Published: Thursday, 20th November, 2008 11:00
Royals reaping rewards - Hahnemann
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Marcus Hahnemann feels Reading are now getting the results their displays deserve.
MARCUS Hahnemann says Reading are now finally getting the results away from home that their performances deserve.
Many had questioned the ability of the Royals to win on the road after they picked up three points just once in their first five away games.
But in the past month they have won impressively at Bristol City and Sheffield United and Hahnemann insists they are back on the right track.
He said: “We felt like we were playing well for a long time it was just that we didn’t quite get the results.
“Like at Burnley we lost but we played well, we hit the post three times and didn’t have any luck. The guys up front didn’t do badly but sometimes it hits the post and comes out and sometimes it goes in.
“Even their goal went through someone’s legs so I saw it late and it went right in the corner. With a little bit more luck that doesn’t happen and it’s a good away draw.
“But we have picked up away and we have got the results and that’s all that matters. Our home form has been great and we need to keep that going while also picking up our away form which we have.”
Hahnemann feels last Saturday’s 2-0 win at promotion rivals Sheffield United sent out a clear message to the rest of the league that Reading are beginning to hit their stride.
The Royals roared into a two goal lead during the first half and then withstood a barrage of high balls from the hosts after the break to hang on for the win.
It was a display which suggested that the Royals would not be out-muscled this season and the American keeper was full of praise for how the team performed.
He said: “We played great, we played really well first half and second half we hung on. We defended really well.
“They’ve got Greg Halford who is big and has the long throw. Any time the ball goes out of play they had that advantage. I think it’s longer than Delap’s, it’s ridiculous. I came and caught one of them and I was 10 yards out at the far post.”
The 36-year-old added: “I think it had a little bit of everything. We played really well in the first half but we knew we’d be under pressure in the second half. They’ve got Beattie up front, Billy Sharp and then they brought on Darius (Henderson).
“They had height and a lot of weapons. We knew it would be rough and tumble but we dealt with that. We dealt with everything they gave us and that was probably what was most rewarding.
“We kept a clean sheet at a difficult place, it was a great result for us.”
Now Hahnemann wants the Royals to build on the momentum they are building up because he knows they can’t afford to fall further adrift of league leaders Wolves.
“Everything’s going well for everybody right now and we need to keep that feeling going,” he said.
“When you get a little bit of luck it seems to just keep rolling, it’s kind of hard to explain but when you have that feeling you’re just going to win games.”
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