The Royals are back on the road after back-to-back home games.
After what turned out to be a severe lapse in judgement, the Royals somehow ended up drawing to Exeter City on Tuesday. In a game we absolutely should have won, the Grecians scored in the dying minutes.
It was another match in which an ex-Reading player scored against the Royals, in Pierce Sweeney. In fact, three Sweeneys in the league scored that night, with them all playing centre-back. What a weird coincidence.
Will Keane grabbed a goal on his first start for the Royals and Paudie O’Connor also opened his account in the blue and white.
In their last game, Northampton Town lost 2-1 to Rotherham United, with Tom Eaves getting their goal. Kevin Nolan’s side are looking to improve their current form with the side sitting in 22nd, having lost their last three. Star man Eaves has five goals this season and ex-Royal Nesta Guiness-Walker is a starter for the Cobblers.
Eight points separate the two sides with the Royals winning the reverse fixture 1-0 in October. A goal from Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan was enough to see the game out for the Royals.
The head-to-head between the sides since 2010 is in Reading’s favour, with the Royals winning three, drawing one and losing two (one of which came after a 3-3 draw in the League Cup).
That one regular-time defeat only includes two players who I think will start this match for Reading: Lewis Wing and Charlie Savage. It was Dom Ballard who scored the goal for the Royals that day and we caught a glimpse of just how good a footballer he is going to be.
In this preview I will analyse the 2-2 draw against Exeter and give my predictions.
What? League One matchday 28
Season? 2025/26
Who? Northampton Town
Where? Sixfields Stadium
When? Saturday January 31
Time? 14:00
Opposition manager? Kevin Nolan
Barnsley and Exeter
As said before, the Exeter fixture should have been won. The Barnsley match was the other way around: we were the ones to score late on, against a team trying to climb their way back up the table with a few games they have in hand on the rest of the teams around them.
Against Exeter, the stats make it look quite even; the Royals had a little more possession but other than that it was all very close. End-to-end sometimes but a lot of it was just keep-ball between the two teams.
Exeter scored the first goal with Sweeney getting on the scoresheet inside 14 minutes, before Reading equalised just before the half ended through Keane. The second half started quite uneventfully and then, in the 75th minute, Reading did the impossible: we scored from a set piece! O’Connor connected to Wing’s cross with a great volley and made it 2-1 Reading!
The game went on and 11 minutes were added on at the end. Three minutes into added time, Luca Woodhouse scored a nice strike that was deflected into the top corner.
Reading should have won, but we move onto the next match now. If we play how we did for the first 90 minutes then it should be OK.
My lineup
Joel Pereira will start in goal.
Andy Yiadom, O’Connor, Jeriel Dorsett and Hayden Roberts will be the defence.
Wing, Savage and Kamari Doyle will make up the midfield.
Daniel Kyerewaa, Jack Marriott and Paddy Lane will be the attack.
Score prediction: 3-0
Good luck to those going to the game.
Come on you Royals!
Category: General Sports
