“As the samba rhythm starts to play, dance with me, make me sway…”
So goes Paddy Lane’s chant. It’s been sung out of optimism more than expectation in the year or so since he joined – the former Portsmouth winger struggling to show us what he’s capable of on a consistent basis.
But tonight, at long last, this was absolutely Lane’s night. It wasn’t just about a single dramatic moment though, like when he netted winners last season over Port Vale or Bradford City. Rather, this was the kind of game that
made you think that a big talent – one with so much potential to offer – may now have truly found his feet.
Would the Lane of last season have sent in that accurate low cross for Jacob Brown to convert for 1-0? Would he have cheekily lobbed Filip Marschall for 2-0? Football often comes down simply to being about confidence, and Lane demonstrated plenty of that throughout this evening’s game.
But this was a pleasingly confident display all round from the Royals, who are now properly up and running for the season, and have a spot in the third round of the League Cup to look forward to. Although penalty shootout success is a victory of sorts, and we’d managed two of those already this season, tonight was Reading’s first proper win.
And what better way to get it than in this kind of style? Three good goals from open play scored, none conceded (for the second match in a row) and a convincing attacking display that bore all the hallmarks of what Leam Richardson was trying to build over the summer: quick, direct and quality wide play.
The goals themselves were great examples of that. The first: a low cross from a winger (Lane setting up Brown). The second: a goal put away by a winger (Lane). The third: a winger putting the ball on a plate for another winger at the back post (Kyreece Lisbie, albeit playing up front in a 3-5-2, passing for Williams).
Not just a good performance then, but everything (as far as I can tell) going to plan. That samba rhythm wasn’t confined just to Lane after all.
Richardson made nine changes from Saturday’s 0-0 draw at AFC Wimbledon, with Joel Pereira and Benn Ward the only survivors. Conor Masterson and George Earthy were given full debuts, while there were also a number of first-team players included on a strong-looking bench.
Reading (4-2-3-1): Pereira; Ahmed, Masterson, Ward, Dorsett; Fraser, Savage; Williams, Earthy, Lane; Brown
Subs: Stevens, Roberts, Wing, Rinomhota, Stokes, Osho, Kyerewaa, Lisbie
First half
After a slightly shaky start in the early moments of the game, when debutant Masterson had to be on his toes, Reading took a 0-1 lead in the ninth minute. Liam Fraser pinged the ball out wide to Lane on the the left, whose low cross to the near post was diverted in by Brown.
The Royals played with confident at this point and looked to push for a second. The pairing down the right of full-back Ashqar Ahmed and winger Williams was a particularly potent-looking one, just as it had been in pre-season at Crawley Town.
A quarter of an hour or so after the opener, Reading doubled their lead. This time a long ball down the left wasn’t dealt with properly by a Stevenage defender, whose loose header dropped for Lane. He still had a fair amount to do to beat the onrushing ‘keeper, but dinked the ball over Marschall and home for 0-2.
There was no other major action in the remainder of a positive half. The Royals generally looked bright in possession and did well enough to restrict a fairly limited attacking effort from the hosts, with Pereira not called into any heroics.
Half time: 0-2
The second 45 was, on the whole, a much more even affair than the first, with the hosts coming fairly close to finding a way back into the game a few times.
That started off pretty early as Stevenage managed to put the Royals’ defence under extended pressure soon after the restart. They even had the ball in the net not long after the interval, tucking it home from a deep free-kick on their left – but thankfully from an offside position.
Around 10 minutes later, more opportunities came Stevenage’s way. Pereira did well to parry a powerful shot from the edge of the area on one occasion, and soon after watched a header (set up by a cross from our right) go wide of the post.
Down the other end though, Reading were carrying a threat going forwards of their own. This was a crucial difference from previous games this season, in which the Royals had looked good in the first half but struggled to maintain offensive consistency in the second.
The first example of that was a smart run in behind from Earthy a few minutes after the restart, getting on the edge of a Brown flicked header before forcing a save at the near post. The summer signing had other opportunities midway through the half – both of them being shots blocked inside the Stevenage area.
Reading seemed to be fading somewhat in the last 20 minutes, with the hosts in the ascendancy. The Royals’ inability to kill the game off earlier in the half perhaps emboldened the home side, who piled more and more pressure on the visitors.
Richardson made his first change in the 81st minute, swapping Earthy off for Lisbie. That also meant a switch to a 3-5-2: Lane slotting in as a left-wing-back as the back four shunted over, with Williams going into midfield and Lisbie partnering Brown up front.
Ward then almost inadvertently helped Stevenage to halve the deficit. A low cross from Stevenage’s left ricocheted off the defender inside the six-yard area, towards goal, but fortunately Pereira was able to block the ball.
Nervy times indeed, but Reading soon killed the game. Brown picked the ball up in space, slipped Lisbie in behind with a cute pass, and his low cross to the back post set up one of the easiest finishes Williams will have in his career. 0-3, job done.
With the match killed off, Richardson made one more change. Lane was given a well deserved standing ovation from a jubilant away end as he was replaced by Daniel Kyerewaa – whose spot in the first team he could well soon take.
Full time: 0-3
So, at the fifth time of asking, Reading finally have a normal-time win in 2026/27. What’s more, we’ve got a mini cup run on our hands, and hopefully we’ll have an exciting draw in the next round to look forward to.
Besides the obvious morale boost of a good performance and comfortable scoreline, Richardson will also be pleased with a few aspects of the Royals’ performance: ruthlessness with chances, more consistent attacking threat across the 90 minutes, quality from out wide, not collapsing after the break, riding out the pressure Stevenage offered, and squad players staking a convincing claim to regular minutes in the league.
All in all then, surely exactly the kind of performance Richardson has been trying to establish in the last few months. The tricky next step: getting Reading to do this regularly in the league.
