You know you’re in a complicated, nuanced situation when a 3-2 win against one of your local rivals – in which your striker scores a hat-trick – sends you to within three points of the playoffs with a game in hand on sixth place, and it doesn’t provide unanimous positivity into the fanbase.
Saturday’s win was a very good one, a huge three points, but also an objectively shoddy performance. That on its own is fine once in a while, but those kinds of performances have been the rule rather than the exception
for a little while now.
So, while of course three points was top of the wish list heading into tonight’s game against Bolton Wanderers, an improved performance was expected as much as it was needed.
In his quest to find just that, Leam Richardson made a few changes to his starting line-up: Charlie Savage, Haydon Roberts and Ryan Nyambe replacing Paddy Lane, Andy Yiadom and Kadan Young.
Reading (4-2-3-1): Pereira; Nyambe, O’Connor, Ward, Dorsett; Wing, Fraser; Doyle, Savage, Roberts; Marriott
Subs: Stevens, Yiadom, Burns, Young, Lane, Keane, Ehibhatiomhan
Things didn’t get off to the greatest of starts: Johnny Kenny burst through on goal within the first few minutes, only to be thwarted by Joel Pereira. A quarter of an hour later, things got worse when Roberts was forced off early with an injury.
Lane replaced Roberts, and the Royals were in a more conventional 4-4-1-1 with Jeriel Dorsett moving to left-back, Lane and Kamari Doyle on either flank and Savage the closest to Jack Marriott up top.
By no means was it a tactical masterstroke from Richardson, but we certainly improved. However, neither team could really build any real attacking momentum, and instead relied on isolated moments of promise.
In games that take that kind of pattern, ie “you have a go, then we’ll have a go”, it’s always nice to have a striker as clinical as Marriott, who made it 1-0.
Honestly, the guy is an absolute joke. We’ve had some good strikers in our recent history; Lucas Joao was imperious at his best, Sam Smith a tireless fan favourite. But in terms of that natural goalscoring ability, neither come close to Marriott.
He’s now out on his own at the top of the League One goalscoring charts, further underlining his importance to the team. I mean, imagine how stuffed we’d be if he got injured, just imagine…
Despite a few more hairy moments before half-time, we managed to get into the break ahead thanks to Marriott’s goal.
Half time: 1-0
Going into the second half, you felt we still had to notch it up a couple of gears. Unfortunately, it was the visitors who managed to up the ante a little bit.
By the 70th minute, only 10% of the second half had been played in Bolton’s third, and it took until the 73rd minute for the Royals to register their first shot of the half: a deflected long-range strike from Lewis Wing.
Bolton dominated the ball and had all the territory. But, having said that, they created few, if any, real clear-cut chances. Whether that’s down to our off-the-ball structure or a pretty blunt attacking performance is up for discussion.
Despite the back four being camped on the edge of our box for what seemed like an eternity, it looked as though we were on our way to another really crucial three points. But oh how much can change in a matter of moments.
In a few frantic injury-time minutes, we went from, yes, a performance that again was a bit of an eyesore, but another win and another significant step in the right direction… to another very disappointing evening. One that will raise even more questions rather than answering the ones that already lingered.
Bolton struck in injury time, from a corner, to make it 1-1.
Full time: 1-1
I’m pained to say the football we play under Richardson will never be particularly pleasing on the eye. At its best it will be efficient, aggressive and effective – but from a very structured foundation.
That just seems to be Richardson’s way. He’s trying to create a team that has a solid foundation. It’s designed to, in theory, reduce the amount of absolute horror show performances and, hopefully, create a basis that can be evolved over time. That’s what I’m presuming – or rather hoping – anyway.
You need to lay the foundations of the house before you can buy the trinkets, fridge magnets and bedsheets. I get that.
But that doesn’t make watching this team any less frustrating right now. It’s borderline unforgiveable the lack of attacking intent we showed in that second half. A team with the likes of Wing, Savage, Lane, Doyle, Marriott – and Will Keane and Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan coming off the bench – should be having more than two shots on target over 90 minutes.
Bolton are a good team, of course they are. So why sit back so deep and allow them to have so much of the ball for the entire second half? In hindsight you’re asking to concede an equaliser.
There were positives tonight. I thought as a defensive unit we were a lot better. Bolton were limited to very few chances in the second half and, by the way, if I walked in on Benn Ward with my other half, I’d ask him how he likes his brew. What a player.
But in terms of keeping the ball, relieving pressure, creating chances and being able to stamp our own mark on games, so much improvement is still needed.
Bolton look poised for promotion – so, in isolation, a point is not to be sniffed at. But this isn’t an isolated performance. This is not the exception at the moment, but the rule.
