Reading vs Non-League

[stealthpapes]

1972 Reading 6 Blyth Spartans 1 (a replay)

Blyth in the cup is just one of those things that really brings out the goosebumps.

Sadly Blyth are a bit fucked right now - they seem to have got hit bad by Covid and just suffered back to back relegations. Now in Northern Premier Division One East.

I'll go through the 80s today sometime.

[stealthpapes]

So, where we we.

1990-91 was Colchester (A) ... but this is now the era of multiple replays.

So we have,

1989 (H) vs Welling 0-0 (A) vs Welling 1-1 (H) vs Welling 0-0 (A) vs Welling 2-1, all played between 9th and 22nd December 1989.
1988 (H) vs Hendon 4-2 then (H) vs Maidstone 1-1 (A) vs Maidstone 2-1
1985 (H) vs Wealdstone 1-0
1984 (A) vs Barry Town 2-1 then (H) vs Bognor Regis Town 6-2
This one has an asterisk! Barry Town were playing in the Welsh League but entered the FA Cup. Nice.
1982 (H) vs Bishop's Stortford 1-2
This one is much storied - there's more on the Carlisle thread so will leave it at ...

Pat Earles was the scorer in the Bishop Stortford cup defeat in the mud! 2931 in attendance.
Reading team: Fearon, Williams, White, Beavon, Hicks, Wood, Bason, Stant, Dixon, Doherty, Donnellan.

and that appears to be it until the 1970s.

[AthleticoSpizz]

Very good!

Of all the non-league teams in the country to be pitched-against, We seemed to have more than our share of Wealdstone.

[Horsham Royal]

1999-2000 November (H) vs Yeovil 4-2
one of the scorers is first player in my checking that has no personal page on wiki. who was he? how did he play?
nobody knows.
nobody mourns.

Bit harsh on a Wembley final winning goal scorer...

Not Wiki but : https://www.thelocalanswer.co.uk/news/sport/football/1708-chel-back-in-the-day-jason-eaton-football.aspx?area=cheltenham&tag=rising-star%2Cback-in-the-day%2Cfather-and-son

[Sutekh]

80s saw the following NL sides - this is totally from memory, as went to them all, but not in any order and probably not inclusive…

Barking
Kettering
Bognor Regis Town
Barry Town
Wealdstone
Bishops Stortford
Hendon’s
Maidstone United (just can’t remember if they’d made the FL by then or not though)
Welling United

[bakerlou]

Bognor Regis Town 6-2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giOvgTjA6Jg

Includes Ian Juryeff, not a name which crops up often.

I was at this one, it was despite the six goals.

[Sutekh]

Bognor Regis Town 6-2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giOvgTjA6Jg

Includes Ian Juryeff, not a name which crops up often.

I was at this one, it was despite the six goals.

Thought Juryeff was class but, as was usual for the time, the club couldn’t afford to extend his loan let alone buy him.

[stealthpapes]

80s saw the following NL sides - this is totally from memory, as went to them all, but not in any order and probably not inclusive…

Barking
Kettering
Bognor Regis Town
Barry Town
Wealdstone
Bishops Stortford
Hendon’s
Maidstone United (just can’t remember if they’d made the FL by then or not though)
Welling United

Didn't see either of these two ...

[Sutekh]

80s saw the following NL sides - this is totally from memory, as went to them all, but not in any order and probably not inclusive…

Barking
Kettering
Bognor Regis Town
Barry Town
Wealdstone
Bishops Stortford
Hendon’s
Maidstone United (just can’t remember if they’d made the FL by then or not though)
Welling United

Didn't see either of these two ...

So thought I’d double check and on looking the two games up they were actually in the 79-80 competition, so Nov/Dec 1979 - still the tannoy music would have been good then.

[bakerlou]

80s saw the following NL sides - this is totally from memory, as went to them all, but not in any order and probably not inclusive…

Barking
Kettering
Bognor Regis Town
Barry Town
Wealdstone
Bishops Stortford
Hendon’s
Maidstone United (just can’t remember if they’d made the FL by then or not though)
Welling United

Didn't see either of these two ...

So thought I’d double check and on looking the two games up they were actually in the 79-80 competition, so Nov/Dec 1979 - still the tannoy music would have been good then.

Yeah Kettering round 1, then Barking round 2. Beat Colchester in round 3, then had the misfortune to meet Swansea in round 4 who were at the time stuffed full of ex-Liverpool players and Welsh internationals.

[stealthpapes]

First up, the 2020s.

Warning: This is a story that does not go well for us.

2024-25 - November (H) vs Harborough Town 5-3 (aet)
2023-24 - December (A) vs Eastleigh 1-2
"There are Amazonian tribes deep up the jungle that have never heard of football and never heard of Reading fc but even they knew we were conceding from that corner"
2021-22 January (A) vs Kidderminster 1-2
I think this is the record for lowest rated team to ever beat Reading.

Went to two of the three. At the time, Kiddy away was possibly the most nailed on, 'we're gonna stack this, right' game I've ever been to. Just a shambles from front to back.

Next (well, give me a moment to open up Wikipedia), the 2010s.
I am 99% sure we didn't play anyone non-league competitively in this decade ...

2025-26 - November (H) vs Carlisle 2-3 AET
to be fair, anyone who left early can tell themselves it ended 2-0 and get on with their lives.

[Brum Royal]

2010s - yeah, nothing - always in at Round 3 and when you get United three times ...

long 2000s - i.e. from 1998

2001-02 November (H) vs Welling 1-0
twenty year gap. NGL, don't remember this, and it sounds dreadful.
2000-01 November (H) vs Grays Athletic 4-0
efficiently done
1999-2000 November (H) vs Yeovil 4-2
one of the scorers is first player in my checking that has no personal page on wiki. who was he? how did he play?
nobody knows.
nobody mourns.
1999-2000 December (H) vs Halifax 1-1 then (A) 1-0
again, do not remember this one bit and it just reeks of grim.

These are right in a spell when I didn't really follow Reading FC that closely (first year or two of university) so ...

any memories? any good stories?

Went to the Halifax v Reading replay and the conditions and the game were atrocious with howling wind and rain throughout the match and back then the away end wasn't covered!! The game was terrible as was the pitch and it went to extra time i believe. The game did get on the local news as part of one of the stands blew off in the high winds lol.
Luckily i lived in Harrogate at the time and its only an hours drive home, however, felt sorry for the handful of fans who probably didn't get home until the early hours.

I was also at this game, and it was the coldest and wettest I've ever been at a football match. I do remember the game being paused for a minute or so when the "bench" of white plastic garden chairs blew across the pitch and had to be retrieved before play could continue. I want to say the winner was possibly a penalty? I seem to recall it being in front of us in the away end at least.

[RFCMod]

2010s - yeah, nothing - always in at Round 3 and when you get United three times ...

long 2000s - i.e. from 1998

2001-02 November (H) vs Welling 1-0
twenty year gap. NGL, don't remember this, and it sounds dreadful.
2000-01 November (H) vs Grays Athletic 4-0
efficiently done
1999-2000 November (H) vs Yeovil 4-2
one of the scorers is first player in my checking that has no personal page on wiki. who was he? how did he play?
nobody knows.
nobody mourns.
1999-2000 December (H) vs Halifax 1-1 then (A) 1-0
again, do not remember this one bit and it just reeks of grim.

These are right in a spell when I didn't really follow Reading FC that closely (first year or two of university) so ...

any memories? any good stories?

Went to the Halifax v Reading replay and the conditions and the game were atrocious with howling wind and rain throughout the match and back then the away end wasn't covered!! The game was terrible as was the pitch and it went to extra time i believe. The game did get on the local news as part of one of the stands blew off in the high winds lol.
Luckily i lived in Harrogate at the time and its only an hours drive home, however, felt sorry for the handful of fans who probably didn't get home until the early hours.

I was also at this game, and it was the coldest and wettest I've ever been at a football match. I do remember the game being paused for a minute or so when the "bench" of white plastic garden chairs blew across the pitch and had to be retrieved before play could continue. I want to say the winner was possibly a penalty? I seem to recall it being in front of us in the away end at least.

Bloody freezing that evening and probably up there as one of my coldest away trips
That and Barnsley away one evening away trip were bloody cold

[Dirk Gently]

2010s - yeah, nothing - always in at Round 3 and when you get United three times ...

long 2000s - i.e. from 1998

2001-02 November (H) vs Welling 1-0
twenty year gap. NGL, don't remember this, and it sounds dreadful.
2000-01 November (H) vs Grays Athletic 4-0
efficiently done
1999-2000 November (H) vs Yeovil 4-2
one of the scorers is first player in my checking that has no personal page on wiki. who was he? how did he play?
nobody knows.
nobody mourns.
1999-2000 December (H) vs Halifax 1-1 then (A) 1-0
again, do not remember this one bit and it just reeks of grim.

These are right in a spell when I didn't really follow Reading FC that closely (first year or two of university) so ...

any memories? any good stories?

Went to the Halifax v Reading replay and the conditions and the game were atrocious with howling wind and rain throughout the match and back then the away end wasn't covered!! The game was terrible as was the pitch and it went to extra time i believe. The game did get on the local news as part of one of the stands blew off in the high winds lol.
Luckily i lived in Harrogate at the time and its only an hours drive home, however, felt sorry for the handful of fans who probably didn't get home until the early hours.

I was also at this game, and it was the coldest and wettest I've ever been at a football match. I do remember the game being paused for a minute or so when the "bench" of white plastic garden chairs blew across the pitch and had to be retrieved before play could continue. I want to say the winner was possibly a penalty? I seem to recall it being in front of us in the away end at least.

Yep, I was there too. I don't think there was an away "end", though - they put us in a stand down the side of the pitch.

If I remember correctly Nicky Hammond saved a penalty.

Two particular memories of this game that I have :

- Left Maidenhead at about 12.30 pm then drove five hours in the pissing down rain and when we got there it was still a deluge. Saw a very wet, miserable copper outside the ground and asked him the best place to park for away fans. He answered "Why are you here? Just why?" A very good question...
- re the plastic garden furniture - once of the coaches (maybe Martin Allen) was sat in a plastic chair and one of the legs started to slowly sink into the mud. It was almost in slow motion - everyone in the stand could see the chair slightly tipping and knew what was going to happen, but the occupant was blissfully unaware until he went over backwards into the mud.