A second half hat trick from Aston Villa’s Norwegian striker John Carew put paid to Reading’s dreams of a Wembley Semi Final. Reading had raced into a 2-0 lead thanks to a Shane Long brace, but Martin O’Neill’s men showed great strength of character and resilience to storm back with four second half goals. The disappointment around the Madejski Stadium was tangible at the finish of the match, but the pride emanating from the home sections was also felt.
Reading celebrated their third successive league victory with a 2-1 win over Plymouth Argyle thanks to an injury time penalty kick from Shane Long. Ice cool Long picked up his second goal of the game having given Reading the lead in the 51st minute. With four goals in the last three games, the Irish striker looks to have caught fire at precisely the right time as Reading bid to pull away from the Championship drop zone.
In a week when Brian McDermott was handed the permanent position of Reading manager it seemed somewhat ironic that McDermott’s first game without the word caretaker in his job title should be against Barnsley. The last time the two clubs met in late August, Reading triumphed 3-1 at Oakwell with mass demonstrations by Barnsley fans taking place after the match leading to the subsequent removal of Simon Davey from the Barnsley manager’s chair.
After a recent run of decent results including Reading’s first home win since January, a gloomy afternoon in the East Midlands, ended in a gloomy result for the Royals. Having took the lead in the match Reading was pegged back by the home side who ended up winning the game 2-1. Insult and injury were not far behind. Reading midfielder Brian Howard had to leave the field with a suspected broken jaw, while Shane Long was shown a red card late in the second half to leave Reading down to ten men.
A wonderful pair of headed goals from Shane Long gave Reading a vital away victory against Norwich City in deepest East Anglia. Long popped up in the 68th minute to fire Reading into the lead and then sealed the points ten minutes later with a well headed second goal. The match had huge significance for the home side with Norwich now staring relegation firmly in the face. As for Reading, the win means that if results go their way this Sunday, a swift return to the Premier League will be their reward.
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