It was another poor result in my opinion at the weekend, with the Royals failing to capitalise on plenty of chances. A Paddy Lane shock miss was the talking point despite Jack Marriott and Matt Ritchie combining for yet another goal. Seriously, how did he miss?
But it’s now onto the Vertu Cup, where the Royals face MK Dons, who haven’t yet won a game in the competition, losing 5-1 to West Ham United’s under 21s.
Although their cup form isn’t great, their league form has gone pretty well, with the Dons
sitting fifth in League Two. They won their last game 3-2 against an in-form Gillingham side and are favourites to go up.
If the Royals lose to the Dons it could put them out of the competition. All teams would be on three points, with Swindon Town yet to face the Hammers (at home) or MK Dons (away).
The head-to-head record is currently even, with one win each and two draws. Technically it is 2-1 to Reading as they won one of the draws on penalties.
In this preview I will mention players who have played for both sides, give a small analysis of the Mansfield Town game and offer my predictions.
What? Vertu Trophy, group stage, game three
Season? 2025/26
Who? MK Dons
Where? Select Car Leasing Stadium
When? Tuesday October 7
Time? 19:00
Opposition manager? Paul Warne
Players who have appeared for both
There are 16 players who have played for both Reading and MK Dons. Here are four of them:
Sam Baldock played 75 games for the Royals, scoring 12 goals and getting 15 assists between 2018 and 2020. However, it was the MK Dons youth academy where he started his career. Making 99 appearances in five years, he went on to score 33 goals and get six assists.
Tom Carroll is the latest of these players to appear for Reading, making nine appearances last season for the Royals. He failed to get a goal contribution and actually played less than a full game of football while at the club (74 minutes).
In the same season he played 15 times for MK Dons, managing two assists.
Simon Church is up next. He played 104 games for Reading, managing 22 goals and two assists. He later played 22 games for the Dons, managing two goals and one assist.
Finally, it’s current Dons player Liam Kelly. The Reading academy star played 96 games for the club and found himself with nine goals and eight assists from the centre of midfield.
He currently has 49 appearances for MK Dons and could make his 50th appearance for them – against the club where he started it all. He has one goal and five assists for the club.
Mansfield analysis
Reading seemed to be all over Mansfield, having 60% possession and 16 shots to their 14. However, stats don’t mean everything. A lot of Reading’s efforts were from outside the box (11), mostly by Marriott and Lewis Wing, and only three were on target.
Paddy Lane’s miss was appalling. All he needed to do was put it on target and it goes in. Yet somehow, he misses the goal from five yards out. I think that shot sums up Reading’s performance.
I don’t even think we were good defensively in the game. Mansfield were on us so much that we made 28 clearances; every attack they had seemed to end with us booting the ball to the halfway line. We are very lucky Marriott is in the form of his life, scoring five in five now.
If we play how we did in that game for the rest of the season I see us having more chance of being in a relegation battle than I do us being in the top half.
My lineup
In goal will be Jack Stevens.
The back four will be Ashqar Ahmed, Michael Stickland, Jeriel Dorsett and John Ryan.
The midfield three will be Tivonge Rushesha, Shay Spencer and Kamari Doyle.
The attack will be Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan, Jeremiah Okine-Peters and Matt Ritchie.
Score prediction: 1-0 Royals
Good luck to those going to the game.
Come on you Royals!
