ago.
Yes, Lewis Wing put us ahead with a first-half penalty (won by a foul from the opposition ‘keeper), and yes, we obviously conceded with the last kick of the game. But in my opinion, that’s more or less where the similarities end.
Let’s get the housekeeping out of the way before we dive into the good, bad and the ugly stuff. The midweek suggestions of an injury to Kamari Doyle proved not to be worth our concern, and the Royals were able to name a unchanged lineup from the easy win against Wigan Athletic last time out.
Reading (3-4-2-1 / 4-2-3-1?): Pereira; O’Connor, Dez Williams, Dorsett; Nyambe, Fraser, Wing, Kyerewaa; Savage, Doyle; Ehibhatiomhan
Subs: Stevens, Yiadom, Burns, Roberts, Ritchie, Lane, Keane
I’m going to start the crux of this report at (nearly) the end. For 94 minutes, this was the away performance that Reading have tried to put in so often in recent months, but just executed better.
Without ever really threatening Huddersfield’s goal, in the grand scheme of things we nullified the hosts to very little in the first half – particularly from open play.
Our one moment of real quality resulted in Long Kelvin forcing a save, before Nicholls’ eagerness to charge down the rebound saw him clatter into Charlie Savage in the area. The ‘skipper stepped up and, as if anyone ever doubted him, he despatched with aplomb. 1-0 to the Royals.
The second half was what the second half against Port Vale wanted to be. We showed calmness on the ball, dealt with any kind of pressure the hosts tried to build and just generally looked really comfortable.
One of our few nervy moments came when El Gato pulled off a miraculous double save, but what Reading win is complete without a big moment from the best ‘keeper in the league?
The players also battled the elements admirably. Judging by the trees, corner flags and Pereira’s goal-kicks barely reaching the halfway line in the first half, the wind was a lot more disruptive than it seemed in the stands. And there were numerous fleets of biblical rain, too.
But we got through all of that, and as we neared the end of the game, the glorious Yorkshire sun came out – and a rainbow appeared over the ground. Perhaps a metaphor for the 90 minutes: we’d got through the worst of it, and a rewarding, hopeful end was in sight.
Or perhaps not.
A nothing ball forward late on somehow managed to find its way all the way through to sub Sorensen, who slotted home.
Full time: 1-1
It’s easy to get the stats up and see we had one shot and created 0.02 xG in the second half, and conclude it’s the same old story. I think this game is a little more nuanced than that.
Could we have been more attack-minded and tried to get a second? Could we have done more to put the game well and truly beyond Huddersfield? Of course we could’ve. And there’s always frustration and anger when you don’t do that, and go onto concede late on. Some will argue that we got what we deserved.
But I think the majority of this game showed we didn’t need to do more than we were doing. We looked comfortable, we were defending well, the home fans were getting angsty and we were managing the game nicely.
We were literally seconds away from a very good away performance, and even more important result in the playoff race. One lapse was our downfall today, rather than a prolonged period of negativity and defensive mindedness that we’ve seen so often.
But please do not get me wrong: that brings its own more-than-valid causes for anger and frustration. Because we should all be celebrating a huge win now, one that arguably would’ve put us in the driving seat for the top six, or at the very least given us a huge momentum boost.
We would’ve been looking ahead to Monday’s game against the champions-in-waiting with enthusiasm, hope and positivity. There is still that: the playoff race is by no means over just yet, but an unnecessary, self-inflicted air of negativity will be drifting through the fanbase.
That’s the most frustrating thing: the players had done all the hard work. They hadn’t done it perfectly by any means – I’m not sitting here saying today was fantastic apart from us conceding.
But it definitely should’ve been, and you could argue was, good enough for the three points.
