Skipper offers 'no excuses' for shock FA Cup defeat
Anthony Smith • Published 10 Jan 2012 17:30
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READING skipper Jobi McAnuff offered no excuses after his side's FA Cup hopes were shattered by Stevenage.
League One Stevenage pulled off one of the few shocks in the third round after their 1-0 victory at Madejski Stadium on Saturday.
And McAnuff, 30, admitted Graham Westley's visitors bossed the game and deserved to go through to the fourth round where they will host Notts County.
Reading had made it through to the last two quarter finals of the competition, picking up famous wins over Liverpool, Everton and West Brom along the way.
McAnuff declared: "To say we're disappointed is an understatement. The cup has been a good competition for us in the last couple of years and obviously we wanted to go on another run this year. But we didn't deserve anything from the game - we were nowhere near it on the day.
"There wasn't one thing in particular that went wrong. We knew it was going to be a tough match - we played them last year and we knew what we would be up against. There are no excuses from that point of view.
"I think we probably got sucked into their way of playing a little bit and we didn't stamp our authority on the game.
"We didn't use the ball well enough. It's hard for the strikers when we're lumping balls forward to them. That's what Stevenage wanted and they played well, they deserved it."
To compound McAnuff's frustrations, he also lost the ball in the build-up to Darius Charles' 21st minute winner for Stevenage, condemning Royals to back-to-back defeats following their 3-1 loss at Cardiff City in the league last week.
"It's always disappointing when you have something to do with conceding a goal," he admitted. "You take the plaudits and the pats on the back when you're doing well, and you've got to take the stick when you haven't performed.
"We wanted to put a good performance in against Stevenage off the back of the Cardiff defeat recently, but we haven't done that.
"We've had a couple of bad results, but we've been here before. We're very confident about what we've got in the dressing room, and we've just got to pick ourselves up and go again."
Royals hope to end their run of back-to-back league and cup defeats and secure their first win of 2012 when they travel to Watford this Saturday. The televised clash at Vicarage Road kicks off at 5.20pm (live, Sky Sports).
With Reading fifth in the Championship table, former Hornet McAnuff stressed: "We're in a great position in the league and we've done very well to get there in the first half of the season. Now we need a strong second half to the season.
"There's plenty more there for us this year, it's just about dusting ourselves down and going again.
"We'll be even more determined to banish those last two performances - and the only way to do that is to go and get a result at Watford.
"It'll be another tough game, but we'll be ready come the weekend."
** STOKE CITY have joined West Ham United in the battle to sign out-of-contract Jimmy Kebe, according to reports.
But Reading still hope the 27-year-old winger will sign a new two-and-a-half year deal at Madejski Stadium.
Kebe missed last weekend's FA Cup defeat through injury, but is expected to return this Saturday for the trip to Watford.
Meanwhile, Reading goalkeepers Alex McCarthy, 22, and Mikkel Andersen, 23, have signed new deals until summer 2015.
McCarthy is set to join Ipswich Town on loan. **
This article appeared in Reading Chronicle 10 Jan 12
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