McDermott aiming to make Hawthorns history

Anthony Smith • Published 23 Feb 2010 19:00 0 Comments

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ROYALS boss Brian McDermott is confident his players can create their own piece of history in their FA Cup fifth round replay at West Bromwich Albion tomorrow night (Wednesday, 7.45pm ko).

Reading will qualify for the quarter finals for the first time in 83 years if they can beat the Baggies at the Hawthorns.

The only other time the club has made the last eight was way back in 1926/27 when they went on to reach the semis before losing to eventual winners Cardiff City.

And McDermott declared: "We want to go through. It will be the first time in 80-odd years that a Reading team has got that far and we want to do it.

"If you get into the quarter finals and become one of the last eight in the country it's a fantastic achievement."

Reading have already knocked out Premier League duo Liverpool and Burnley in the earlier rounds and they were only three minutes away from beating the Baggies at the Madejski Stadium when Joe Mattock's equaliser made it 2-2 to secure the replay at the Hawthorns.

And McDermott insisted: "If you think it's been 83 years these guys can make their own history on the night.

"These guys went to Liverpool and that game will be remembered for many years to come. Let's hope the same happens with West Brom.

"I think history is very important. This is fantastic club and we have a chance of reaching the last eight.

"If you get there anything can happen. One more win and you are at Wembley. We've really, really enjoyed this cup run and we want it to continue."

The FA Cup may not be the glamour competition it once was but it still has a special place in McDermott's heart.

"I went to three Wembley cup finals with Arsenal in 1978, 1979 and 1980," he recalled.

"I went when we lost to Ipswich 1-0, I went when we beat Manchester United 3-2 and when we lost 1-0 to West Ham.

But I remember the whole run because I went to every single round.

"The funny thing is the semi finals were amazing games in front of 60,000 at Villa Park because you were one step away from Wembley. They were special, special games.

"Now we want to go through, we want to do it. We felt we were unfortunate in the first game but we have another opportunity."

Both clubs go into the replay on the back of defeats in the Championship. Reading were beaten 2-0 at Blackpool on Saturday while the Baggies lost 2-1 at Bristol City a day later.

McDermott added: "West Brom are third in the Championship, they have good players and they're very solid.

"They didn't have a great result on Sunday. I was at the game and they controlled the first half. But after the that Bristol City played really well and they deserved to win."

The winners of the replay will earn a home tie against either Aston Villa or Crystal Palace in the quarter final.

"It's a home draw which is a good incentive for West Brom and us," argued McDermott.

"People see the cup as a distraction but it has galvanised us as a club and put us back on the map, especially the Liverpool game."

Meanwhile, Royals skipper Ivar Ingimarsson is set to return to the side in place of Zurab Khizanishvili who is cup tied.

Striker Simon Church and midfielder Brynjar Gunnarsson face late fitness tests after they were forced off in the league defeat at Blackpool.

Czech ace Marek Matejovsky will also win a place in the squad having recovered from a groin injury.

West Brom midfielder James Morrison could return for the first time in 10 months for Roberto Di Matteo's side.

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