Addicks Left In Agony

Seol Ki-Hyeon and Kevin Doyle were the goal scorers in what must be considered a comfortable victory over a struggling Charlton side.

A goal in either half wrapped up a second straight win for the Royals and leaves the visitors, managed for the first time under their new head coach Les Reed, propping up the rest of the division.

Charlton made a very encouraging start to the game and it seemed that the new lease of life that they were looking for had finally been found under their new manager. Reading stopper Marcus Hahnemann was called into action after just a few minutes, neatly tipping a dangerous flick-header past the post after his name-sake Bent met an Andy Reid set piece.

From the resulting corner Hahnemann was again called into action, this time Addick`s defender Talal El-Karkouri forcing a neat save from the USA International. Reid`s cross was knocked back across the Reading area and the Moroccan was first to act, connecting with a volley that was hit straight into the arms of a grateful goalkeeper who did well to clutch on to the ball in a busy six-yard box.

However, these were Charlton`s only two chances of note before Reading deservedly opened the scoring in the 18th minute. A wonderful move down the left side involving Steve Sidwell, Nicky Shorey, and the impressive Stephen Hunt led to Seol Ki-Hyeon notching his third goal for the club.

Sidwell bravely won the ball between two players and rolled a clever reverse pass into the energetic Hunt`s path. The Irishman, who along with Sonko had received death-threats from Chelsea supporters only days prior, showed great levels of skill and invention to back-heel the ball past the bemused Dennis Rommedahl and Charlton skipper Luke Young into the path of Nicky Shorey. The left back delivered a trademark cross for Seol to emphatically head beyond the stranded Scott Carson and celebrate his first goal at the Madejski Stadium since arriving from Wolves in the summer.

Minutes later Glen Little came within a whisker of increasing the margin following another creative move down the Reading left.

Kevin Doyle delayed his cross before chipping a neat ball to the back post and into the path off the on-coming winger, whose first-time volley flashed across goal and bounced agonisingly wide of Carson`s upright.

A quick counter-attack from the home side led to another close opportunity, this time it was Doyle himself who tested the scoreline. Another piece of positive play from Doyle`s compatriot Stephen Hunt put the striker through on goal, but the ball got caught under his feet as he ran with pace allowing El-Karkouri to recover and make a timely intervention.

Hunt and Sidwell both saw efforts off target before the break and defensively the home team looked comfortable whenever Charlton threatened.

Going in with only a goal to their name, there was questions asked to whether Reading would live to rue their missed chances, but in truth the home side had looked accomplished all over the park and seemed set to build on the impressive defeat of Tottenham Hotspur the previous week.

Both sides unchanged after the break, it was again the Royals who came close to adding to the deficit. Scott Carson, on loan from Liverpool and in goal for the visitors, failed to hang on to a Seol cross after he had dispossessed on the edge of the area, but Glen Little could not react in time to turn the loose ball into the Charlton net.

The away side mustered their first real attempt of the second half through their Danish midfielder Dennis Rommedahl. The speedy winger cut inside Graeme Murty and unleashed a decent curling effort that Hahnemann did well to save low to his left.

Despite efforts from Doyle and more activity from Charlton in the final third, the game seemed to be turning into a bit of a stale-mate until Stephen Hunt was only a brilliant save away from doubling his side`s advantage.

The Irishman was in a good position just inside the area, and his well controlled cushioned volley from a Nicky Shorey centre seemed destined for the corner of the net. As if out of nowhere, Carson threw himself across his goal and pushed the ball aside, keeping his side with a fighting chance of taking something from the game.

However, his brilliant save only delayed the inevitable. A second goal finally came on 72 minutes, putting the game out of sight.

After robbing Andy Reid of possession, Glen Little played the ball inside and into Steve Sidwell`s path with only the keeper to beat. Uncharacteristically, Sidwell made a mess of his effort, mis-cueing his shot towards Kevin Doyle. Without hesitation, Doyle rounded off the perfect week which included the third against Spurs and a first for his country. Reacting quickly, he looped the ball over the advancing Carson and into an empty net.

With the result as good as decided, Charlton managed their best chance of the match threw the reliable Matthew Holland. The veteran midfielder saw his fierce drive beat the dive of Hahnemann, only for Little to stick out a boot and clear it off the line. This was certainly not as Les Reed had planned his first game in charge to go, but nobody wearing blue and white was complaining.

There was still time for Charlton substitute Darren Ambrose to hit a hooked volley towards the Reading goal but Hahnemann was again in control, tipping the ball over.

A late change by Steve Coppell saw Leroy Lita replace goalscorer Kevin Doyle, and he and Steve Sidwell combined impressively to slot Seol in with a relatively easy chance of making the scoreline embarrassing for the travelling fans.

Obviously fatigued, Seol snatched at the opportinuty and lifted the ball high over Carson`s goal when he had enough time to have taken a controlling touch and set himself. This soon brought the introduction of John Oster and Brynjar Gunnarsson, with Seol and Glen Little making way.

Reading were then denied what looked to be a certain penalty by referee Graham Poll. El Karkouri tried to shadow the ball out of play but Stephen Hunt stole in front of him inside the box. The Moroccan looked to have his hands all over the Royals winger and subsequently bundled him to the ground. Controversially, the official waved away the protests much to Reading’s disapproval.

The last few minutes were played without incident, and Reading deservedly took the spoils against a Charlton team that were largely ineffective.