MATCH REPORT: 2002/2003 Season

1 January 2003: LEAGUE DIVISION ONE
READING 0 LEICESTER CITY 0
MATCH ABANDONED AT HALF TIME DUE TO WATERLOGGED PITCH
goals
Reading: -
Leicester City
: -
Half Time: 0-0
Attendance: -

DIVISION ONE  1 Jan 2003
Pos Team P Pts GD
5 Norwich 26 43 +14
6 READING 25 42 +5
7 C Palace 27 41 +12
teams
Reading: Hahnemann, Murty, Williams, Brown, Shorey, Igoe, Harper, Newman, Tyson, Butler, Cureton. Subs not used: Henderson, Watson, Salako, Mackie, Rougier.
Leicester City:
Walker, Impey, Rogers, Sinclair, Elliott, Scowcroft, Stewart, Izzet, McKinlay, Deane, Dickov. Subs not used: Summerbee, Davidson, Benjamin, Heath, Lewis.
bookings
Reading: -.
Leicester City:
-.
Referee: M Warren (W Midlands)
report

Torrential rain on an already saturated Madejski Stadium pitch led to a near expected half time abondonment this afternoon. The game was called off with the score at 0-0 and the likelyhood of any decent football being played on a soaking pitch looking less and less likely. It was still a massive disappointment with Reading showing some bright signs despite the ball being continually caught up in the mud during the first half. The half time announcement stated both managers had agreed to call the game off - but it turned out later that the decision was purely the referees with both managers saying they were not consulted and had wanted to continue the game. As it turned out it stopped raining at half time and the rain held out for what would have been the second half - but it would have made no difference with the pitch clearly not playable.

It would perhaps of been wrong to blame the referee for not postponing the game before it kicked off - at 1pm the pitch was just about playable - it was only as the rain came down with the game underway that it started to look in doubt. An earlier postponement might not have saved the Leicester fans a wasted journey but it might well have saved Reading fans from venturing out. It would have certainly saved all fans a lot of money spent on attending the game which they will now be expected to pay out again thanks to the weather, the referee's decision and the policies of Reading Football Club in choosing to charge fans again for the re-arranged fixture.

The game itself means nothing in terms of the league table - but leaves Reading in sixth position in the table with a further game in hand on some teams. It was interesting to see the Royals start the game with the same line-up that had beaten Derby County - a line-up that looked good against Leicester City who are one of the best sides in the Division. There wasn't the conditions or the time to show what we could do, but Sammy Igoe was again excellent in his involvement in the game. On the other wing Tyson failed to cope with the massive amount of surface water on his side of the pitch and prodded a number of passes way too short as it got caught up in the water to lose possession. Hardly his fault given the weather.

Up front we showed that perhaps we had the edge of the visitors by winning eight corners without a single one going the other way. Jamie Cureton had one of Reading's best chances when he broke through the defence but put the shot the wrong side of the post when trying to beat the goal keeper. Martin Butler also nearly broke through the City defence but was effectively tackled by the pitch when the ball held up and he failed to run through to finish the job. One of Reading's best moves came when the ball was chipped forward down the right wing allowing Igoe to run on and put in a great cross - but play started to break down more and more as the half went on as it became increasingly impossible to play football on the ground.

Reading's defence also looked a lot tighter than Leicesters. While we managed to so nearly break through a couple of times the visitors were restricted to a few long range efforts. Even so, Hahnemann needed to be in good form to keep City out and made a couple of good saves, and also did well to claim a couple of crosses. It was all good signs that should see Reading in with a good chance of the full three points when this game is played out in full on a new date. However, the new fixture will, without doubt, be a totally different style of game - unless we have a repeat of the massive quantity of rainfall we saw during the 45 minute spell today.
Graham

Following report from John Wells:
Although this game will count for nothing at the end of the season it was still interesting to see how the Royals measured up to opponents which at this stage must be considered as strong favourites for an automatic promotion spot. The City line up included several players of Premiership quality in Walker, Elliot, Izzet, Impey and Deane. This was to be a real test for Reading.

From the kick-off the ball was sticking in places as Tyson in particular found on several occasions as he left the ball behind in an attempt to dribble past Impey. The rain lashed down shortly after kick off and conditions deteriorated to make even a simple pass difficult in certain areas of the field. Neither side could claim to have mastered the awful conditions but it was Reading that created the clearer openings. The best chance fell to Cureton after thirty-two minutes when he found himself with only Walker to beat, but as the 'keeper advanced he slipped his shot wide of the upright.

When half time came I think it was fair to say that Reading had more than held their own against an experienced and physically strong team. Certainly, on this performance they can face City in the re-arranged fixture with confidence and expect to get something from the game.

The referee was right to call the game off because conditions were not suitable for a decent game of football. I suspect the pitch was waterlogged quite early in the day, and given the weather forecast and the length of the journey Leicester fans had to make, I think the game should have been called off much earlier in the day. Hindsight is a wonderful thing!


FANS' POST MATCH OPINION
caversham royal
The comment in the news section of Hob Nob summed up the game for me: null and void. In the end, whether the ref was right of wrong, the game was abandoned and nothing can change that now. What could and should change is the club's appalling stance concerning the re-arranged match. Making people shell out again, 50% or not, is a flippin' insult to the paying public. As a season ticket holder, it doesn't affect me come the re-match, but there will be many people, particularly families who may have decided to come out for the holiday fixture, who shelled out A LOT on dosh for today. In my eyes, the club are making money out of the match being called off at the fan's expense. Now I have no idea of the cost to a club like Reading in terms of staging your average Div1 fixture, but to my mind the only folk who actually paid, rather than BEING paid to be there today were the supporters, and it is they and ONLY they who will have to do so again. Tarting this up like they're doing us a favour says very little of the club's opinion of it's supporters and our intelligence. Whilst poor weather is not the club's fault, why should those who parted with their money be made to do so again for something that was equally not their fault either.
As far as I can see, the only losers in this scenario are the fans and as with the ridiculous hike in prices at the beginning of the season, the 'powers-that-be' at the club show themselves to be arrogant and OUT OF TOUCH with their supporters and their feelings. Poor, poor, poor. Those in authority at the club should show the supporters a bit more respect and try to foster a little good will from time to time, rather than just concentrating on filling the coffers.
loyal royal
With the same side as Saturday and Reading playing some good stuff at times, despite the conditions, I believe the ref made the right decision. Did I say that?
Unfortunately, the fans who bought tickets will not be feeling very happy, having to stump up more cash to watch the replay but hey, if you are a loyal Royal with a season ticket, what's the problem? And think of the poor old Leicester fans! Travelled all that way, paid all that money, supped all that beer, ate all those pies and for what. To fill the Royals coffers of course, thanks lads! See you at the replay.
All joking aside there is a bigger issue here, a winter break. Today's match was a good advert for having a winter break in common with the rest of Europe. We will never be able to legislate for unexpected, adverse weather but what we can do is admit that the weather is not good between November and March. As a nation we constantly criticise our footballers for their "perceived" lack of skill but are they given the best possible playing conditions to develop those skills, no, they are not. Lets take today. Before the game started the pitch had become saturated so it didn't need a genius to work out that any more rain would make it un-playable. Clubs and officials are under pressure to get the game played to avoid a back log of fixtures. The obvious solution is to make sure all games are played in the best possible conditions thus avoiding postponements and abandonment's. How is this achieved? Don't play in the winter, it's simple.
neil
I don't agree saying the ref couldn't be blamed for not calling the game at the start. In this day & age with the ability to look at long-range weather forcasts it should have been possible to see that the likelihood of more rain falling was going to make the conditions even more difficult. I'm also not too impressed with the clubs 'good-will' gesture of knocking 50% off the entrance fee for the re-arranged game. They're saying you haven't got to keep your original ticket, so people who didn't go to this game can now see it for half price. Nice job of shitting on the fans once again.
hert
I have never written on here before but feel so strongly regarding todays decision to abandon the game I feel I had to give my views. I totally disagree with your report, the club have full info on the weather and that if the pitch before kick off was very wet and looking close to being playable surely the heavy rain which had been predicted for the Thames Valley area would tip it over the edge. If the referee was so unhappy with the pitch why wait til half time? My theory is this, if you cancel a game before half time a full refund has to be made, after half time the club only need make concessions, which I understand is half price next time. Who made the decision? No other club along the M4 corridor had a half time abandonment (Cardiff,Wycombe,Crystal Palace). Who's got the state of the art stadium? Hmmmmmm. The whole thing stinks, and costs real fans money.
Happy new year Reading Football Business FC.
p.s. I still hope we go up! C'mon URZ!
kevin
worthing royal
Whether the referee was correct in abandoning at half time is debatable. Had the game gone on, you can bet your life, whoever won would have justified it, and the losers would have called it a disgrace. What annoys me is the fact that when we left the ground on Saturday, the pitch was perfect. No amount of rain could have churned it up the way it was, and rain certainly does not create bare patches. The main problem yesterday was the fact that a rugby match destroyed the surface on Sunday.
The hundreds of thousands that were spent relaying in the close season will now have to be spent again. How come Arsenal managed to stage a match without the problems we had? They played on Saturday too. Richmond RFC destroyed our pitch several seasons ago. They went bust, and I tjought we could manage our own ground from then on. London Irish seem to have created a similar problem for us. I feel sorry for all that were there. Yes, season ticket holders will not have to pay entrance again. The other costs are still not recoverable though. Also, spare a thought for the groundstaff. What a mess. I have nothing against Rugby. In its place it is a great game. Its place is not at a ground where a first division football team is trying to challenge for promotion to the Premiership. URZZZ
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