That was the best loss I think we’ve taken in a very long time. To put up a genuine fight, with the referee having a poor performance – disallowing two goals that should have stood – Reading should be proud of themselves.
The Paudie O’Connor overhead kick was a weird one to disallow. The defender pulls out of the header before O’Connor goes near the ball, with nobody else around him, so I think the goal should have stood.
But similarly the goal right at the end for Brentford also should have stood.
I didn’t see anything wrong with it and I’m actually unsure still why it was disallowed, so someone please let me know.
Notts County haven’t played since Saturday, in what was a 1-0 home defeat to Bradford. Nine shots and one on target was definitely their wrongdoing in this one, with County just not taking their chances.
Oliver Cooper is the only one who got a positive rating on FotMob, with a 7.0, which is just the epitome of how they played.
On Saturday September 19, the Select Car Leasing Stadium will be the site of Reading vs Notts County. A 3pm kick-off, with it being 20 degrees, is a beautiful sight for both teams.
It will be Simon Mather who referees this one. He is below average on both yellow cards and fouls.
This will be the first meeting between the two sides in a long time, so I’ll not do a head-to-head for this one.
In this preview I will mention players who have played for both and give predictions for the next five games for the two sides, before I give my own predictions for this match.
Players who have played for both
Here are four players to have appeared for both Reading and Notts County.
Tom Ince played 54 times for Reading, managing 11 goals and six assists between 2021 and 2023, before leaving because his dad departed as manager.
Way before his time at Reading, Ince played eight games for Notts County, scoring two goals and getting one assist.
He is currently appearing for Tranmere Rovers in League Two, after playing Championship football last season.
Darren Caskey played 203 games for Reading, getting 38 goals between 1996 and 2001.
Not long after, in 2002, he signed for Notts County. He played 125 games, scoring 11 goals.
Leroy Lita is a fan-favourite with the Royals, playing 100 times for the club. In his four years he scored 32 goals and got eight assists.
Later on he played six games for County, failing to find the net.
Finally we have Matt Ritchie. He played 29 games for Reading, scoring one goal and getting six assists.
16 years prior, he played 19 games for Notts County, scoring three goals for the club and registering one assist.
He is currently the technical director for Bournemouth, after retiring from football.
The next five games
Not including this match, the next five fixtures for both teams are as follows, including both league and EFL Trophy group-stage games:
Reading
- Wycombe Wanderers (A)
- Bradford City (H)
- MK Dons (A)
- Chelsea under-21s (H)
- Wigan Athletic (A)
Notts County
- Grimsby (H)
- Blackpool (H)
- Peterborough United (A)
- Oxford United (H)
- Nottingham Forest under-21s (H)
For Reading, I predict a minimum of 10 points from these five games. I reckon we beat Wycombe, MK Dons and Wigan, draw with Bradford and lose to Chelsea’s under-21s as they have about 180 players.
For Notts County, I think they can get four points in the next five games. They’ll beat Forest’s under-21s, draw against Peterborough and lose to Grimsby, Blackpool and Oxford.
My predictions
Joel Pereira will be in goal.
Ashqar Ahmed, Paudie O’Connor, Benn Ward and Paddy Lane should be the back line.
Liam Fraser and Andy Rinomhota should be our defensive two.
The attacking three should be Kyreece Lisbie, George Earthy and Daniel Kyerewaa.
I am unsure if Jack Marriott is injured or not, but I would start Jacob Brown if he is unavailable.
Score prediction: 3-0 Royals!
Good luck to those going to the game.
Come on you Royals!
