After nearly eleven months of trying, Reading finally got a victory at the Madejski Stadium. Like a man crawling through a desert, an oasis finally displayed itself and it did not turn out to be a mirage. Blackpool lost 2-1 thanks to goals from Gylfi Sigurdsson and Grzegorz Raisak. The result was greeted with the kind of jubilation normally reserved for Cup Final winning celebrations and Championship victories. After the drought suffered by Reading’s fans, they can’t be blamed for drinking in such a significant result with such gusto.
Reading’s horrible run without a home victory will now go into November as Reading lost 1-0 at home to Leicester City. Reading played well during the first half, however the killer blow was struck in the final moments of the first period when Martyn Waghorn grabbed the only goal of the game. Reading’s defeat leaves the Royals third from bottom of the Championship table and without a home win in 16 games in a sequence stretching back to late January.
As Reading searched for the first home league win since January, Watford rolled into town with a touch of mischief on their minds. The Hornets and their supporters had plenty of thoughts on Reading’s new manager Brendan Rodgers, who had left Watford in the summer to move to the Madejski Stadium. The visitors thwarted Rodgers’ men in their attempt to get a home win. Instead Reading had to settle for another draw. Grzegorz Rasiak put Reading ahead, but an equaliser from Danny Graham, left Reading still waiting for a home win.
A last minute own goal by Alex Pearce denied Reading a decent 2-0 win in their final pre-season against Premier League Chelsea. Brendan Rodgers, who had a stint as a coach at Chelsea, made his debut as Reading's manager facing his former employers from Stamford Bridge. However, Chelsea laden down with stars and also welcoming a new manager in the shape of the Italian, Carlo Ancelotti, managed to leave Berkshire with a draw after being behind for long spells in the game.
One of most anticipated events of the close season - the release of the new season fixture list! Reading were handed a home start to the 2009/2010 Coca Cola Championship season against Nottingham Forest.
Coca Cola Championship
13/03/2010
Coca Cola Championship
16/03/2010
Coca Cola Championship
27/03/2010
Coca Cola Championship
05/04/2010
Coca Cola Championship
13/04/2010
