Published: Saturday, 27th September, 2008 12:00
Royals slay sorry Swans
By Anthony Smith
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Reading 4 Swansea City 0
Man of the moment: Stephen Hunt is in sensational form for Reading.
READING made it four straight home victories in the league with a convincing 4-0 win over Swansea City that moved them up to third in the Championship table.
Royals may still be searching for their first three points on the road this season, but their form at the Madejski Stadium is nothing short of stunning.
Steve Coppell's men boast an impressive 100% record and have scored a whopping 16 goals along the way, conceding just twice in the process.
The ground has become a fortress and no team will relish a trip to Berkshire to face them in this form. It was certainly a step too far for the newly-promoted Swans who at least avoided the landslide defeat that looked on the cards when they were 3-0 down at the interval.
Coppell made two changes to the side drew 2-2 at Watford with the help of the infamous `phantom goal.'
Ivar Ingimarsson recovered from a stomach bug to reclaim his place in defence - as well as the captain's armband - costing youngster Alex Pearce his place in the squad.
Skipper James Harper also pulled out with an ankle strain which meant a first league start in nine months for Brynjar Gunnarsson following a serious knee injury.
And on the bench 19-year-old James Henry was prefered to Bobby Convey after his man-of-the-match display in the Carling Cup penalties defeat to Premier League Stoke City in midweek.
But Swansea had made a steady start to the campaign themselves after reaching this level for the first time in 24 years by running away with the League One title.
Roberto Martinez's side is heavily influenced by continental and Spanish signings, so much so that last week Wales and Liverpool legend Ian Rush dubbed them the `Arsenal of the Championship' for their slick, passing style.
However, Royals are no mugs at home where they boast an impressive 100% record including a 6-0 hammering Sheffield Wednesday last time out.
And Coppell's men started on the front foot with Kevin Doyle heading over and Gunnarsson shooting into the side netting from a Noel Hunt cross in the opening 10 minutes.
But it wasn't long before their early domination paid-off from a superbly executed set-piece in the 19th minute.
Stephen Hunt whipped in a dangerous corner to the near post where brother Noel arrived to plant an unstoppable header past Dorus De Vries for his fifth of the season.
Moments earlier Swansea had narrlowly survived an idential corner but they clearly failed to heed the warning.
Royals, on the other hand, were playing with confidence and style. Ingimarsson fired over from close range from another excellent Stephen Hunt centre then the Republic of Ireland star saw his free-kick well saved by De Vries at the foot of his post.
It was one-way traffic and the hosts carved out a second goal on 26 minutes their superiority deserved.
Once again, the Swans defence failed to deal with the danger before Noel Hunt teed up Doyle who drilled home his seventh of the season.
Th chances kept coming thick and fast and Jimmy Kebe forced an excellent save out of De Vries before the third goal arrived in the 40th minute.
Coppell's men were almost toying with their oppoents on the edge of the area before Chris Armstrong combined with Kebe to set up Stephen Hunt, the winger applying the clinical finish from 10 yards for his fourth of the season.
The half was embarrassingly one-sided. Swansea simply had no answer to the ruthless Royals and appeared completely out of their depth.
`Three nil to the In-ger-lund' sang the home fans. In fact, it should have been `Three nil to Ireland' given the identity of their goalscorers.
Martinez had seen enough and the Spaniard made two changes at half time with Mark Gower replacing Thomas Butler while the ineffective Jason Scotland made way for Manchester United loan striker Febien Brandy.
Five minutes after the restart Jordi Gomez saw his long-range effort defelcted just over the bar but other than that Marcus Hahnemann had been a spectator in the Reading goal.
However, the USA keeper showed great reflexes in the 67th minute to tip Gomez's curling 25-yard free-kick onto the crossbar.
But they were token gestures from the Welsh club with Doyle and Rosenior going close at the other end.
With the victory already in the bag, Coppell brought off players to rest them for Tuesday's mouthwatering clash at Wolves, who maintained their position at the top of the Championship by defeating Bristol City 2-0 earlier in the day.
Henry came on briefly for his first league appearance and there was still time for Doyle to grab his second of the game and eighth of the campaign with a neat finish in the 90th minute to round off a terrific win for the Royals, and a day that Swansea will want to forget.
Reading (4-4-2): Hahnemann - Rosenior, Bikey, Ingimarsson, Armstrong - Kebe (Henry 81), Gunnarsson (Cisse 70), Karacan, S.Hunt - Doyle, N.Hunt (Long 76). Subs not used: Andersen, Kelly. Booked: Gunnarsson 24
Swansea City (4-4-2): De Vries - Rangel, Monk, Williams, Bessone - Gomez, Bodde, Britton, Butler (Gower 46) - Pintado, Scotland (Brandy 46). Subs not used: Tate, Orlandi, Tudor-Jones. Booked: Bodde 36.
Referee: Scott Mathieson (Cheshire).
Attendance: 20,093.
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