Call It A Comeback

All talk was on getting something from this game; after playing the top four finishers in the country in the space of five games it was now time for Reading to face the fifth – a Spurs team that had beaten Chelsea in the game prior – great?

Be that as it may, the blue and white hoops of Reading were never going to lie down and concede defeat; this is a team that never says never, a team that defies odds and logic, a team that began their Premiership campaign by going two goals down and coming out on top.

Reading fielded a team that showed more attacking potential then the one that faced Liverpool at Anfield last weekend; Glenn Little retained his place on the right wing after his excellent performance in that match. Meanwhile skipper Graeme Murty returned to the fold after injury and Seol Ki-Hyeon joined Kevin Doyle up front, taking Gunnarsson`s place from the match prior.

From the word go, Reading showed their intentions, to end their abysmal run of 5 straight defeats and to put some points on the board. Kevin Doyle was to come close early on, he was put through on goal by Steve Sidwell but managed only to put the ball wide from an extremely tight angle.

Spur`s soon begun to flex their muscles and dominated possession; Robbie Keane looked especially dangerous as he invaded Reading`s space on the left flank, a blocked shot fell out to Hossam Ghaly but the Egyptian was ruled offside even though he still put the ball in the back of the net.

Moments later Ghaly was involved in an attack again, receieving the ball from Keane, Ghaly cut inside the box from the left and drew Hahnemann out towards him. Hahnemann was left stranded when the the ball was played to Dimitar Berbatov, but Berbatov was denied from six yards when Murty threw himself in the path of the goal bound ball.

But it wasn`t long after till Spurs were on the attack again and this time taking the lead. Keane played in Hossam Ghaly on goal; and the Egyptian ran at goal only to be felled by Sonko in a challenge that could have gone either way.

Marcus Hahnemann nervously sipped on his can of Red Bull hoping it would give him wings enough to save the penalty as Keane stepped up. But the American keeper went the wrong way as Keane calmly sidefooted the ball in the left corner of the goal and ran to Spur`s travelling fans to celebrate.

Tottenham continued to apply pressure on Reading, Hahnemann was forced to deflect a long shot away, Dimitar Berbatov was on hand to fire in the rebound but was called offside as he kicked the ball into Hahnemann.

Reading, resilient as ever, fought and clawed their way back into the game. A penalty decision went against them when the ball hit Ledley King upon the arm.

After much pushing, the insatiable Glen Little found left back Nicky Shorey with a neat pass. Shorey moved towards the box and took just one touch before unleashing a powerful shot from 25yards. The crowd held their breath as Paul Robinson dived at the ball but to no avail it ended in the corner of the net and Reading were even.

With their new found confidence and discontented with only taking a draw into the changing room, Reading pushed forward at Spurs into injury time.

Kevin Doyle won a corner that Glen Little took. Little took the corner quickly and the Spurs defence was caught unprepared, the ball seemed to be heading for an unmarked Kevin Doyle who missed the free header at goal but Steve Sidwell surged forward free of his marker to give the ball the touch it needed to be in the back of the net.

When the second half began, Reading came out raring to go, pressuring every Spurs pass and not giving Martin Jol`s side time to think. Neither side created many chances but the Royals were unconcerned as long as Spurs were not near goal.

Little was causing problems for Spurs dribbling and tricking his way up the line, as he cut inside he was tackled by Ledley King and won a corner, Reading fans screamed for a penalty but it wasn`t likely.

It was down the other end the next clear attempt at goalcame, Ghaly scooped the ball into the box to Berbatov who just didn`t seem like scoring today, he headed the ball into the waiting hands of Hahnemann.

With just more then twenty minutes to play Martin Jol indicated it was all or nothing with a bold double substitution. Jermain Defoe and Tom Huddlestone replaced Zokora and Lee making for a 3-4-3 formation being played by Spurs.

Jermaine Jenas looked to be well through on goal only for the relentless Sidwell to get back and steal the chance away from him.

This prompted Reading to make the most of the lacking Spurs defence, Doyle forced a save from Robinson after he had been played throught by Sidwell, and it seemed Reading wanted to put the game out of Tottenham`s reach.

Defoe ran brilliantly down the wing and found space enough to get a shot off but he could only manage to put the ball into the side-netting.

Just after Marcus Hahnemann`s goal kick was flicked on by substitute Leroy Lita to the waiting Doyle. Doyle buried the ball in the back of the net and buried Spur`s hopes of even a point from the game.

Leroy Lita almost made it 4-1 moments later: Lita released Doyle who played the ball back to Shorey on the flank. The scorer of Reading`s equaliser bashed a cross into the box which Lita headed at the post. The striker could not believe his misfortune as the ball bounced out.

Reading continued to make the last minutes a spectacle, with Harper to premature to meet a Leroy Lita ball played into the middle.

Glenn Little was replaced by John Oster with 5mintues left and the right midfielder received huge applause as he left the field. John Oster, made an error within minutes of being on the field giving away possession near his own box. Defoe was gifted the opportunity of a goal but slammed an attempt at the post, Berbatov fired a rebound dreadfully over.

It just wasn`t going to be for Spur`s and Reading walked away three points better off after their miserable five goal losing streak. The home support let out a huge cheer and clapped the players as they left the pitch.

Reading: Hahnemann, Murty, Sonko, Ingimarsson, Shorey, Little (Gunnarsson 85), Sidwell, Harper, Hunt (Oster 80), Doyle, Ki-Hyeon (Lita 75).

Subs Not Used: Federici, Bikey.

Goals: Shorey 38, Sidwell 45, Doyle 79.

Tottenham: Robinson, Young-Pyo Lee (Defoe 68), King, Dawson, Assou-Ekotto, Lennon, Zokora (Huddlestone 68), Jenas, Ghaly, Keane, Berbatov.

Subs Not Used: Cerny, Murphy, Ziegler.


Goals: Keane 24 pen.

Att: 24,110.

Ref: R Styles (Hampshire).

Steve Coppell:
‘It’s all about where we finish at the end, that’s the be-all and end-all of our season.

‘I don’t want the highlight of our year to be September, October, November.

‘The bottom line remains that if we retain our status in this division, it will be a far better achievement than gaining promotion last season.’

Martin Jol:
‘At half-time we wanted to put it right but you need personality and character.

‘It’s frustrating, you get a bit angry as well because you can do all the hard work and prepare yourself well.

‘All credit to them because, apart from Arsenal, not many teams have won here but if you make those sort of mistakes you can’t win any game.’