Although Leam Richardson quite eye-openingly stated that last weekend’s Carlisle United crumble was more or less what he expected, it definitely wasn’t the start he would’ve wanted.
Tonight we all wanted
to see a reaction, of course, but in the same breath the players, and Richardson, needed to be proactive. We were, and still are, a fanbase in need of some optimism to cling onto; it’s for the new man in charge and his players to provide that.
Stevenage were the visitors, a team Richardson epitomised neatly in his pre-match interview as a team ‘comfortable in their own skin’, and fortunately we had some key players back in the XI for the contest.
Reading (4-2-3-1): Pereira; Abrefa, O’Connor, D Williams, Dorsett; Wing, Savage; Lane, Doyle, Kyerewaa; Ehibhatiomhan
Subs: Stevens, Yiadom, Stickland, Garcia, Ritchie, R Williams, O’Mahony
If it was as cold in Reading tonight as it was in Prague, where I watched from, the faithful inside the SCL bowl would’ve needed warming up. Fortunately for those who didn’t get chance to grab a pre-match Bovril, Charlie Savage was on hand to place a cracker in the top corner a matter of minutes into the game. 1-0.
It topped off a really bright start for the Royals, and we managed to carry that momentum throughout the first half.
I don’t think the tactical identity under Richardson will be a million miles away from what Noel Hunt was trying to do, but the first half showed – hopefully – what the real differences will be. Off the ball the press was intense without being frantic, and on the ball we showed aggression and intent with a slight, but by no means insignificant, sprinkling of calmness.
Everything was done with that little bit extra knowhow you’d expect a more experienced manager like Richardson to bring.
We’d made a usually very effective Stevenage side look the exact opposite, and could’ve added to our own lead with Daniel Kyerewaa and Jeriel Dorsett missing chances (the former’s being particularly gilt-edged).
The only thing that could’ve soured the mood would’ve been something like, oh I don’t know, one of our players being mistakenly sent off right before half-time.
Luckily, after a quick chat with the lino the ref reversed Dorsett’s second yellow and instead gave a first to Kyerewaa. Whether that was actually the right decision or not is another debate.
But that was that for the opening 45. And it was a very good one.
Half-time: 1-0
One man in particular epitomised everything that was right in the first half, and that was Kelvin Abrefa. He was full of energy going forward, showed real class on the ball and had Chem Campbell in his pocket. So, I’m presuming he only thought it was fair to give Stevenage a chance by putting a back pass perfectly into the path of Ahadme just after the break.
All jokes aside, it was a total lapse of concentration that should’ve been punished. Fortunately, the striker cannoned his strike off the bar, and Abrefa’s blushes were spared.
I think it’s worth mentioning that this one mistake shouldn’t cloud what was Abrefa’s best game in a Reading shirt. He was immense tonight – seriously impressive.
The second half was not the high-intensity, authoritative 45 minutes of football the first was – but that’s to be expected I suppose. A) Stevenage were always going to improve after the break, B) we are still a team with a lot of cracks that need to be fixed.
It was a much more disjointed attacking performance – a word we’ve become very familiar with so far this season. We didn’t manage to get Doyle on the ball as much as in the first half, and Lane and Kyerewaa looked a lot leggier than they did at the beginning of the game.
However, we still managed to hold firm defensively. That was until Kemp rifled a shot low and hard towards the bottom corner, just before another effort was fizzed towards the top one. Luckily for us we’ve got Joel Pereira.
Stevens is a decent enough number two, but Pereira is in a different league – not just to Stevens, but to most ‘keepers in this division, and most that have donned the Reading shirt in recent times.
Full-time: 1-0
It wasn’t just Pereira though, the entire defence impressed both as a unit and individually. It’s becoming quickly evident just how good Paudie O’Connor is, Derrick Williams continues to make his case for signing of the season, the aforementioned Abrefa was superb, and it was the best full 90 I can remember Dorsett putting in.
Richardson has already spoken at length about the need to make this team look less like the ingredients on the table and more like the final dish (not his exact words, granted, but I like the analogy and you get my gist). One swallow does not make a summer, but we definitely saw clear signs of that this evening.
Richardson’s reward for tonight is what he’s probably desperate for most right now: some more solid time on the training pitch. That’s at least nine days, but maybe more depending on whether the Wigan Athletic game gets postponed.
Tonight was a really good night, but the task now is to make sure this isn’t just a new manager bounce, but the run up to a big leap up the table.
