Thomas' Match report in several parts

READING V BARNSLEY MATCH REPORT
I thought that this report was going to be a wake predicting the demise of my much-loved team and that still might prove to be the case this season, but it has turned out to be a celebration of an excellent and committed performance by thirteen players in red and was heart-warming stuff.
The Madejski is a modern, bright and open stadium, easy to access from motorway and town. The pitch looked in very good nick and it was a cold, but dry evening.
Danny had selected the following starting eleven in the hope of getting something from this difficult-looking match against free-scoring, but mis-firing Reading, who are chasing a play-off place:
Steele
Etuhu M’Voto Nyatanga Kennedy
Cywka Lawrence Dawson (capt) Jennings
Pedersen O’Grady
First half, we were attacking the far end. We looked bright early on without posing much threat and Reading looked slick and quick on the break, especially down their flanks through Jobi McAnuff and McLeary. The pattern which started to emerge was one of our establishing an edge in the game because we held the ball better all over the pitch and Reading were profligate, frequently being hassled into mis-placed passes and their play breaking down again and again, sometimes comically so, as when one attempted clearance, or back-pass to the keeper (Reading passing was so poor at times it was hard to tell the difference) ended up going out for a corner to us. We had two sharp chances in quick succession when O’Grady and then Dawson stung McCarthy’s palms, but no goal yet.
The break-through came in a manner which confirmed the way the game was going. Another woeful back pass/clearance was chased down to the left by O’Grady, who only seemed to have the keeper to beat and he was out of position, but big Chris took stock of the options quickly and spotted the forward surge of Captain Dawson, who himself did not panic, but quickly worked a better position before hitting an unstoppable shot into the corner.
It couldn’t last, could it? No!
Most around me thought it wasn’t a penalty, but it is the sort of pen you see given routinely these days. Pogrebnyak found himself surging into our area alongside Etuhu, who challenged him near the goal-line. Over went Pogrebnyak with the minimum contact and he picked himself up to give Steele no chance with the penalty. There was contact with Etuhu, but there is no doubt that Pogrebnyak played for the penalty and got it. We ourselves need players who can do this trick as we are sometimes too honest for our own good.
After we had scored and given the balance of play, you could see just a drop of belief and confidence come back into the players. I was thinking that it might all just evaporate in that moment of the equaliser and we could be facing an onslaught, but no. We re-grouped and the match resumed very much as before, Reading looking sloppy, but dangerous on the break and us managing possession of the ball very well with little passing triangles and players making themselves available all over the pitch through hard graft. I was pleased to see us get in at half time at 1-1 and would have taken that as a result, given the team’s record this season.
SECOND HALF
I was surprised that we made a change at half-time, with Reuben Noble-Lazarus coming on for Marcus Pedersen. I had been quite impressed with Pedersen, who looked lively alongside O’Grady and who also was a goal-threat to Reading. I thought it must be a switch to 4-5-1, but no, RNL slotted straight in alongside Chris O’Grady. In fact, it looked as though he had been given instructions to stay close enough to big Chris to feed off his flick-ons, as he was winning almost everything for us up front. There was one moment when I thought they looked like Batman and Robin alongside each other.
What I thought was a weakening change turned into a master-stroke, as we attacked convincingly and stretched the Reading defence, O’Grady and then Cywka moving the ball quickly to RNL just right-side of the penalty area. I thought his chance on his right foot had gone, but he seemed to have a picture in his mind of the goal he wanted to score and switched the ball sharply on to his left foot before curling a sublime strike into McCarthy’s top right corner right in line with the travelling fans. It was a strike of true quality from the youngster.
I now waited for the Reading bite-back, but it did not have chance to muster itself before we went 3-1 up with another ‘goal of the season’ contender for Dale Jennings. He had been lively all night and thoroughly deserved this reward. Reading had not heeded the warnings as to how Dale operates, as he swept in from our left and hit a great shot across McCarthy to his left side. Delirium broke out amongst ‘the few.’ We now looked likely to win! Surely not! This was dream-land!
Frimpong came on for Lawrence for the last fifteen minutes or so. Liam had done his bit in centre midfield, but looked a bit short of pace and total fitness, so that seemed a good move, although Frimpong’s contribution was a bit limited, getting himself booked for one of his trade-mark tackles and sending a ‘back pass’ in the direction of Steele, but which never arrived. It was a good job the other defenders had their wits about them, or it could have been 3-2 and us hanging on and you know what happens when we get ourselves in that position! Reading did threaten and Steele made one top-class save when I was sure Reading would score – really great save! We kept our heads and, as long as we played the patient, passing game by which we had dominated, we were ok and ran the clock down. If we took the line of conceding possession to Reading and sitting back behind the ball, we looked vulnerable, but our possession game ran the clock down and Reading looked a spent force. Four minutes of added time concluded and we were home and hosed. Great celebrations both on and off the pitch.
Be proud of the lads – this was a stirring performance of commitment and teamwork.

 

MATCH ANALYSIS
Danny went with a straight 4-4-2 system and stuck with it throughout the 94 minutes because it worked well for us all through. This meant Etuhu drafted in at right back in the absence of Hunt and McLaughlin; M’Voto and Nyatanga as the defensive bulwark; Dawson and Lawrence this central midfield pairing; Cywka and Jennings the wide men and O’Grady pairing Pedersen as the strikers.
What we did well (and I would credit the collective effort by the players as much as the system) was hold on to the ball, which was something Reading did not do at all well and it was this factor which gave us the edge all game. In defence, we were resolute to the extent of bloodshed in the case of Nyatanga and fierce competition in the case of M’Voto. These two won just everything which came at them in the air, which was good for us, as Reading’s main attacking ploy was route one up to Pogrebnyak, who rarely got a look in. It was a case of no nonsense defending at the back, with Nyatanga and M’Voto getting as much distance as possible on headers and as much distant accuracy as they could on clearances. In midfield, the busy players worked incessant little triangles of passes to retain possession and to create chances to break forwards. We had Reading chasing shadows most of the game. We were especially dangerous down the flanks, with Cywka seemingly having the ball tied to his laces at times, so often did he come out of challenges still in possession. Jennings caused problems down our left with some good tricks in his boots and sudden turns of speed. O’Grady ambled about like John Wayne up front – slow rev engine, but immense in winning most headers and holding the ball up well to link others into play and build up. We were also alert to the possibilities of Reading errors, of which there were enough to gift us the first goal, albeit well taken by Captain Dawson. The other factor which helped keep Reading at bay was the way in which Cywka and Jennings dropped back to support both full-backs when Reading were attacking. They had clearly been briefed to do this because, every time McAnuff, McLeary, or Drenthe got into wide positions, they found they had not only the full back to beat, but also the winger. The plan seemed to be to force the wingers out wide and then deny the space. It was a clear strategy and it worked all game, the Reading wide men just running out of space to manoeuvre and often conceding throw-ins, or goal kicks. Good planning, Danny, and great energy levels from Dale and Tom to execute it to perfection. It was significant that it was one of the few times that Reading did find space for a wide men to come inside that we ended up conceding the penalty, soft though it was.
The first goal was the product of poor Reading passing, as well as our alertness and speed of reaction. The second was the product of our positively chasing a result, rather than sitting back at 1-1. It was also finishing of the highest possible quality from RNL, beautifully curved right into the top corner with his favoured left boot. The third was again positive thinking from Jennings, as well as the skill to execute a powerful and accurate shot from some twenty-five yards.

 

PLAYER RATINGS
Steele 7: he did not have a lot to do, but his two saves, and the second in particular from Pearce’s header, were top drawer and kept us ahead of the game. Showed a lot of passion in both the goals and the result at the end.
Etuhu 7: made a good impression at right back, playing in a disciplined and resolute way as per the instructions he had obviously been given. He may have been slightly at fault for the Reading goal and allowed the winger to get inside him just once as far as I could see. You might have thought he would have brought the, ‘couldn’t care less’ bug with him, but no chance. Danny praised his professionalism and rightly so, as Reading just could not break us down either flank even with their talented wide men, so well done to Kelvin. He did not look jaded either, which is credit to him after so long out.
M’Voto 9: just awesome, along with Nyatanga. He won everything in the air against Pogrebnyak, getting as much distance as possible on headers and trying to get clearances to a red shirt where possible, but using the touch-line option when necessary, which was ok by me and a whole load better than giving the ball away in dangerous situations, which he avoided doing all night. Some of his tackles, especially when we were defending our lead in the second half were awesome, like an alligator’s jaw coming at you! What he most personified was total commitment and belief.
Nyatanga 8: shed blood for the cause on the night and that demonstrated his resolute defending throughout the game. I noticed before kick-off that M’Voto and Nyatanga touched fists as if to say, ‘come on, we can do this,’ but they did it in a manner which looked as though they really meant, ‘come on, we can keep this down to five!’ Their confidence was established early on and grew through the game.
Kennedy 6: kept his left side up well and shut out any Reading threats down his side with the help of Jennings at times when it was needed. Did his bit well.
Dawson 6: all-action performance and well-taken goal, but from a situation in which you would expect us to score. A key player in the fast-moving, ball-holding pattern of play we set up from start to finish. Pleased for him that he got the reward of a goal.
Lawrence 6: did his bit, but he does seem a bit short of pace these days. He seemed to have the role of masterminding the midfield, but he tended to dwell a little too long on the ball at times and so was one of our few players who got caught in possession, or hurried into giving it away. Did his bit well, though, and the relief at the end shows that the win meant as much to him as to the fans.
Cywka 8: this was a high-energy performance by Tom and was a feature of our play on the night. Defensively he did a sterling job in coming back to support Etuhu, so that the Reading wide men were constantly being forced out wide and out of space. Offensively, he made excellent breaks down his right flank, such that the ball seemed at times to be tied to his feet, so many times did he break out of multiple tackles with the ball still under control. Did his bit in setting up RNL for his goal and his quick-thinking, quick-flick was typical of the positive way both he and other Reds players performed.
Jennings 8: very similar report as for Cywka, but down the left. Defensively gave excellent support to Kennedy. Offensively, he always had a trick in his boots to get away from defenders, or set a move in motion. Terrific bursts of speed reminded me of ‘shooting star’ runs by Ronnie Glavin of days gone by. Positive thinking and great ability to fire his trade-mark right foot shot from a left wing run. He deserved the goal. His play was also a strong feature of the team performance.
Pedersen 6: looked lively first half, which was all he played. He linked well with O’Grady and others and did pose a threat to the Reading goal with shots from distance, albeit off target this time. I was disappointed that he did not start the second half and feared that, with RNL coming on, we were going to stifle the midfield with five and hold out for the draw. If Pedersen was injured – he did get a blow to the head – then it was brave of Danny to choose a ‘fox-in-the-box’ like RNL, rather than the more experienced Proschwitz with his style similar to O’Grady.
O’Grady 9: ambled around like a footballing John Wayne. Never quick, but mighty effective, whether winning headers, making quick flick-ons, or linking passes to midfielders to get us on to the attack. Was alert to pick up Gunter’s blooper and set up Dawson, rather than panic and go for glory himself, but then panic is something COG just never does. Another stand-out performer. Reading did not know how to handle him and, given that it was Pearce and Gorkss, that says a lot for his quality. Sometimes you get players who are worth infinitely more than any transfer fee they could command and Chris is one of those. Whether he was at Rochdale in League Two, or us in the Championship, you sense he will always give the same effort and be as effective.
Noble-Lazarus 7: I could give him 10 for the quality of the goal, which you would not see bettered in any level of football, including the Premiership. It seemed to me that, like the very best of strikers, he had a picture in his mind of the goal he wanted to score. I wanted him to take it first time on his right foot, but he dummied the defender, switching on to his preferred left and then curled the superb ‘dink’ into the corner. As it flew in in direct line to where I was behind the goal, I got the perfect view of the left-right curl which meant it was only ever destined for the top corner. He looked lively elsewhere also on the pitch and more than justified being brought on ahead of more experienced players.
Frimpong 5: on for fifteen minutes. Got booked. Gave a hideous back-pass in the direction of Steele, but which never arrived. At other times, did his bit. I feel he is a rough diamond with a lot of talent, but he needs to learn and listen to those who will try to teach him, if he is to make it at championship level, otherwise it will be leagues one, or two at best. I am convinced the talent is there, but whether it emerges will be down to his mind-set as to whether he has the discipline to learn and to develop into the premiership standard player he could be.
So there you have it.
Our strengths on the day were:
1. Our ability to keep the ball better than Reading and not to make mistakes in passing, or decision-making.
2. The immense performances of M’Voto and Nyatanga in the centre. Outstanding and totally committed from the first to ninety-fourth minute. Just great, lads.
3. The performances of the wingers, Cywka and Jennings, both defensively and offensively. Terrific work-rate from both and obviously operating under instructions to play that way. Both were excellent, offering support to defence and threat in attack.
4. The solo role of Chris O’Grady up front – Reading never mastered him.
5. The outstanding goal from RNL and the excellent strike from Jennings.
My Man of the Match was Jean-Yves M’Voto – just awesome on the night and commitment personified.
We have left it very late to play like this, but, if this becomes the established style of play, it might be possible for us to escape yet again. We are already building the tunnel again. Let’s hope we make it under the wire and past the searchlights this time, as in previous years.
Keep the faith – be proud of these players this time. It was a performance worthy of the club and its ethos, the town, the manager and the fans.