1.50 - Reading FC

CAPITAL ONE CUP, ROUND ONE
TUESDAY 12th AUGUST 2014 • 8pm Kick Off
the
READING vs NEWPORT COUNTY
£1.50
NIGEL ADKINS
NIGEL
ADKINS
Welcome back to Madejski Stadium for tonight’s first round Capital One
Cup game.
I’d like to start by welcoming Justin Edinburgh and his Newport County
side to this evening’s match, I know it will be a challenging fixture and we
will treat the game with the utmost respect.
Going forward, I’m really excited. It’s been well documented that the
ownership situation is closer to completion and, on top of that, we had the
players’ excellent performance up at Wigan on Saturday, when everybody
worked really hard and we were the dominant side, especially in the
second half.
Everyone stepped up to the mark and the team spirit was there for all to
see, as well as the quality of football. As an example, Shaun Cummings’
goal was an excellent team move that started at the back, and ended
with a full back getting forward to score a very good goal. Throughout the
group, the desire to keep improving and the work rate has been evident all
the way through pre-season.
Out of our 18-man squad on Saturday, 10 of them came through our
Academy system. And of those, two made their full league debuts for us Jake Taylor, who has been with us since the age of 8, and Ryan Edwards
as well. That was really pleasing to see.
We also really appreciated the efforts made by our travelling support who
made their way up the M6; I know it took many of you six or seven hours
due to the traffic, so thank you for the support and long may it continue!
Last but not least, I’m delighted we’ve been able to be active in the
transfer market, and in the last week we’ve brought players in, with Jamie
Mackie, Simon Cox and Anton Ferdinand joining our group of honest,
hard-working players. We all share the same ambition to be successful in
the long term.
I know tonight’s game will be a challenging one but it’s one we have been
very much looking forward to and we’re pleased to be back at Madejski
Stadium again.
Enjoy the game,
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Nigel Adkins will speak with supporters at a STAR Fans Forum at
Madejski Stadium on Thursday 4th September, 8pm. The event is open
to all STAR members, and STAR membership benefits also include 10%
off in the Megastore, away coach travel, ten Royalty Points and more
besides. See www.star-reading.org for details.
3
ANTHON FOUND THE RIGHT
CAPITAL ONE CARDS WITH
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In February 1989, Newport County went out of business. In June 1989, the
club was reformed by 400 supporters and started again from scratch, four
levels below the Football League. In July 1989, Chris Gunter was born in
Newport. 25 years later, the Royals’ right-back will meet his hometown club
for the first time tonight.
Newport is where I was born and where my family live. I joined Cardiff when I
was seven and a half, so Cardiff became my club really. Newport were barely
even on the footballing ladder at that time, but it has been brilliant to see
them bounce back so strong. I know they’re getting some really good crowds
down there and they had a really good season last year back in the Football
League. As they’ve come up the divisions, a few of my mates have been to
watch them and some of them will be here tonight as Newport fans now. But
come the final whistle, I hope they won’t have too much to smile about!
When you play a team a couple of leagues below you, at home, naturally
you’re expected to win. But these are really tough ties. They’re coming to a
Championship club to play at a very nice stadium and they’ll be really excited
for this one. It won’t be easy coming up against a team with nothing to lose.
We need to make sure we’re not the upset of the round; there are always
one or two upsets in the first few rounds of this competition and I think
Newport went to Brighton last year and won - so they’ll be thinking they can
do the same here. We have to be on our guard.
It would be a good thing for us to have a cup run this year, especially after
last year’s disappointing result and the manner in which we went out at
Peterborough. The league will be our priority of course, but it is good to
progress in this competition as well. This is the first of three home games,
with Ipswich and Huddersfield both coming up this week, and if we can get
off to a good start at home it will be really important for us. Winning games
of football, whoever it is against, in whatever competition, breeds confidence.
And we’re due a good cup run.
CHRIS GUNTER
CHRIS
GUNTER:
There is a real confidence around the sport back home at the moment.
It’s great to see Swansea establish themselves in the Premier League and
Cardiff were up there last season – it can only be good for Welsh players,
who are getting more of an opportunity to play in the top league, week in
week out. And now Newport being back in the League as well - the higher
the standard of the Welsh teams, the better it is for the game in Wales.
There is a real confidence around the sport back home right now. With
Wales, we’re just about to start our qualifying campaign and although there
is optimism whenever youu start the qualifying process, there is something
different about this one. As players, you always think you can progress, but
there is a real belief inside and most importantly outside the camp with the
supporters this time.
More teams are going to qualify for this tournament and we are confident
seeing the group we have been drawn in. But it’s not going to be easy.
We play Andorra away first up and then we have two home games - and
if we can get off to a good start, this will be as good a chance as we’ve
had for a long time. In the past, we always seem to be playing catch-up
after a poor start, but with a bit of momentum we certainly have a great
chance. If we finish third, we know we will go into a play-off game and
we’d like to think that we can be the third best team in this group and give
ourselves the opportunity of getting to France. For the nation of Wales and
for football back home, that would be unbelievable. It would give everyone
a massive boost and it could make for a really good summer in a couple
of years’ time. We’re all aware of how long it’s been since Wales played in
a major tournament and we’ve had some real lows over the last 15 or 20
years, we’ve not given the fans much to sing about. But I want to be part
of the squad that achieves qualification. For Wales it would be huge.
PROUD SPONSORS OF THE CAPITAL ONE CUP.
® A registered mark of Capital One (Europe) plc. Registered Office: Trent House, Station Street, Nottingham, NG2 3HX. Registered in England and Wales. Company Number: 3879023. Authorised and
Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
5
The Welsh have only qualified for a major international tournament once
in their history – the FIFA World Cup Finals in Sweden in 1958. And they
only got there by the skin of their teeth. Led by Jimmy Murphy, Wales
won two and lost two in qualification, finishing second in a group of three
teams despite a comprehensive 4-1 win over East Germany in Cardiff.
Czechoslovakia topped the group though and were the team on their way
to the Finals…only for Wales to be handed a reprieve.
A FULL
HOUSE
<U
SSR goalkeeper Lev Yashin
pushes the ball away from
England’s Johnny Haynes
Sudan refused to play against Israel in a play-off game for political
reasons, so Israel were set to qualify automatically, before FIFA stepped in
and ruled that they had to face someone to achieve qualification. Belgium
refused to take them on, but Wales duly obliged and promptly beat the
Israelis 2-0, home and away, to seal their spot in the World Cup!
Given the lifeline they needed, Wales took full advantage. Drawn in Group
3, the Welsh would take on hosts Sweden, Hungary and Mexico initially.
‘Initially’ because against all the odds, they progressed…undefeated!
John Charles earned a 1-1 draw with Hungary in Sandviken before Ivor
Allchurch did the same against Mexico – the Welsh were only denied a win
by an 89th minute equaliser from Jaime Belmonte in Solna in fact. Then,
after a goalless affair against Sweden, Wales came from behind to beat
Hungary in a play-off match and sealed their place in the quarter-finals!
There, they met the might of Brazil in Gothenburg on 19th June 1958.
Wales were without their injured hero Charles and a man by the name
of Edson Arantes do Nascimento, aka Pele, scored the only goal in the
66th minute – his first international goal sealing victory for the eventual
champions! He scored a hat-trick against France in the semi-finals and
then twice more to beat the home nation in the final that year. Wales had
done their country very, very proud.
WALES
WHEN THE VALLEYS
LAST SUNG…
Ya’acov Chodorov, the Israel goalkeeper, punches clear from Ron Hewitt, the
Welsh inside right, during the 1958 World Cup play-off second leg at Ninian Park.
It was in this tournament that
England, Scotland, Wales and
Northern Ireland all qualified for the
same tournament - the first and only
time that has ever happened! And of
the home nations, Wales fared best.
England bowed out in the group
stages, drawing all three games
against Brazil, the Soviet Union and
Austria but losing their play-off by a
single goal. Scotland were narrowly
beaten by Paraguay and France
after holding Yugoslavia to a draw
in the opening game. And Northern
Ireland qualified ahead of Argentina
and Czechoslovakia, only to lose
4-0 to Just Fontaine’s France in the
last eight.
Ivor Allchurch fires in a shot against Mexico
EURO SO CLOSE
Mel Hopkins, John Charles and goalkeeper Jack Kelsey clear the ball as Sweden attack in the final group game
CAPITAL ONE CUP – ROUND ONE
Mexico captain Antonio Carbajal shakes hands with Wales captain Dave Bowen
In 1976, Wales ‘sort of’ qualified for the European
Championships. The Welsh progressed from their group as table
toppers, winning five and losing just once to come out on top
of Hungary, Austria and Luxembourg and reach a two-legged
quarter-final, played home and away, against Yugoslavia. A 1-1
draw in Cardiff (pictured) wasn’t enough to overturn a 2-0 defeat
in Zagreb and Wales narrowly missed out on a place in the fourteam tournament, held in Yugoslavia across four days that year.
7
UEFA
Euro 2016
qualifying
Group B
Wales will not have it easy. Group B is one of only three
groups that contain two teams who took part in this
summer’s World Cup Finals tournament in Brazil; the
Welsh will face Bosnia and Belgium while the other two
groups that include multiple World Cup qualifiers are E
(England and Switzerland) and H (Italy and Croatia). But
the draw in Nice last February was never going to be
too kind on 34th ranked nation Wales, considering their
place alongside Armenia, Finland and Estonia in Pot 4
when the groups were selected.
But there is no longer the necessity to top the group.
With 23 teams joining hosts France in the European
Championships in two years’ time, not only the group
winners but also each group’s runner-up will qualify,
along with the very best third-placed team. And then,
even if the Welsh can only finish third, the eight
remaining third-placed teams will contest two-legged
play-offs to determine the last four qualifiers!
It all starts in the Estadi Comunal, Andorra la Vella,
on Tuesday 9th September, when Chris Coleman’s
side travel to Andorra for the first time in international
football history. Andorra have only ever won three
international matches – beating Albania, Belarus and
Macedonia before now. The following month, Cardiff
will host what could be a crunch tie against Bosnia, who
earned three World Cup points when they beat Iran 3-1
in Salvador at the end of their ultimately unsuccessful
Group F campaign. Edin Dzeko scored in that victory
and also notched when he visited Madejski Stadium with
COUNTY
CONNECTIONS
94 years ago, the Football League expanded.
The Southern League clubs formed the brand new Third Division and
when the fixtures for those new Football League members took place on
28th August that summer, Reading were drawn away to Newport on the
opening day!
Thanks to historian Alan Sedunary, ‘The Royal’ can tell you all about
that historic encounter, our very first Football League match back in
1920, as well as a number of other connections we have made with
tonight’s visitors…
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
Belgium
The team which represented the club at the start of its first season in the Football
League.
Israel
Wales
Cyprus
Andorra
DOUBLE DISASTER
Fans of both Reading and Newport will be hoping to avoid a repeat
of the only other League Cup meeting between the two clubs. Drawn
together in the first round of the 1970-71 competition, the two sides
met at a muddy Somerton Park on 19th August 1970 and it was the
Fourth Division side who took the lead when Willie Brown netted after
21 minutes. However, the turning point came two minutes before halftime when a sickening clash of heads saw County’s Jeff Thomas and
our right back Will Dixon leave the pitch with blood streaming from both
players. County replaced Thomas at half time but Reading decided to
continue to try to patch up Dixon. With an extra man at the restart, the
home side attacked Reading and on 50 minutes they doubled their lead,
ironically through substitute George Young. Reading immediately brought
on Dennis G Butler for the unrepairable Dixon but it was too late and
although Les Chappell netted a late consolation it was Newport who
went into the second round draw. That was as good as it got for Newport
as they struggled to find another win and it was not until 15th January
that they tasted victory again, a run of 25 League games without a win,
a record from the start of the season. Including cup games, County’s
win over Reading was their only success in their first 28 games. Reading
fared no better, ending our centenary season by being relegated to the
Fourth Division for the first time in our history.
Newport line-up: M
acey; Williams, Ferguson, Coldrick, Wood, Mabbutt,
Hooper, Smith, Brown, Thomas (Young), White.
Reading line-up: Death; Dixon (D G Butler), D M Butler, Bell, Sharpe, B
Wagstaff, Cummimg, Chappell, Habbin, T Wagstaff, Williams
RECORD BREAKING ROYALS
In contrast, our visit to Newport on 12th October1985 was a day of
very happy memories. The 1985-86 season had started with football
at its lowest ebb after the disasters at Bradford and Heysel but for
Reading it was a time of unprecedented success. An opening day win
CAPITAL ONE CUP – ROUND ONE
over Blackpool set the trend as Ian Branfoot’s team just could not stop
winning. By the time Reading travelled to Newport for our twelfth game
of the season we had won all previous 11 Third Division fixtures and so
had equalled Tottenham’s 25-year record for a winning start to a League
season. An estimated 4,000 Reading fans travelled down the M4 in
the hope of seeing history being made and they were not disappointed.
Some tough tackling from the home side kept Reading at bay for a while
but on 19 minutes Stuart Beavon fired the Royals into the lead from an
Andy Rogers corner and we were on our way. Newport still made it a
difficult game for Reading but on 66 minutes a Kevin Bremner header
made the points and the record certain. At the final whistle the players
and fans celebrated together, scenes that were shown on national
television – rare footage of a League ground as no football was televised
that season due to a dispute between the League and the broadcasters!
IN THE BEGINNING
Fellow Welsh Royal Jake Taylor played a full part in a 4-0
under-21 win over Andorra at the Racecourse Ground in
Wrexham back in February 2012.
Manchester City in May 2013, so Chris Gunter and Hal
Robson-Kanu (who both started in that 2-0 defeat) will
know all about his abilities. Cyprus follow three days
later before a trip to Brussels in Belgium is scheduled
for mid-November; the World Cup quarter-finalists will
provide the sternest test, but the Royals pair earned a
1-1 draw away to the Belgians in qualification for the
World Cup last year, so there is scope for optimism.
Israel make up the qualification group and perhaps pose
the greatest threat to Wales’ hopes of at least securing
third spot.
HISTORY
THE HURDLES
IN WALES’ WAY
As mentioned in the subtitle to this article, that was not the first time
that Somerton Park had been the scene of a piece of Reading history.
In 1920, the Football League was finally extended to three divisions with
the Southern League clubs forming the new Third Division. The historic
Football League fixtures for those new clubs took place on 28th August
1920 and Reading’s first game was to be away to Newport. The teams
lined up in brilliant sunshine and although Reading were without Charlie
Harbridge - away with the British Olympic squad in Antwerp - we started
brightly. Gradually Newport gained ascendency but just as it looked as
if the home side’s pressure would lead to a goal, Reading scored. Len
Andrews beat his defender on the left wing and sent over an inch-perfect
cross for Joe Bailey to ‘guide delicately out of Cooper’s reach’
for Reading’s very first Football League goal.
The remaining 70 minutes
were dominated
by County as the
home side pressed
for an equaliser but
Reading’s defence,
with keeper
Syd Crawford
outstanding, held
firm for our first
victory in the new
League.
ALL
CHANGE
Player-exchange deals are quite rare nowadays but back in the 1980s
they were commonplace, although there was nothing common in
the transfer that saw Linden Jones move from Newport to Cardiff in
September 1983. Although no cash was involved, the deal saw four
players move from Ninian Park to Somerton Park in a unique five-man
deal. Linden, of course, subsequently joined Reading (for money!) and
wrote himself into our history books by scoring the first goal of our
memorable 1988 Simod Cup campaign. By coincidence, two of the
players who moved to Newport as part of the exchange deal were Karl
Elsey and Nigel Vaughan, both of whom later played for Reading as
well. And to prove that player exchange deals were all the rage in those
days, when Karl joined Reading from Gillingham, he did so in exchange
for Jerry Williams while Nigel’s loan spell at Elm Park saw Dean Horrix
move to Cardiff in his place. While on loan at Reading, Nigel scored one
goal in five games, a header against Sheffield United despite the fact
that the 5’5” midfielder was the smallest player on the pitch. Two players
rather more renowned for their heading ability were Pat Terry and George
Harris, two Reading favourites in the 1960s who both made their names
early in their careers at Newport.
9
NEWS
THE ROYAL
BULLETIN
NEW FACES
The Royals added two new faces to their squad at the end of last week,
making a double strike swoop to bring two players from Nottingham Forest
to Madejski Stadium. On Friday afternoon, Jamie Mackie agreed a seasonlong loan deal but he did not travel to the DW Stadium at the weekend due
to a minor hamstring injury which is set to keep the forward sidelined for
about a week. And he followed Simon Cox through the doors, the former
Royals Academy product putting pen to paper on a two-year transfer back
to his hometown club.
“I’m very lucky to have played once for this football club and signing
the second time feels just as good,” Cox told Reading FC Player after
completing his move. “I still know a lot of the players here so bedding in
shouldn’t be too hard for me! I’m delighted to be here and I can’t wait
to get started again.” “This is a great opportunity for me,” Mackie said.
“Speaking to the manager, I know this club have a lot of really good, young
players breaking through into the first team and it feels great to be part of
that. If myself and Coxy can add a bit of guile and experience to the group
then that will be important this season. I’m excited to get going.” And,
as this programme went to print, the club also announced the arrival of
defender Anton Ferdinand, who awaits international clearance before he
can make his Reading bow.
COLLECTING FOR KENYA
During our first home league fixture against Ipswich Town on Saturday,
Reading Football Club and Community Trust staff will be hosting a bucket
collection outside the stadium before kick-off to raise additional funds for
our ‘Caring For Kenya’ project which is set to begin next month. Local
grassroots football team, South Reading FC Under-13s, will be lending
a hand too as the group are only a few thousand pounds away from
collecting their target figure of £30,790.
A group representing the Royals are set to travel to Nairobi in September
to work on a fantastic community project in south-east Africa, which will
see volunteers undertake building work at a school in the area, whilst also
coaching football and teaching the local community out there. We would
like to thanks Bethany Reilly who, as one of the six school children that
completed the Green Park Challenge in aid of Caring for Kenya, also
helped to organise a non-uniform day at the Oxford Road Community
School to raise additional funds.
BE A STAR
MEMBER
FRAN-TASTIC DEBUT
STAR membership for 2014-15 is
now available at £10 for adults, £5 for
concessions (same prices as ten years
ago!). Membership benefits include
access to away travel coaches, access
to Fans Forums and to the Jazz Café
on match days, a 10% off voucher to
spend at the Megastore and 10 Royalty
Points added to your account. You
can join at the STAR Base behind the
East Stand on matchdays or online at
www.star-reading.org. The STAR AGM
and first Fans Forum of the season
with Nigel Adkins is on Thursday 4th
September at 8pm in the Princess
Suite at the Millennium Madejski Hotel.
This is a members-only event
Reading FC Women’s star striker Fran Kirby completed a dream
international debut with a goal at the start of the month, scoring the
second in a 4-0 win over Sweden on her England bow. Kirby impressed
throughout the fixture against a Swedish side who have long been one of
the leading forces in the women’s game - and the ‘player of the match’
could have had more if it were not for some exceptional goalkeeping from
Swedish stopper Hedvig Lindahl in Hartlepool. The Three Lions are now
set to take on Wales in a World Cup qualifier next week.
LIGHTS OUT
The Royals paid their respects last week to mark
the 100th anniversary of Britain’s involvement
in the First World War. The Biscuitmen lost
many of their brightest stars as a result of the
conflict and Reading Football Club took part in
the British Legion’s ‘Lights Out’ campaign - with
everyone in the UK encouraged to turn off their
lights between 10pm and 11pm on 4th August
2014 – leaving only a single light or candle for
this symbolic act of reflection and hope.
k @football_league
f facebook.com/footballleague
www.football-league.co.uk
11
NEWPORT COUNTY
NEWPORT
County
THE BOSS:
AN EDINBURGH
FESTIVAL
Less than a year after the Royals had celebrated their greatest
achievement, a Simod Cup victory over Luton Town at Wembley Stadium,
Newport County were declared bankrupt and dissolved into thin air. A
60-year stay in the Football League had come to the sorriest of ends and
the South Wales side were no more. But in to time, the reformation began
and the newly named ‘Newport AFC’ started again from scratch from
the north Gloucestershire town of Moreton-in-Marsh. They crossed back
across the border and edged their way back up the football ladder, arriving
at Rodney Parade in 2012 and earning promotion from the Conference via
an all-Welsh play-off final win over Wrexham the following summer. And a
mid-table finish helped The Exiles consolidate their League Two place last
season. What next for Newport?
MARCH 1993: Celebrating a goal against Manchester City with Steve Sedgley,
Nayim and Teddy Sheringham.
CAPITAL ONE CUP – ROUND ONE
Newport’s Basildon-born boss became a household
name in top flight football in the country where
he made more than 250 appearances during ten
years as a Tottenham Hotspur defender. After
starting his career at Southend, the full-back
helped Spurs lift the FA Cup back in 1991,
playing a full part in a 2-1 win over Nottingham
Forest at Wembley. He won a League Cup
winners’ medal eight years later, despite
seeing red in a tangle with Robbie
Savage during the 1-0 win, and went
on to end his professional career with
Portsmouth. In 2003, he took his first
managerial role, in charge of Billericay
Town, and Edinburgh went on to take
the hotseat at Fisher Athletic, Grays
Athletic and Rushden & Diamonds before
taking the reins at Newport in October 2011.
An FA Trophy Final defeat to York City was
soon forgotten when a return to Wembley
saw County return to the Football League
thanks to goals from Christian Jolley and
Aaron O’Connor.
MARCH 1999: Seeing red against Leicester City in
the Worthington Cup Final.
DECEMBER 2000: In Portsmouth colours.
MAY 2013: Celebrating play-off success as
Newport boss.
Name
Chris Zebroski
Position:Striker
Nationality:English
Age:27
Name:
Lenny Pidgeley
Position:Goalkeeper
NationalityEnglish
Age
30
Name
Andy Sandell
Position:
Left back or left wing
Nationality:English
Age:
30
Swindon-born striker who started his career
as a Robins youth player before signing for
Plymouth Argyle in 2005. A move to Millwall
led to loan spells at Oxford and Torquay
before Zebroski joined Wycombe in 2008,
winning promotion with the Chairboys in his
first season at Adams Park. He returned
to Torquay before spells at Bristol Rovers,
Cheltenham and Eastleigh. Was County’s
top scorer last season and can be highly
dangerous on his day.
Twickenham-born stopper who began his
career with Chelsea, playing deputy to Petr
Cech and Carlo Cudicini before moving to
Millwall in 2006. Slipped down the league
ladder with moves to Carlisle and Woking but
rose back through the ranks with transfers
to Bradford City and Exeter City. Was a
mainstay between the posts for Newport’s
successful promotion season – Pidgeley
didn’t leak a single goal in the play-off
stages to become the first winning team not
to concede in Conference play-off history.
Club captain Andy Sandell came through the
youth system at Forest Green Rovers and
joined Bristol City as a trainee. The Wiltshireborn skipper never made an appearance
at Ashton Gate though and, after spells
in non-league football, actually went on
to sign for arch rivals Rovers in 2006.
Sandell represented Salisbury City and then
Aldershot (after a successful loan) before
signing for Wycombe for a season in 2010.
But it is at Newport that he has settled and
where he now wears the armband.
THREE TO WATCH
APRIL 1996: Racing away from Arsenal’s Paul Merson in a North London derby
at Highbury.
13
MATCH
REPORT
Date:
Venue:
Referee
TOnight’S
teams
READING
Saturday 3rd August 2014
Madejski Stadium
Mr A Davies
READING1
SWANSEA CITY 3
MANAGER:
NIGEL ADKINS
ASSISTANT MANAGER:
ANDY CROSBY
(Blackman 43)
NEWPORT
COUNTY
(Routledge 23, 25, Gomis 65)
READING LINE-UP:
McCarthy (Federici HT), Gunter, Obita (Griffin 86), Pearce, Morrison,
Hector (Kuhl 70), Akpan (Tshibola 79), Edwards (Tanner 69), Blackman,
Taylor (Cummings 76), Pogrebnyak (Stacey 85).
Subs not used: Andersen, Sweeney, Long, Cooper.
MANAGER:
JUSTIN EDINBURGH
ASSISTANT MANAGER:
JIMMY DACK
SWANSEA LINE-UP:
Fabianski, Tiendalli (Rangel 79), Williams, Bartley, Taylor, Sung-Yueng,
Shelvey, Gomis, Sigurdsson, Routledge (Montero 66), Bony (Dyer 66).
Subs not used: Tremmel, Kingsley, King, Sheehan.
MASCOT
The curtain raised in driving rain at Madejski Stadium but our top flight
visitors proved too strong, Swansea running out deserved victors ten days
ago. Wilfried Bony was denied from the spot by a shuddering crossbar
after Alex Pearce’s flailing hand had taken Dwight Tiendalli’s cross away
from the Ivorian in the middle. But the reprieve didn’t last long. Wayne
Routledge had scored twice before at Madejski Stadium and doubled
his tally within two minutes; the forward scurried in behind the back line,
rounded Alex McCarthy and serenely passed home his first, then sliced a
second beyond the Reading keeper moments later. McCarthy’s feet denied
Bafetimbi Gomis and the stopper pushed Bony’s downward header round
his post, while Lukasz Fabianski was alert to Michael Hector’s bullet drive
at the other end - but the ex-Arsenal
Pole could do nothing about Nick
Blackman’s incredible left-footed
thunderbolt that swept into the top
right corner and dramatically halved
the deficit before the break. Adam
Federici was in fine form after the
interval, denying Routledge his treble
with a smart save to his right, but
Gomis capped the Swans’ win with a
deft dink over the onrushing
Aussie making it 3-1.
DIAMOND EDWARDS
Adam FEDERICI
Chris GUNTER
Stephen KELLY
Anton FERDINAND
Alex PEARCE
Sean MORRISON
Pavel POGREBNYAK
Danny GUTHRIE
Hal ROBSON-KANU
Simon COX
Jordan OBITA
Garath McCLEARY
Michael HECTOR
Hope AKPAN
Ryan EDWARDS
Aaron TSHIBOLA
Jamie MACKIE
Alex McCARTHY
Jem KARACAN
Nick BLACKMAN
Danny WILLIAMS
Shaun CUMMINGS
Jake TAYLOR
Pierce SWEENEY
Craig TANNER
Aaron KUHL
Mikkel ANDERSEN
Sean LONG
Shane GRIFFIN
Jake COOPER
Jack STACEY
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15
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Reading Fans
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33
Lenny PIDGELEY
Ryan JACKSON
Kevin FEELY
Max PORTER
Darren JONES
Ismail YAKUBU
Adam CHAPMAN
Lee MINSHULL
Rene HOWE
Aaron O’CONNOR
Chris ZEBROSKI
Robbie WILLMOTT
Andy SANDELL
Shaun JEFFERS
Danny CROW
Andrew HUGHES
Michael FLYNN
Yan KLUKOWSKI
Byron ANTHONY
Simon THOMAS
Christian JOLLEY
Joe PARKER
Jamie STEPHENS
Mark BYRNE
Referee:
Asst Ref:
Asst Ref:
Fourth Official:
Mr James Linington
Mr Neil Davies
Mr Nigel Lugg
Mr Michael Webb
BUILDING THE FOUNDATION OF FOOTBALL
Since 2000 the Football Foundation and its funders have
invested in £1 billion worth of grassroots projects. This is
providing quality playing surfaces and changing rooms for
communities across the country – helping to increase
participation and supporting player development.
@FootballFoundtn
Youtube.com/Footballfdn
flickr.com/footballfoundation
linkedIn.com/football-foundation
www.footballfoundation.org.uk
“All our players have had a run out and what we do
now is put pre-season to bed and we focus on the
real thing, the start of the season. We know it’s
going to be a very, very big challenge for everybody
– but one we should look forward to and embrace.”
NIGEL ADKINS
Charity No 1079309
Company No 3876305
CAPITAL ONE CUP – ROUND ONE
AD-148x210-FF-Building the Foundation.indd 1
05/08/2014 00:45