MATCHWATCH : Wimbledon (a)

[WestYorksRoyal]

So we're not allowed to expect to beat anyone? It's nothing to do with being in the Premier League once and having c. 20 years in the top 2 tiers. It's that we have good L1 players like Marriott, O'Connor, Dokes, Wing, Lane, Lisbie etc., who while all not in form would all be an upgrade of the players that teams like Wimbledon have available due to differences in budget. They may be more cohesive and better coached, but in that case we are under achieving and the manager should be held to account.

Consistency is hard and what is great about L1 is its unpredictability, so perhaps this is just one underwhelming result and we'll have better days against the likes of Burton and Cambridge. But we have 1 point from 2 games and this was a winnable fixture. If you throw away a 2 goal lead one week, you lose wiggle room to have a bad result against a lesser team the next.

I'm not sure I agree with you that O'Connor and Lane are good players but our expectation is at least top 6 or 7 whereas Wimbledon's is anything better than 21st.

Think back to the consensus when we signed O'Connor and Lane and their previous achievements at this level. Wimbledon would not be able to sign players with that track record. It's a stick to beat those running the club with that they're not delivering for us and an example of under achievement.

[Greatwesternline]

AFC Wimbledon 0-0 Reading: Plenty of the ball, nowhere near enough with it

Reading have their first point of the new League One season. They also have their first league clean sheet since March.

And yet it's difficult to come away from Plough Lane feeling anything other than frustrated.

For around 65-70 minutes, Reading were comfortably the better side. We controlled possession, dictated much of the game and restricted Wimbledon to very little.

The problem was that we did nowhere near enough with that dominance.

There was plenty of the ball, plenty of neat possession and some promising build-up play, particularly down the right in the first half. But once again there were too many sideways passes, too many promising situations that fizzled out and nowhere near enough ruthlessness when we got into attacking positions.

The statistics tell part of the story. Reading finished with 63% possession, 12 attempts to Wimbledon's three and 33 touches inside the opposition penalty area.

But the most important statistic remained stubbornly at zero.

For a side with genuine promotion ambitions, that's disappointing.

This isn't disrespectful to Wimbledon either. They'll fight for every point this season and Plough Lane isn't necessarily an easy place to go. But they finished 19th last year, survived by four points and came into this season widely expected to be battling towards the bottom again.

If we're serious when we keep talking about promotion, these are the sorts of games we need to be winning.

What was perhaps more concerning was the way the game changed late on.

Andy Rinomhota had quietly been doing an important job alongside Lewis Wing in midfield, and his withdrawal for Charlie Savage after 65 minutes appeared to coincide with Reading losing their grip on proceedings.

From having controlled most of the afternoon, suddenly Wimbledon were growing into it.

By the closing stages it wasn't Reading throwing everything forward looking for the winner. It was Wimbledon who looked increasingly likely to nick it.

That will inevitably raise more questions about Leam Richardson's in-game management.

It's only two league matches, so nobody should be drawing definitive conclusions in August. But there is already an uncomfortable theme developing.

Against Luton, Reading were excellent in the first half, led 3-1 and somehow lost 4-3 after a disastrous second-half collapse.

Today wasn't anywhere near as dramatic, but again Reading's influence diminished as the game progressed.

Supporter reaction throughout the second half increasingly reflected that frustration: too much sideways football, abandoning a right-hand side that had looked threatening earlier in the game, eventually resorting to hopeful long balls and, most concerningly, the feeling that we'd stopped trying to win the game and started trying not to lose it.

That cannot become a habit.

There is also an interesting conversation developing around Lewis Wing.

Today was his 150th Reading appearance and nobody needs reminding what an outstanding player he's been for this football club. He's rescued us too many times to count and, at his best, remains one of the finest midfielders in League One.

But he doesn't currently look himself.

The recurring opinion among supporters isn't really criticism of Wing. It's concern for him.

He looks tired. His influence hasn't been what we've become accustomed to and there is a legitimate question about whether we're simply asking too much of him. Reading shouldn't be frightened of occasionally taking one of their best players out of the firing line if that's what he needs.

At the other end of the milestone scale, Joel Pereira made his 100th Reading appearance and finally had a clean sheet to celebrate.

And that shouldn't be dismissed.

Reading's previous league clean sheet came all the way back in March, in the 3-0 win against Wigan. After conceding four against Luton last weekend — and after watching this team concede far too many painful late goals over recent months — actually seeing a game out is something.

The defence deserves credit for that.

There were positives elsewhere too. Reading controlled large spells away from home, created enough situations to have won the game and, defensively at least, looked considerably more secure than they did seven days ago.

But the bar has to be higher than simply finding positives.

The owners haven't spent the summer talking about consolidation. They've talked about promotion.

Those expectations work both ways.

If promotion is genuinely the objective, one point from the opening six available isn't the start anyone wanted, particularly when today's opposition are expected to be fighting a very different battle at the other end of League One.

There was also the small matter of Reading appearing in a new red, orange and black third kit for the first time — a strip which seems to have divided opinion almost as much as the football.

Personally, the football matters rather more.

The overwhelming feeling at full-time is one of a missed opportunity.

For 65-70 minutes Reading were the superior side and should have made that superiority count. Instead, we failed to find the finish, lost control after the changes and eventually reached a point where getting out of Plough Lane with the 0-0 almost felt like a relief.

A point on the board. A long-awaited clean sheet.

Both are welcome.

But for a club talking about promotion, the question is unavoidable:

when does the football start matching the ambition?

Is this a match report pasted from a news outlet or you asking an AI to put your notes into longer prose?

[Carlos]

Such a depressing performance. Wimbledon there for the taking and yet we just huff and puff for ninety minutes with no end product. First half we controlled it and first ten minutes second half looked like a goal was coming but after that we did absolutely nothing.

Ratings:

Pereira - 6 - Not troubled although kicking atrocious.
Malife - 7 - thought he was very enterprising looked very threatening first half.
Centre backs - 6 - barely troubled. Frustrating last 30 though watching ward hoofing over and over again to Marriott.
Roberts - 6 - solid
Wing - 4 - awful. Constantly trying Gerrard type passes. This is the type of game he should be showing his class.
Rinhomota - 7 - looked much better than previous games, stronger, better passing.
Lisbie - 6 - good first half couldn't get into it second.
Kyewaara - 2 - liked him last season but is such a poor footballer. Can't take on a man, so lightweight forgot he was on second half until subbed.
Stokes - 5 - hopefully he'll kick on but anonymous.
Marriott - 6 - let's face it our only chance of getting a goal, decent chance saved but kept on running.
Subs - fans were excited for Earthy, but did nothing.

Overall we should have won this comfortably. Last 30 minutes was pathetic, midfield completely absent and resorted to ward and O'Connor hitting it to Marriott who was against a massive defender. Richardson has to go.

[yuomi]

I have never seen a player so adept at tackling himself as Daniel Kyewaara.

[West F]

I have never seen a player so adept at tackling himself as Daniel Kyewaara.

It is who he is. Not Messi, just messy.

I imagine that the team were fully concentrated on getting a clean sheet. Bearing in mind the debacle last weekend, I will take the clean sheet and a point away from home as something to build from.

[tidus_mi2]

I have never seen a player so adept at tackling himself as Daniel Kyewaara.

It is who he is. Not Messi, just messy.

I imagine that the team were fully concentrated on getting a clean sheet. Bearing in mind the debacle last weekend, I will take the clean sheet and a point away from home as something to build from.

Maybe both teams had a bit of nervousness about them, we'd tossed a 3-1 lead and they lost 3-0 to a team that was down to 10 for over an hour and hadn't even completed their scoring at that point.

[CountryRoyal]

It`s really quite staggering to see people saying we should be beating teams like Wimbledon, we`re not entitled to anything and have been a basket case of a club for at least a decade, now we`re at the same level we shouldn`t be beating anyone.
I expect the Man U, Leicester and West ham fans and saying similar things, nothing is handed to you in any league, you have to earn it.

Maybe the fans have an expectation to win games like this because the owners said we are aiming for promotion.

Crazy that.

[Gordzilla]

That was pretty dire.

Wimbledon are odds on favourites to go down, and based on the first few games we'll be right there with them.

Similar to last week with a solid opening 45 without creating much (unfortunately not gifted 3 goals this week) before a complete shut down after the break.

Odd that Leam made such a noise about having a number 10 when our main tactic is for wing to drop into defence and launch a 50 yard pass over the entire midfield.

Didn't help that a number of the team looked out on their feet after 75 minutes either.

Yes, what is wrong with our team’s fitness levels? That’s now three competitive games played and most of the players look knackered well before the 80 minute mark.
Many of the players said pre-season was more intense than ever but it is certainly not showing on the pitch in terms of stamina.

Is this why we are letting in late goals? Lose strength, lose concentration, lost goals. Even Wimbledon had us on the ropes at the end.

What is the coaching / sports science team doing?

[Marcel]

That was pretty dire.

Wimbledon are odds on favourites to go down, and based on the first few games we'll be right there with them.

Similar to last week with a solid opening 45 without creating much (unfortunately not gifted 3 goals this week) before a complete shut down after the break.

Odd that Leam made such a noise about having a number 10 when our main tactic is for wing to drop into defence and launch a 50 yard pass over the entire midfield.

Didn't help that a number of the team looked out on their feet after 75 minutes either.

Yes, what is wrong with our team’s fitness levels? That’s now three competitive games played and most of the players look knackered well before the 80 minute mark.
Many of the players said pre-season was more intense than ever but it is certainly not showing on the pitch in terms of stamina.

Is this why we are letting in late goals? Lose strength, lose concentration, lost goals. Even Wimbledon had us on the ropes at the end.

What is the coaching / sports science team doing?

No coaches or sports scientists any more mate all done by AI