LIVE - Reading v Brighton
James Walker-Roberts • Published 26 Dec 2011 13:55
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Reading 3-0 Brighton
FULL-TIME. A third successive win for Reading means they go sixth in the Championship, one point above Leeds United. Royals were under the cosh for much of the second half but were already 2-0 up thanks to Jobi McAnuff and Simon Church and they added a third late on through an Adam El-Abd own goal. Next up for Reading is a home match with Ipswich Town on December 31 (3pm ko).
93 mins - Pearce comes off for Ian Harte.
91 mins - GOOOOOOOAAAAAL!!! An own goal from El-Abd adds to Brighton's misery. Kebe breaks away down the right and puts in a teasing cross across the six-yard box that El-Abd slides for and deflects past the goalkeeper and into the net.
89 mins - That could well be Brighton's last chance, another cross from Noone reaches Sparrow and he heads into Federici's arms. Four minutes of injury-time added on.
87 mins - Simon Church comes off to be replaced by Mathieu Manset, Brighton fans singing 'we're going to win 3-2' but time is running out now.
85 mins - Another good cross from Noone is not finished off, this time Federici gathers in the middle of the six-yard box.
83 mins - Royals really have offered very little this half and Brighton are still not out of this match, a goal now would set up an intriguing final five minutes.
79 mins - Brighton's best chance of the match is spurned by Mackail-Smith! Another excellent cross from Noone from the left wing reaches the striker eight yards out from goal but he heads wide with just Federici to beat, should have buried that for sure!
77 mins - Again Brighton go close, this time Mackail-Smith is inches away from connecting from a headed flick on.
74 mins - Griffin goes into the book for a lunge on Sparrow after Gorkss gave the ball away in defence. First change for Reading as Noel Hunt comes on for Le Fondre.
72 mins - Brighton might be losing but their fans are making all the noise at the moment, a goal for the away side would not be against the run of play.
70 mins - Now Harley takes a shot from the edge of the box that Federici dives to save, Brighton certainly on top at the moment.
69 mins - Huge appeals for a penalty from the travelling fans and the Brighton players as Griffin appears to foul Mackail-Smith in the six-yard box when the striker was looking to get on the end of Noone's cross. That could well have been given, very fortunate for Reading that the referee did not point to the spot.
66 mins - Best chance of the match for Brighton as a cross from Noone from the left reaches Paynter at the near post and he turns the ball over the bar! At the other end, Le Fondre drills a shot across the face of goal.
64 mins - Third booking of the match for Brighton, this time it's Sparrow who is shown a yellow for fouling Cummings.
61 mins - First changes of the match, Craig Noone comes on for Lua Lua and Billy Paynter on for Buckley.
60 mins - Poyet is again on the edge of the pitch after Buckley is tackled by Griffin, nothing wrong with the tackle though and the Brighton man is back up.
58 mins - Now a corner at the other end after a deflected shot from Lua Lua, that goes behind for another corner and Reading clear after Karacan is fouled.
56 mins - Good move from Reading results in a corner but Pearce is underneath the header and it goes well over the bar.
53 mins - And another yellow card for Brighton, this time for Bridcutt for an earlier tackle that the referee played on from. Reading enjoying some good possession now and Le Fondre nearly finishes it off with a goal but his shot from 25 yards goes wide of the post.
50 mins - First booking of the match goes to El-Abd for a challenge on McAnuff.
49 mins - Brighton still in the ascendency as Taricco fires a half volley over the bar.
46 mins - This time Lua Lua finds Sparrow and his shot is blocked on the edge of the area, good early pressure from Brighton.
45 mins - The floodlights are taking full effect now and it's Brighton who have made the brighter start to the second half with Lua Lua bursting past Cummings and seeing his cross cleared.
Teams are back out, no changes for either side as Brighton kick-off, playing towards their own fans this half.
Some debate about that second McAnuff goal, the replays show it hit Simon Church on the way in and the Welshman appeared to move towards the ball. Both men will probably be claiming that one.
HALF-TIME. Two goals from Jobi McAnuff mean that Reading go into the break 2-0 ahead and well on course to pick up their third straight Championship win.
47 mins - GOOOOOOOAAAALLLLL! And it's McAnuff again! This time the skipper cuts in from the left wing and drills in a shot from the edge of the box that takes a deflection and goes over the diving Ankergren.
46 mins - Superb work from Federici to come out and slide for a ball over the top at the feet of a Brighton player.
45 mins - Two minutes to be added on.
44 mins - Brilliant work from first Griffin to backtrack and tackle Mackail-Smith and then Kebe, who holds off Lua Lua and whips in a cross that Le Fondre can only head down into the ground and at Ankergren.
42 mins - The Argentinian appears to be fine and makes his way back on to the pitch. Just a few minutes left until half-time.
40 mins - More boos from the Reading fans, this time as Taricco goes down after a 50-50 challenge with Le Fondre.
36 mins - Reading have offered very little since the opening goal and are on the back foot a bit here as Brighton are growing into the match. The visitors very nearly draw level through Sparrow, who fizzes in a shot under pressure that just goes the other side of the post with Federici at full stretch.
32 mins - Gus Poyet comes racing out of his technical area to complain about a challenge by Leigertwood on Taricco that the referee says was fair.
30 mins - Good break from Reading thanks to McAnuff's intercept but the linesman's flag goes up when he passes to Le Fondre, that looked tight but probably the right decision.
28 mins - Another Brighton injury, this time it's Lua Lua who is down after a challenge from Cummings. Again he is alright though and returns to the pitch.
26 mins - Couple of good chances for Brighton, first Sparrow's cross needs to be punched away by Federici and then an effort from El-Abd takes a deflection and lands on the roof of the net. Reading have not really kicked on since taking the lead.
22 mins - Decent spell of possession from Brighton ends with Lua Lua's cross being cleared out of play by Pearce and then Reading go up the other end and Church tackles Dunk, who stays down injured but eventually returns to the pitch.
17 mins - Another chance from the left wing, this time Le Fondre gets out wide and crosses to the penalty spot but Leigertwood can't direct his effort on target and it rolls out for a goal-kick.
15 mins - GOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAALLLL! It's Jobi McAnuff! Just moments after putting in a teasing cross himself, McAnuff is on the end of a brilliant left-wing delivery from Kebe. Royals skipper gets in front of his man well and fires past the goalkeeper from the penalty spot.
14 mins - So close for Reading! McAnuff does well to get free down the left and delays his cross twice but when he does play it, it goes right across the six-yard area and nobody is there to tap it in.
12 mins - First chance of the match for Brighton and Brian McDermott would not have been happy if that had gone in. Adam El-Abd is left all alone on the edge of the box and is able to turn and fire in a half-volley which Federici holds comfortably at his near post. Straight up the other end and Church is inches away from getting on the end of Cumming's brilliant ball over the top.
10 mins - Reading are bossing this game at the moment. More appeals for a penalty as Le Fondre goes down in the area under a challenge from Dunk while trying to get to an excellent Kebe cross. Nothing giving though.
9 mins - Another chance for Reading, this time Leigertwood is almost fouled in the box as he dummies to shoot and then Le Fondre turns behind McAnuff's cross at the front post.
8 mins - Excellent build up play from Reading results in the first real chance of the match. McAnuff does well to keep the ball on the left and passes back for Griffin, whose cross is well met by Karacan but then Kebe's effort from eight yards out is deflected over the bar by Dunk.
4 mins - First shot of the match comes from Jem Karacan but takes a deflection and loops up into the air, making it comfortable for Ankergren, although he does give the visiting fans a scare by dropping it at the first attempt.
3 mins - Craig Mackail-Smith shows a great turn of pace to beat Alex Pearce to a ball over the top but his touch is poor and it runs out for a throw, early warning sign for Reading.
2 mins - Reading enjoying some early possession but no chances yet for either side.
And we're off!
Not many empty seats in the Madejski for this Boxing Day clash, it's going to be Reading to start us off, playing from left to right, towards the Brighton fans.
And the teams are out, Reading in all white and Brighton in yellow and dark blue striped tops with black shorts and yellow socks.
Just 10 minutes to go until kick-off and the stadium is filling up nicely, plenty of noise coming from the travelling Brighton fans in the away end.
The last time these two teams met in the league was back in the 2005/06 season in the Championship, with both sides going in opposite directions at the end of the year. Reading won the match 5-1 thanks to a hat-trick from Dave Kitson, a Stephen Hunt header and a Brighton own goal and then went on to win promotion to the Premier League with a record 106 points. Brighton, on the other hand, were relegated and have only returned to the Championship this season.
The Reading players receive a huge ovation as they run out on to the pitch to warm-up, plenty of optimism around the ground today and Brian McDermott will be hoping his side can deliver a third straight Championship win.
Team sheets are in, and Robson-Kanu is not included in the squad. Kebe takes his place in the starting line-up while Andy Griffin maintains his spot at right-back, with Ian Harte on the bench.
Reading: Federici, Cummings, Gorkss, Pearce, Griffin, McAnuff, Leigertwood, Karacan, Kebe, Church, Le Fondre. Subs: Andersen, Harte, Hunt, Tabb, Antonio.
Brighton: Ankergren, El-Abd, Greer, Dunk, Taricco, Bridcutt, Harley, Buckley, Lua Lua, Mackail-Smith, Sparrow. Subs: Brezovan, Navarro, Noone, Paynter, Hall.
Early team news is that Jimmy Kebe is back in the side in place of Hal Robson-Kanu for Reading. The visitors to the Madejski have just come out on to the pitch to start their warm-up, no sign of Royals yet.
Good afternoon and welcome to the Madejski Stadium for live minute-by-minute coverage of Reading's Championship clash with Brighton.
Hope that you all had a very Merry Christmas and that the Royals can deliver a belated present on Boxing Day - three points against Gus Poyet's men.
The newly-promoted Seagulls got off to a flier at the start of the season, winning five of their first six matches, but have since slipped back down the table and are currently sitting 10th - one point behind Reading.
In contrast, the Royals have been in excellent form lately, with four victories from their last five matches, including recent wins over West Ham and Leeds United.
They go into this match just one place outside of the play-off places and will be keen to end the year with back-to-back home wins against Brighton today and Ipswich Town on December 31.
Kick-off is at 3pm and team news is expected at around 2.30.
This article appeared in Reading Chronicle 26 Dec 11
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