Halford`s Debut Disappointment

Greg Halford had mixed feelings following his Reading debut which saw the Royals lose out to a dubious penalty decision given against the debutant.

The 22-year-olds first appearance in blue and white was marred by the decision which was unconvincing to say the least, Halford commented:

‘The penalty was a bit hard as I felt it was ball-to-hand and not hand-to-ball. The referee shook his head at first and then all of a sudden he has given it, which was a bit strange.”

‘He didn’t say he changed his mind. He said the ball had changed direction purely because it hit my hand.

‘It leaves a bit of a bitter feeling but these things happen.’

But although his debut ended in defeat, there was plenty of positives to take from his performance and it was clear to see that Greg was going to make a big impact on the Reading team.

And Halford was ecstatic to finally be playing against one of the top teams of the Premier League and is hoping to start many more:

‘The quality is a lot better at this level. My last game was against Ipswich in late January so my match fitness isn’t really there.

“I was getting tired near the end and then they put Aaron Lennon on the left, which wasn’t great for me.

“My short-term ambition is just to play as many games as possible until the end of the season.”

The victory for Spurs meant that the North London side moved up in to sixth in the league standings, leaving the Royals four points adrift from a European finish:

‘It’s going to be tough for us to finish in the top six. We want to pick up as many points as possible and prove that we are up there on ability and not luck.

‘It will be tough to get into Europe now, but we will keep going,” added Halford.

And long term, Greg spoke of other goals too: ‘Long-term I would like to win some silverware with Reading and hopefully get in the England squad.

‘I have a lot of admiration for Gary Neville; he has been a top player in my position for many years now.’