An astonishing night in the West Midlands saw Reading march into the Sixth Round of the FA Cup for the first time since 1927 courtesy of a 3-2 victory over West Bromwich Albion. In a dramatic game Brian Howard grabbed a late equaliser to force extra time. Gylfi Sigurdsson then scored a wonderful winner to leave Albion feeling absolutely stunned by Reading’s wonderful fight-back.
Reading completed a fourth straight win at the expense of Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park thanks to a Simon Church double and a goal from Jimmy Kebe in a 3-1 over Neil Warnock’s side. Palace who comprehensively tore Reading apart at the Madejski Stadium in December with a 4-2 score line looked a completely different side, but that is only to be expected considering what the Croydon club have been through since the turn of the year.
The afterglow from Reading’s magnificent victory at Anfield lasted precisely three days. Following the glorious 2-1 victory over Liverpool in Wednesday night’s FA Cup third round replay, Reading was pulled firmly back down to Earth by the Championship’s form side Nottingham Forest. The 2-1 victory for the home side left the Royals feeling empty at not being able to capitalise further on their FA Cup exploits. However Forest will readily admit that they owe their victory in no small part to their goalkeeper, Lee Camp, who put in an inspired display.
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.
Coca Cola Championship
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