DESPITE having nine players away at the Commonwealth Games, Reading floored Fareham 7-1 to reach the semi finals of England Hockey’s Tier 1 Championship, writes Dave Wright.

The Blues now visit Conference East champions Oxted this Sunday and the Surrey club will almost certainly prove much tougher opponents than a Fareham side coached by former Reading player Ben Barnes.

If Barnes’ plan was to try to defend in depth in a bid to frustrate the cup holders, then he was soon made to think again.

In the first minute, Blues skipper Ben Boon set up Tom Carson for the first of his three goals and Carson doubled the lead from their first penalty corner with nine minutes gone.

Fareham had no answer to their hosts’ short-corner routines, with Rick Mantell making it 3-0 on 15 minutes and Carson soon following up with another to complete his hat-trick.

Stuart Loughrey netted the fifth on the half-hour mark with Boon hitting the target again a minute later.

Holding a commanding 6-0 lead, Blues looked set to take their tally into double figures in the second half, but they took their foot off the gas and, despite plenty of pressure, struggled to provide the finishing touch.

Conference West side Fareham kept going and even gave home keeper Jon Ashby a bit of work to do before they bagged a 61st-minute consolation goal through Tom Larcombe.

Reading, however, had the last say with Kiran Patel scoring their seventh goal just seconds before the final whistle, taking the team’s total to an impressive 29 goals in four ties with just three conceded.

The winners on Sunday will face Beeston or University of Birmingham in the final.

Reading 3rds and 4ths have both won their respective leagues, MBBO Regional Two and MBBO Division One.

In their latest matches, the 3rds trounced Newbury & Thatcham 10-1, while the 4ths blasted Bicester 5-1.