Top Three Matches watched

[Wealdstone at home]

Top three games ever - (had to be there for it to count) - 3) Wolves (Home - League Cup - 1978) - we were then in Div Four - Wolves in top division - Pat Earles winner - first time in my life we had become genuine giant killers and it was great! 2) Pompey (Home - Div Four - 1979) - during our amazing run of clean sheets (during which we hammered second placed Grimsby 4-0 and 5th placed Aldershot 4-0) and our sprint to the championship - we beat Pompey in front of 15,000 at a rocking Elm Park - 2-0 - with a very classy George Shipley scoring one of them I believe - it was heaven - rather like 05/06 in the Championship - the team of 1978/79 took the piss out of the league they were in. Number One - beating Liverpool this season. I always dreamed (but never really believed) that URRZZ would meet Liverpool (My boyhood heroes-the benchmark for english football) in the league one day - and give them a good game. We didn't just beat them but we won comfortably. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I took a good look around when the ball was out of play and Gerrard was being substituted - the Reds fans were raging - our team were calm and focussed(Because of our genious boss) - dreams come true - and Harps goal was an absolute gem. We are living the dreams of many years - long may it continue

[hellopremiership]

Welcome to the board- We need more loyal Royals on here.

[Franchise FC]

Go on then - I'll join in

Reading 4 Plymouth 3 85-86. We were 3-0 down with 25 minutes left, then enter Mad Max !!
Leicester 1 Reading 1 05-06. Not a great game but the relevance says it all
Reading 3 Middlesbrough 2 06-07. After 20 minutes I thought we were out of our depth, but hey, what do I know. This was probably the most important result of the season in that it proved we could perform at that level (even though it was only Middlesbrough.

There's hundreds of others :
Newport away 85-86 - 12th win on the trot (in fact, any of those 13)
Simod Cup Final
Swansea 1 Reading 6
Wolves 2 Reading 3 (we were 2-0 down and I was in a hospitality box with 8 Wolves fans)
Port Vale 0 Reading 3 78-79 (11th clean sheet and won the 4th division - wins the award for the most ridiculous weather at a game - in fact, any of those 11)
Barnsley 2 Reading 3 (Barnsley were going for promotion, we were doomed to relegation, went 2-0 up, got pegged back to 2-2 and Kerry Dixon won it
late)
Doncaster 7 Reading 5 - enough said
Reading 7 Barnsley 0

Let's hope I can add a few to these !!

[earleyroyal]

Only saw my first match aged 6 in 1997, only had a season ticket since I was 11 so I don't have anywhere near the experience of most people on this board, still I've seen some great matches and it's difficult to narrow them down to 3. Could choose almost any of the matches in the promotion season, if I had to go with one it would either be the 3-2 against Palace for quality, the 2-1 against Sheff U for the sweetest and most satisfying win, or the Derby or QPR game for obvious reasons. For victories that just felt right and just, the first win over Pardew in 2004, or any win over Sheff U.

If I had to choose a top 3 in terms of quality and enjoyment of the match I'd probably go for our first game in the Premiership, the 6-0 over West Ham and the 3-2 over Palace in that order; in terms of result it would be Boro, Sheff U in October 2005 and Liverpool this season; in terms of satisfaction probably the 2-0 against West Ham, Boro and the QPR game.

[Dirk Gently]

Definitely one of the best matches ever was the 3-2 win at home to Palace in the Championship season. It had everything - was on a knife edge all night and won by a great goal.

Although did I imagine it?!? According to the HNA? match reports database, that game never happened!

[RobRoyal]

Definitely one of the best matches ever was the 3-2 win at home to Palace in the Championship season. It had everything - was on a knife edge all night and won by a great goal.

Although did I imagine it?!? According to the HNA? match reports database, that game never happened!

Really? That's odd, a while back you could download the entire 90 minutes from the official site.

This was the night I started to believe we were going to do it... Lita's goal will always be one of my favourites.

[earleyroyal]

Anyone else think the commentary on that game on the season DVD was ridiculous? I think it was added on after the game and the timing was completely wrong so it ended up as

'free kick comes across... Sonko!!!'

(2 seconds later Sonko heads ball)

Still what a game, nothing beats seeing a bitter opposing manager going mental at the officials, the stewards and the world after a late defeat.

[Tommy Youlden's Ears]

Wealdstone - remarkably I share two of your three. The Wolves game - I was 12 years old. There on my own, as I've usually been, and loved every minute. Nothing like a night game at a packed EP. The bright green grass under those old floodlights, the smokey air and the huge noise. Pat Earles nodding the winner. I seem to recall that we then went on to draw with Southampton. Outstanding keeping from Terry Gennoe kept em in it.

I'd also say that the 3-1 win v Liverpool is in the top three. Those last blissful minutes. Cruising home against a collapsing Liverpool, it seemed to me that our club came of age.

And the third. It's a toss between the Wigan play-off game, when Nicky Forster turned wasteful, dispiriting loss into glorious victory in a few late minutes, and the Wembley play-off defeat. Though I nearly threw up at half time with nervous fear, and left feeling numb, I reckon this was the start of the belief for me. The start of the process that felt complete with the Liverpool win. Yes we lost, but we were a club that finally seemed capable of reaching the premiership.

[KC Royal]

Boro 3-2 and W Ham 6-0 last season stand out a mile. Haven't seen too many great matches in the last 6 years (though i'd only witnessed one defeat in the 4 years in the Championship so i'm not complaining) but i'll go for the 3-0 win over Burnley in August 2002. Mainly because it was my first game, but also because it saw probably the best goal i've seen live, Curo's exquisite lob from Hahnemann's kick in the dying minutes.

[aardvark]

For me,

No. 3: RFC 3 Boro 2 - 1st game in Premiership.
No. 2: RFC 3 Bolton 4 - playoff final, for the event rather than the result obviously.
No. 1: RFC 2 Wolves 1 - Archie's two injury time goals - will this ever be bettered?

[Readingfanman]

For me:


3) Reading 3 - 2 Crystal Palace 05/06
2) Reading 1 - 1 Leicester City 05/06
1) Reading 3 - 2 Middlesbrough 06/07


Possibly could have a few different ones but would need to think about it a lot more.

[Beelzebub]

Impossible to narrow it to 3 really, so heres 3 of my favorites-

I was pleased to see the 1978 Wolves game mentioned. That was quite a day, I was 13 and my parents only let me go on the condition we went in the seats because of the Wolves fans reputation for violence!

When we scored I knocked my mates glasses off and they flew onto the pitch. Luckily for us the linesman saw what had happened and fetched them back!



Simod cup final -"When Hicks went up to raise the Simod cup- we were there, we were there"- say no more, lost my voice for 4 days afterwards!



Wolves again, it was the game following the departure of Mark McGee, televised and our Managerless team thrashed em 4-2.

[joe999]

Difficult... purely based on the game rather than importance/landmarks etc.. here are a few candidates

Reading 5-0 Oldham - 1998/99 I think (I was only about 8 at the time)
Reading 2-1 Stoke - A few years back, 1998 I think. just a brilliant game from what I remember, Grant brebner scored. Always liked that guy.
Reading 4-3 Oxford United - 2000/01 OxfoROFLd were 3-2 up
Reading 3-2 Crystal Palace - 2005/06 fantastic goal by Lita
Reading 3-2 Middlesborough - 2006/07, need I say more?
Reading 3-1 Tottenham - beat a "big" team, totally outclassed them.
Reading 3-1 Liverpool - Beat a REALLY big team, outclassed them.

out of those id say

1. Reading 3-2 Middlesborough
2. Reading 5-0 Oldham
3. Reading 3-2 Crystal Palace

[PEARCEY]

Beating Coventry in the Simod CUP semi final was my favourite game.
Beating Oxford Utd 2-1 at the Manor Ground in 1983 on the day of the apparent Thames Valley Royals protest which did not amount to much
I also look back on the 2-2 draw with Wolves in 1985 with fondness even though it ended our run of 13 straight wins. Elm Park was packed that night.
The very first game I ever went to....Wolves 5 Arsenal 1 in c. 1972 when Bob Wilson was in goal for Arsenal and Ray Kennedy and John Radford were up-front....and it snowed. I remember wearing an Arsenal rosette and even now recall walking to the ground with the smell of hot dogs in the air and seeing rosette sellers around the place with letter boards showing the half time scores

[Lieutenant Pigeon]

Picking just 3 is way too difficult. Newport away, 0-2, Plymouth at home 4-3 and the Simod Cup final are just some of the stand outs for me from my Elm Park days. But highest on the 'Gloatometer' are 3 much more recent games...
6-0 V West Ham (working in a London office full of hammers fans - sweet!)
3-1 V Liverpool (Boss is BIG Liverpool fan!)
5-o V Derby County (I got nothing but scorn and ridicule at work when I announced at work around Nov/Dec (whenever it was we hit 50 points) that we'd be champions by the beginning of April - again VERY sweet.


C.

[Uke]

Both the Wembley matches (the second was a creacking game with every emotion under the sun!)

Jerry Williams vs Arsenal

Probably the three that live with me the most

[AthleticoSpizz]

Reading 1 - Burnley 2 .... a cup game circa 1974/75 (Burnley were high flying ..packed full of internationals.........in the old fashioned Premiershit)

Reading 3 - Chelsea 1 ..........a cup game...Sept/Oct 1987

Reading 3 - Liverpool 1 ......whatever is said about this seasons so-called "failures"...we beat the scaaarzers.........Simod cup and various promotions aside.......MASSIVE...oh yeah

[taipeiroyal]

Was anyone else at the game where we beat promotion rivals Tranmere Rovers 5-0 with classic goals from Robin Friday and John Murray. I can't remmber the year but it must have been about 1975 and famous for the referee who was a Div 1 ref holding his head in disbelief after Friday's goal.
Along with that I have to go along with RFC 4 Plymouth 3 and playoff loss to Bolton.

For more recent games I really enjoyed the 2-2 draw at Chelsea,
http://www.markyd60.co.uk/home/chelsea/chelpage.html

the 3-2 defeat up in Newcastle(amazing atmosphere) from last season and the away win at Plymouth in the championship with Blakey's unbelievable goal. That was also memorable because I spent the weekend down in Dartmoor and it was snowing.
http://www.markyd60.co.uk/home/plymouth/plymouth.html

Sign me up for RTG membership! I too believe we are living the dream. Reading in the premiership? The stick I have received over the years for supporting a "small, crap team" just makes it feel all the better.

[Dick Habbin's hairdo]

I'm going to avoid the obvious ones like Plymouth, the Simod Cup Final, Bolton play-off final and go for:

Arsenal in the cup in '72 - for Bob Wilson, Pat Rice et al and Dennis Butler's moustache
Tranmere away in the play-off semi-final - pure class that day from, errr, Nogs
Newport away because of what it meant

Blackpool away gets on the bench along with Pat Earles against Wolves in the League Cup...

[Wealdstone at home]

Wealdstone - remarkably I share two of your three. The Wolves game - I was 12 years old. There on my own, as I've usually been, and loved every minute. Nothing like a night game at a packed EP. The bright green grass under those old floodlights, the smokey air and the huge noise. Pat Earles nodding the winner. I seem to recall that we then went on to draw with Southampton. Outstanding keeping from Terry Gennoe kept em in it.

I'd also say that the 3-1 win v Liverpool is in the top three. Those last blissful minutes. Cruising home against a collapsing Liverpool, it seemed to me that our club came of age.

And the third. It's a toss between the Wigan play-off game, when Nicky Forster turned wasteful, dispiriting loss into glorious victory in a few late minutes, and the Wembley play-off defeat. Though I nearly threw up at half time with nervous fear, and left feeling numb, I reckon this was the start of the belief for me. The start of the process that felt complete with the Liverpool win. Yes we lost, but we were a club that finally seemed capable of reaching the premiership.

The Wigan game nearly got in there for me. I can remember going down to the concourse with about ten minutes to go and chatting to a fellow stressed out, distraught smoker who informed me that Liverpool were drawing 3-3 or 4-4 in the Uefa Cup Final and his positive 'you never know...' sent me back to my seat with renewed hope and the rest as they say is history. I remember the Southampton game and your right I remember Terry Gennoe making a fingertip save from a 20 yard drive by Richie Bowman and I remember being pelted with sharpened coins in the South Bank by Southampton fans (One lodged in my mate's coat) Aged 15 years - it added to the excitement. I also remember the replay very well - the team performed really well and nearly nicked a goal back on a couple of occasions attacking 'our' end in the second half. The atmosphere was fantastic at both games and it was great being part of such a large and vocal away support.

Elm Park in midweek in mid winter - very special occasions - In fact, one other game that nearly got in there but on principle I decided against - was the 3-2 home defeat by Brighton I believe in 76. Brighton had probably the best side ever including Ward and Mellor and we had Robin Friday of course. We were just promoted and Brighton went on to win the league. Both teams just went for it - open attacking football and we were the better side for most of the game - Friday needless to say was the best player on the pitch although it seemed on occasions as if him and Ward were having their own individual competition to impress the crowd the most.