LATEST NEWS ON 'The Royals'
September 2007
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29th September 2007 - Woeful Royals Walloped

Portsmouth went goal crazy at Fratton Park, with Benjani Mwaruwari netting a hat-trick in a 7-4 demolition of Reading that now represents the Barclays Premier League's highest-scoring game.

The Royals had only beaten Pompey once in the past 25 years but cannot have defended any worse in any of those previous encounters. Goals from Liam Rosenior and Dave Kitson actually cancelled out Benjani's first-half double, but Steve Coppell's side were soon buried under an avalanche of replies. Hermann Hreidarsson headed Pompey back ahead, Benjani's third was followed by a fine strike from Nico Kranjcar and, after substitute Shane Long had pulled one back for Reading, Sean Davis netted a long-rang shot, before Sulley Muntari made it 7-3 from the spot. Nicky Shorey had the last word with a deflected fourth for the visitors.

A knee injury had robbed Portsmouth of top-scorer Kanu and, despite his Carling Cup winner at Burnley in midweek, England international David Nugent found himself still on the bench as Benjani was chosen to replace the Nigerian up front. Harry Redknapp's judgement was soon proved to be correct, however, as the Zimbabwean opened the scoring after just seven minutes. James Harper had lost the ball to Papa Bouba Diop and Benjani, having sent John Utaka into a crossing position on the left, completed the move by dispatching his colleague's delivery to the back post from close range.

Reading goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann had remained rooted to his line on that occasion, but when he came out to claim Kranjcar's corner, the American succeeded only in spilling it into Diop's path and was mightily relieved when the Senegal international could only hook the loose ball wide. Kranjcar was the first half's most lively performer, running at opponents at will but could not hit the target himself, screwing one effort wide from a good position in the box before blasting another well over.

Diop's 30-yard shot forced Hahnemann into a diving save, before Benjani made it 2-0 in the 37th minute. Reading had been slow to react for the first goal and were caught out from their own attack this time as Diop's ball from inside his own half found the recalled front man. Shorey and Ivar Ingimarsson were both unable to impede his progress, before Hahnemann was beaten with a well-placed drive from just outside the box.

The lead was no more than Pompey had deserved and Hahnemann somehow deflected Glen Johnson's shot over after Benjani's header had set up the defender at point-blank range. Davis sent a long-range shot just over, but the last word of the half belonged to Reading when Rosenior pulled a goal back in stoppage time. Kevin Doyle crossed the ball in to Liam Rosenior whos effort bounced down off the crossbar. Play continued and Kitson reacted to prod the ball goalwards. Sylvain Distin managed to block on the line, but Hunt followed up smartly to nod home. However, the linesman had already signalled that Rosenior's shot had bounced over the line and the referee blew his whistle for the goal before Hunt headed home..

Reading usually concede goals shortly after half-time, but this time Kitson scored one, with James' rash rush out of his box allowing it to take place in the 48th minute. The England goalkeeper never looked likely to reach Hunt's ball from his own half and Kitson, having taken it past him, located the empty net with a perfectly-placed shot from a tight angle on the left.

Pompey reacted strongly and Reading were fortunate to scramble the ball away after Utaka's cross had gone over Hahnemann. Harper fired a good chance over at the other end, but when Diop had a diving header ruled out for offside the reprieve was shortlived for the visitors as Hreidarsson made it 3-2 in the 55th minute. Again Hahnemann appeared to be at fault, allowing the Pompey defender to beat him to Distin's cross and head home from eight yards out.

James made amends for his earlier error by saving Shorey's penalty after Diop had needlessly controlled the ball with an arm in the box. Exactly why a striker did not take it remains unknown, but the home fans reacted rapturously with chants of 'England's Number One'.

Benjani made sure the match ball was his with a fine solo clincher with 20 minutes remaining. Sulley Muntari put him through and, with defenders trailing, he made the task of taking the ball round Hahnemann and finding the empty net look easy. Kranjcar made it 5-2 with a headed conversion of a Davis cross, but Long's reply - a deflection of a Harper shot with 10 minutes remaining - was quickly followed by Pompey's sixth from Davis. Muntari scored the seventh from the spot in stoppage time after Kranjcar had been fouled by Rosenior. Shorey fired home a deflected fourth before the final whistle ended the mayhem.

Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp hailed his players for a 'fantastic' demolition of Reading, who were beaten 7-4 on a crazy day of scoring at Fratton Park.But the Pompey boss also could not help moaning that his side should have contributed even more to the Barclays Premier League's highest-ever goal tally. Benjani Mwaruwari's first-half double had put the home side in control but Liam Rosenior pulled one back just before the break.

Dave Kitson made it 2-2 soon after the restart but Hermann Hreidarsson put Pompey back in front after Papa Bouba Diop's header had been ruled out. Nicky Shorey saw a penalty saved before Benjani completed a hat-trick and Nico Kranjcar, Sean Davis and Sulley Muntari made it seven, with the latter scoring from the spot. Shane Long had netted for Reading in the middle of all that mayhem but Shorey's deflected fourth had no bearing on the result.

Redknapp said: "We were fantastic today. We went in 2-1 up at half-time but we should have been four up. We had completely dominated the game and they had never even had a shot. Their keeper made an incredible save to deny Glen Johnson and then they scrambled a goal at the other end. It should have been game over but it was game on. Then we gave a sloppy goal away to make it 2-2 and Papa Diop had a perfectly good goal disallowed when he was two yards onside. There were a few wrong decisions out there today - their penalty was a throw-in to us as well. But we came back at them, kept going forward and we played some great football today. There were some quality performances out there today."

Shell-shocked Reading manager Steve Coppell admitted his side had thrown away the platform that Kitson's equaliser had given them. He said: "I have never been involved in a game like that before. It's hard to remember anything like that either as a player or a manager. There were 11 goals in the game and there could have been more. There was no indication at half-time that it was going to explode into life like that. We dragged ourselves back into it with a five minute flurry just before half-time to keep us in contact. Then we got ourselves in a position where we had a chance to go on and win the game. The penalty miss was crucial and their third goal was crucial. It seemed as though when either side attacked it was going to end up in the back of the net."

25th September 2007 - Torres Treble Hit

Fernando Torres hit a second-half hat-trick to earn Liverpool a 4-2 win and a place in the fourth round of the Carling Cup and send a timely reminder to coach Rafael Benitez. Benitez had left the Spanish striker, signed for £24million from Atletico Madrid in the summer, out of the starting line-up for their last two Barclays Premier League matches. But he returned with a vengeance to kill off battling Reading in a six-goal thriller at the Madejski Stadium.

Liverpool, unbeaten in nine games this season, made nine changes to the side which drew with Birmingham 0-0 at the weekend. Only captain Jamie Carragher and Alvaro Arbeloa survived from that team. Reading made eight changes to the side which defeated Wigan 2-1 with Nicky Shorey, James Harper and Michael Duberry the only ones to retain their places.

There was no hint of the drama to come after a disappointing opening to the tie. Reading should have gone ahead in the 20th minute when a cross from John Halls fell perfectly for Leroy Lita on the edge of the six-yard box. But the Reading striker failed to beat Liverpool's debutant goalkeeper Charles Itandje who collected his downward header with ease.

Liverpool went ahead in the 23rd minute thanks to a magnificent piece of individual skill from Yossi Benayoun. He went on a solo run and beat Andre Bikey on the edge of the penalty area before firing a right-footed shot into the roof of the net. However, the lead was shortlived as Reading were level in the 27th minute through Bobby Convey. A corner from Nicky Shorey appeared to have been cleared by Momo Sissoko's header but the ball fell invitingly for Convey and his angled volley found its way into the corner of the net.

Torres, who had required lengthy treatment in the opening minute after a tackle by Bikey, went down again under a challenge from Duberry in the 34th minute. But he managed to run off the knock to his left ankle once more as Liverpool attempted to restore their advantage. However, it was Reading who almost stole the lead before the break and again it was Convey who provided the threat. He looked certain to score his second of the game when the ball fell to him on the edge of the six-yard box but this time the Reading winger's volley was superbly saved by Itandje.

Liverpool spurned a real chance to restore their lead in the 48th minute when Torres set up Sebastian Leto but the Reds defender sent his shot wide of the far post. But the Merseysiders were back in front a minute later when Leto sent Torres through the middle with a slide-rule pass. The Spaniard made no mistake as he slipped the ball beyond Federici and into the corner of the net for the first of his terrific treble.

Moments later Bikey was booked for a foul on Torres as the Spaniard attempted to show him a clean pair of heels. Torres probably did not think he would be taking part in the Carling Cup when he signed for the Reds in the summer but after being rested for Liverpool's last two Barclays Premier league games, he was clearly in the mood to send the right message to Benitez.

The Spanish superstar may have found his omission hard to reconcile but the goal took his tally for the season to four in six starts. But while Torres was displaying all the reasons why Liverpool paid out £24million for him, Reading were far from finished. In the 64th minute Liverpool failed to deal with another Reading corner adequately enough and when the ball fell to Halls, his quick footwork allowed him to send a low shot into the corner of the net for their second equaliser of the night. But Torres struck for a second time in the 70th minute when he converted a low cross from substitute John Arne Riise to restore Liverpool's lead.

The Spaniard was now in his element and four minutes from the end he capped a superb performance with his hat-trick. England midfielder Steven Gerrard, on as a late substitute, put Torres in the clear and he kept his cool to round Federici and slot the ball into the waiting net.

Liverpool coach Rafa Benitez watched Fernando Torres smash a second-half hat-trick in the 4-2 win at Reading and then refused to guarantee the £24million record buy a place in the starting line-up against Wigan this weekend. When asked why he was left out of their last two league games, Benitez replied: "This was a very different game to last Saturday, it is about space. Will he start the next game? We will see. I cannot guarantee anything because I like to see my strikers during the week. We have four strikers and if I say now that he will play, it will be easy for Wigan. I am only thinking about my team. Our supporters are very clever, they know that I am trying to do the best for the team. Fernando knows why he was left out. It was because of space. I didn't need to explain it too much. All the players want to play in every game. If you say to me that Dirk Kuyt is a worse striker or Peter Crouch is a worse striker or Andriy Voronin is a worse striker then I would play Torres every game. But because we have very good strikers, I like to choose the strikers for every game and if it is necessary to change I will change. I am thinking about the best for my team. I think it was a terrific game for Fernando. But the team worked really hard and it was a very difficult game. We knew it could be like that but with the space, Fernando is really dangerous. But the rest of the team showed real character as well as Fernando. That is the key for me because you can play with one or two strikers working hard but other players not doing their jobs. But every player did a fantastic job."

Reading boss Steve Coppell saw his side twice get back on level terms only for Torres to undo all their good work. "I thought we had some good opportunities but the difference was obviously £20million," said Coppell. "We are disappointed. You want to play against the best players and that's where you make your reputation by stopping these people playing. For us to come off and he's scored three, then we are disappointed. With each goal he grew in confidence and became more expressive. For the first 45 minutes he was fairly anonymous. He didn't contribute much in the first half but that is the quality of £20-odd million. He gives them what they don't have with other players and that is just raw pace. A couple of times it wasn't a question of intricate play, it was just a question of kick it and run and he can run quicker than most. Realistically he is yet to set the world on fire in this division but as he got his goals he grew in stature. We had to take more gambles and that only opened up more avenues for him."

22nd September 2007 - Last Gasp Victory

A rare goal from midfielder James Harper a minute from time gave Reading a 2-1 victory over Wigan in the Barclays Premier League. Marcus Bent's first Wigan goal five minutes into the second period had cancelled out Dave Kitson's first-half opener, but the Reading striker had the last word by setting up his team-mate for the winner with the best pass of the day. Wigan left the Madejski Stadium with a sour taste in their mouths, however, after referee Keith Stroud awarded them a penalty before changing his mind in the first half. The Latics also had late chances to have gone ahead before Harper's goal, which ended Reading's run of three successive defeats.

Royals striker Kevin Doyle had been left out at Sunderland last week. His exertions for the Republic of Ireland had been part of the reason, but his failure to hit the net for his club in the previous five games was also a factor. Nevertheless, he was preferred to Leroy Lita for this one and immediately began to prove a point. A solo run in the eighth minute, which had seen Andreas Granqvist beaten, led to a wasteful shot from an angle, but his flick-on of Ivar Ingimarsson's clearing header was just perfect to send Liam Rosenior racing clear in the 17th. The former Fulham man, swapped for Seol Ki-Hyeon on deadline day and making his home debut, is not noted for his finishing, however, and failed to beat Chris Kirkland with the resulting shot.

Reading were galvanised, though, and Granqvist needed his height to prevent Kitson from flicking on Nicky Shorey's corner delivery into the net and the home side's breakthrough duly arrived just before the half hour. Kitson was the scorer but needed a huge slice of incompetence from Kirkland to net his second goal in as many games. Doyle had seen his initial shot blocked by the bulk of Titus Bramble but quickly regained possession of the rebound and, having turned Josip Skoko to line up a second attempt, saw Kirkland fumble it at his near post right into Kitson's path. The striker needed to be quick but had no difficulty in slotting home from all of four yards.

Controversy then arrived in the shape of Wigan's instant response when Jason Koumas tumbled into the box, having been tripped by Ingimarsson. Referee Stroud lost little time in awarding a penalty but, after Reading protested, then consulted a linesman and downgraded it to a free-kick just outside the box - a decision television replays seemed to indicate had been the right one. Wigan also wanted Ingimarsson sent off, but the Iceland international was shown only a yellow and Koumas then saw his free-kick beat the wall and goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann, only to bounce down to safety off the American.

Tempers remained frayed, with Michael Brown booked for hacking down Kitson and Rosenior shown a yellow card in stoppage time for impeding Koumas, who saw Hahnemann save his 25-yard free-kick.

Wigan equalised five minutes into the second half through Bent, who had been quiet up to then. The on-loan Charlton man, who had replaced the injured Emile Heskey against Fulham last week and was making his first start, had been disappointed to see Ingimarsson get in the way of Paul Sharner's attempt to set him up in front of goal. But he made no mistake from the corner that followed by getting in between Kitson and Michael Duberry to power a header from Koumas's delivery past Hahnemann from six yards.

It was not long before Bent had another go as Wigan took a grip on the game, but this time Hahnemann was able to parry and Ingimarsson hoofed away the loose ball. Reading swapped Rosenior for Bobby Convey just after the hour mark and Stephen Hunt glanced a header from Doyle's cross just wide of the far post. Convey was looking the man most likely to fashion a breakthrough for the home side and one pacy, low delivery from the right only just eluded Doyle and then Kitson in the box.

Wigan almost snatched victory with five minutes remaining, however, when substitute Julius Aghahowa, who had replaced the anonymous Antoine Sibierski, put Bent away, only for Duberry to time his tackle in the box to perfection. Hahnemann was fortunate not to concede a penalty when Wigan caught Reading on the counter-attack, but Aghahowa opted to try to carry on instead of going down and was intercepted by Ingimarsson. That allowed Reading to strike their decisive blow when Kitson carried the ball forward on the edge of the box before slotting a pass through to Harper, who beat Kirkland at his near post to seal a victory that had seemed unlikely.

Reading boss Steve Coppell admitted: "It was a massive goal for us and came at a stage in the game when if anyone was going to win it it was them. We were affected by their goal. In the first half we played well but when we scored we lost a bit of an edge. In the second half once again we couldn't go five minutes without conceding. They seemed to grow with the goal and on a couple of occasions we had to defend with our life's worth. Then to score at the end, we have had a few things go against us so it was nice to have that break coming our way. It was desperately important to win and there is no use hiding it. I said beforehand that it would be psychologically important and it's not how you win a game, just the fact that you have won it - and we have won it. Not in a convincing fashion but we have won it and we are out of the bottom three."

Wigan manager Chris Hutchings was convinced his side should have wrapped the game up well before Harper's goal with Bent allowing himself to be tackled by Michael Duberry in the box and substitute Julius Aghahowa seemingly impeded by goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann in another attack. The Nigerian might have gone down but opted to carry on in the hope of scoring but Hutchings was annoyed he had allowed himself to be caught up by a defender.

He said: "I don't know whether he stumbled or the 'keeper caught him but we still should have scored. We had two opportunities that we should have made better use of and if we had done that we would have won the game. It was not given, he stayed on his feet so we can't bleat about it now."

Coppell added: "He wasn't completely wiped out was he? He didn't have full control of the ball. The delay did us a favour because we had people chasing back. The player wanted to stay on his feet to be fair." On the penalty that was taken away Hutchings added: "That was a big decision and if he (the referee) has got it right then all credit to him."

15th September 2007 - Royals Lose Again

Sunderland marked the passing of FA Cup hero Ian Porterfield in fitting style to end a run of four defeats with a confident 2-1 victory over Reading. On an afternoon when minds were cast back to 1973 - 10 of the Wembley heroes were at the Stadium of Light - the class of 2007 served up a commanding display to see off last season's Barclays Premier League surprise package with relative ease.

Eyebrows were raised when manager Roy Keane paid Southampton £6million for striker Kenwyne Jones, but he capped a fine home debut with a superb 29th-minute strike to set his side on their way, and then provided the cross from which Ross Wallace made it 2-0 two minutes after the break. However, after going four games without a single goal, two were more than enough to kill off a poor Royals side on the day despite Dave Kitson's late consolation effort.

In the run-up to the game, Keane had insisted the best possible tribute his players could pay to Porterfield would be to secure three points, and they set about their task with relish. The loss of wide men Kieran Richardson and Carlos Edwards through injury had robbed the Irishman of two of his most creative forces, but the men he selected to plug the gaps proved more than capable as Sunderland dominated the first half. Local boy Grant Leadbitter lined up on the right, while Wallace added the width on the left and both were to be heavily involved. Indeed, much of the Black Cats' better play was channelled through Leadbitter and it was he who forced a fine 13th-minute save from keeper Marcus Hahnemann with a swerving right-foot volley after Danny Higginbotham's cross had been only half-cleared.

However, if it was Leadbitter calling the shots in midfield, Jones was making a big impression ahead of him as he made life intensely difficult for Ivar Ingimarsson and Andre Bikey at the heart of the Reading defence. He had already drilled in a long-range effort which caused Hahnemann some discomfort when he opened his Sunderland account with a superb 29th-minute strike. Leadbitter was the architect as he served the ball up on the edge of the area for the former Saints hitman to smash a left-foot shot past the keeper and into the bottom corner. Jones might have doubled his tally with a header which he directed just wide two minutes later, but should have done four minutes before the break. Wallace twisted and turned his way into space on the left to pick out Jones at the far post, but with the goal at his mercy, he headed firmly into the ground and saw the ball rear up and over the bar.

Reading created little of any note during the opening 45 minutes, but were almost handed a way back into the game in injury time when Kitson just failed to get on the end of Andre Bikey's header back across goal. Jones took little time to atone for his earlier miss when, less than two minutes after the restart, he danced into space on the right before drilling in a cross which eluded Michael Chopra, but arrived at Wallace's feet with perfect timing for the Scot to make it 2-0. Wallace, who was twice booked for removing his shirt after scoring last season, risked the wrath of his manager for doing exactly the same once again. However, Keane had more pressing concerns on 53 minutes when the Royals finally started to cause problems inside the home penalty area, debutant Liam Rosenior and Stephen Hunt both having shots blocked in a real melee. But Hahnemann continued to see more of the ball than he would have liked, and was a relieved man to see Chopra's right-foot shot fly past the post six minutes later. The Reading keeper handed Wallace a glorious opportunity to collect his second goal of the afternoon on 61 minutes when he could only deflect another Jones cross to his feet, but Graeme Murty got in a vital block to keep his side's fading hopes alive.

The former Celtic midfielder was replaced by Anthony Stokes three minutes later and the Irishman might have cemented the victory instantly, only to shoot straight at Hahnemann after being picked out by Chopra. Kitson saw an 80th-minute shot deflected over the bar as Reading sought consolation and that duly arrived five minutes later when he glanced home a Nicky Shorey cross to set up an anxious conclusion for the home side.

Roy Keane dedicated Sunderland's Barclays Premier League victory over Reading to FA Cup hero Ian Porterfield as his side ended its four-game losing run. Goals from home debutant Kenwyne Jones and Ross Wallace - who was booked for removing his shirt after scoring for the third time in his career on Wearside - fired the Black Cats into a 2-0 lead with 47 minutes gone, and the game should have been well beyond the visitors as chances went begging. Dave Kitson's 85th-minute header gave the Royals hope of an unlikely fightback, but Keane's men managed to hang on to claim a deserved three points.

Ten of the 1973 FA Cup winning team joined the players of both teams on the pitch to pay tribute to Porterfield following his death on Tuesday night, and Keane viewed what followed as a fitting conclusion to the day. He said: "It finished the day off nicely. It was a great tribute before the game and during the game. The players stayed focussed and it was a nice way to finish the day off, I have to say. We have all done it on different occasions, paid our respects to different people over the years, and I thought today was brilliant, even during the game, and the Reading fans were brilliant as well with that. That round of applause is very, very good, I have to say. But the best way of paying our respects was to put on a good performance and win the match, so hopefully he will be looking down and would have enjoyed it. It's important to remember our history."

Jones, a £6million signing from Southampton, tore Reading to shreds and might have completed a hat-trick to announce his arrival on Wearside in style, and his manager could hardly have been more delighted. Keane said: "It wasn't bad, was it? Very, very good. I thought he did quite well a few weeks ago. It's tough for him being up front on his own, but he gives us something a little bit different to the other good strikers we have got at the club. He worked very well with Michael Chopra and it was a very good home debut."

Coppell admitted his disappointment by a performance which did not give his side a chance of getting something from the game until the closing minutes. He said: "The spell after half-time was critical for us, 1-0 down - and we were never bothered by being 1-0 down - but 2-0 makes all the difference. The second goal was another soft goal for us. So far this season, we have been a little bit deficient in all areas - we are not scoring enough and we are certainly not as rigid at the back as we were last year. There's a lot to work on, for sure."

However, Coppell insisted he had no regrets at not including Republic of Ireland striker Kevin Doyle in the 16 after his exertions in the last week. He said: "It was probably a residue of our previous experience when he played two games for Ireland and then we had a trip to Bolton and by his own admission, he just had nothing left in the tank. I watched the two Irish games on TV and he played practically every minute and he played his heart out for his country in both games, in the final 30 minutes of the second game down to 10 men and he was ploughing a lone furrow up front. He got back at 2.30am on Thursday and then we were travelling on Friday. I wouldn't have changed that. That would be asking too much of him with the travelling involved.'"

3rd September 2007 - Liverpool Sky Date

The Royals 3rd Rd Carling Cup tie against Liverpool will be shown live on Sky TV. The game will take place at the MadStad on Tuesday 25th September (7:45pm).

1st September 2007 - Stuffed Again

West Ham wiped away the bad memories of their last visit to Reading by leaving the Madejski Stadium with a well-deserved 3-0 win. The Hammers had been thrashed 6-0 there on New Year's Day last term but never looked back after Craig Bellamy had given them an early lead. Matthew Etherington added two more in the second half, but Reading had known it was not to be their day when Kevin Doyle's penalty was saved.

It had taken the home fans just a few minutes to start the inevitable '6-0' chants, but within seconds Bellamy had netted his third goal in claret and blue, adding to his midweek Carling Cup double at Bristol Rovers with aplomb. Reading's undoing was of their own initial making, however, as James Harper was carelessly dispossessed in midfield by Lee Bowyer and Ivar Ingimarsson was never going to catch the Welshman. There was work still to be done for the £7.5million summer signing from Liverpool, but his low, angled drive from the right of the box was perfectly placed to elude the outstretched arm of goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann.

The Hammers had at last been able to give Dean Ashton his first start since the 2006 FA Cup final, with the birth of his first child having prevented that earlier in the week. The striker, who had missed all of last season's traumas through a shattered ankle, fired a shot at Hahnemann after having won a corner seconds earlier and the Hammers continued to look dangerous on the break. Mark Noble crashed a drive just wide from the edge of the box and there was a let-off for Hahnemann when he fumbled a cross into Etherington's path, only for the winger to stab it harmlessly wide.

Reading were relentless in their pursuit of an equaliser, however, and striker Leroy Lita was incensed when referee Howard Webb allowed play to continue after Anton Ferdinand had appeared to barge him over on the edge of the box. Brynjar Gunnarsson saw a shot blocked and Duberry headed just wide, before Doyle set up Stephen Hunt in the 43rd minute for box-edge effort that had the beating of Hammers goalkeeper Robert Green but bounced off the top of the crossbar.

It took West Ham just four second-half minutes to double their lead through Etherington. The winger played a clever one-two with Bellamy after Hayden Mullins' ball across the Reading box had not been intercepted and he was able to beat Hahnemann with a rising drive from an angle on the left.

Duberry headed a Hunt corner over from six yards as the West Ham fans taunted Nicky Shorey with chants of 'You should have joined West Ham', a reference to the Hammers' failed £4million bid in the run-up to the game. The England man had not enjoyed his afternoon, contributing little except a few free-kick deliveries.

Anton Ferdinand, who had put through his own goal in the January 1 debacle, was having a game to remember, however, dispossessing Lita in the box after Green had been booked in the 55th minute for time-wasting as he delayed his goal-kick while Ashton tied his laces. Reading swapped midfielder Emerse Fae for striker Dave Kitson just after the hour mark and within seconds Bowyer missed a great chance to put his side three up minute after Bellamy, seizing on an Ashton header, had put him through. The former Newcastle man rolled his shot past Hahnemann but also beyond the far post.

Ashton was replaced in the 65th minute by Carlton Cole, before Hahnemann's brave dive at Etherington's feet prevented the Hammers from claiming the points there and then. Reading swapped Gunnarsson for Kalifa Cisse in midfield, before Lita stabbed a good chance wide after Kitson's cross had reached him on the penalty spot. Reading passed up an opportunity to get back in the match when goalkeeper Green saved a penalty he had conceded himself. The England man upended Kitson but stayed on the pitch to guess correctly and block Doyle's spot-kick with a dive to his left.

Hahnemann kept the score down with a save to deny Cole, who had earlier fired just wide on the turn. Duberry did well to stop Etherington before Hunt and Bellamy clashed near a corner flag, with the Irishman seemingly throwing a punch at the Welshman. Referee Webb had not seen it too clearly but was quick to intervene and restore calm.Cisse saw a stoppage time effort blocked as Reading were destined to be denied even a consolation. There was still a goal in the game and Etherington claimed it with a solo run after Reading had been caught with too many men upfield in stoppage time.

Reading manager Steve Coppell admitted he now has a lot of 'soul-searching' to do after his side were comprehensively beaten 3-0 at home by West Ham. Craig Bellamy gave the Hammers an early advantage and Matthew Etherington scored two breakaway efforts in the second half to wrap up the points. Reading were denied even a consolation goal by goalkeeper Robert Green's penalty save from Kevin Doyle but Coppell admitted his side had been far too cavalier when going forward as West Ham had scorned a handful of other chances on the break. He said: "It's the first time since I have been here when I have been frightened when we attacked. It was naive to say the least. Every time we got forward in numbers they hit us on the break. We spoke about it at half-time but in the second half it was doubly so. Of their three goals two of them came from our corners and the first was the result of scavenging off a loose ball in midfield. With the international break coming up we have to do a lot of thinking to redirect what we are about. I'm all for attacking football and I tell players to commit forward but we had no structure. The number of times they broke, particularly down the left side, really hurt us. They could easily have scored a couple more. First and foremost we have a lot of soul-searching to do and then evaluate. One result has seen us hitting the alarm bells I must admit. We have a lot to do before our next game."

West Ham had been beaten 6-0 in the corresponding fixture last season but manager Alan Curbishley insisted there had been little desire for revenge. He was pleased his players had been so dominant with so many first-choices out injured, with Kieron Dyer the latest to be sidelined after suffering a broken leg in midweek. He said: "We never spoke too much about last year. I'm delighted for the boys who have come in because we have been hit by injuries again and some of them stepped up to the plate today. We have a few injuries at the moment and it has tested us but we put on a decent display. This was an important result because if we hadn't got anything we would have been in the bottom reaches. Now we find ourselves in the top half."

Dean Ashton made his first start for more than a year and lasted 65 minutes. Curbishley said: "I have said all along we have been managing him so we are delighted he had 65-odd minutes. Now he has got to push on."

1st September 2007 - Carling Cup Draw

Reading have been drawn at home to Liverpool in the 3rd Round of the Carling Cup. Ties are to be played week commencing 24th September.

The full draw is:
Blackburn v Birmingham
Reading v Liverpool
Man Utd v Coventry
Spurs v Middlesbrough
Hull v Chelsea
Blackpool v Southend
West Ham v Plymouth
Arsenal v Newcastle
Luton v Charlton
Man City v Norwich
Sheffield Utd v Morecambe
Sheffield Wed v Everton
Fulham v Bolton
Burnley v Portsmouth
Aston Ville v Nottm Forest or Leicester
WBA v Cardiff