The appetite for the Vertu Trophy, particularly in the games against under-21 teams, is pretty evident when you examine the attendances. The SCL looked pretty arid on Tuesday night, but as Noel Hunt asserted
in the run-up, these games definitely do mean something. Ultimately, it’s another competitive fixture, in a cup where we should really fancy our chances.
After a bitter defeat to Swindon Town a few weeks ago, our Vertu Trophy campaign got the lift-off it needed. But it wasn’t as smooth sailing as it perhaps should’ve been. Here’s how the fans reacted to the key talking points…
Mark O’Mahony
Albeit from the penalty spot, O’Mahony is finally off the mark in Reading colours. It’s a moment he’s been painfully in need of for a long time now, and you could almost see the monumental weight lifting off his shoulders as the ball hit the net.
Despite coming in for more than his fair share of flak so far this season, it seems the fans were delighted for him on Tuesday…
A poor first half
In theory, this should’ve – and I use that word to not slight West Ham’s u21s at all – been a much easier night than it ended up being.
Yes, it was a bit of a hodge-podge of a team, but it was only Jacob Borgnis making his first start, and there was a lot of first-team experience in there in the likes of Kelvin Abrefa, Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan, Michael Stickland, Ben Elliott and Jack Stevens.
We should be seeing more cohesive performances than we are right now, but it’s just not happening…
Conclusion
Naturally there was a lot less fan reaction to collate after this one – a match against an under-21s side in the Vertu New & Used Cars Trophy was never going to draw many eyes.
There will be a large section of the fanbase who think it’s only a cup game; the kids were playing, it doesn’t matter. I get that to a certain extent, but we should still be seeing a lot better at this stage in the season.
Hunt has worked with almost all of the players who were in action on Tuesday pretty extensively now, whether in the under-21s or first team. They should know how he wants to play, and we should be seeing more fluid, cohesive, nuanced performances than we are.
It was a tough watch, and if we serve up something similar against Mansfield Town it won’t be a pretty sight.
