Match Report: Sublime to Ridiculous as City Anonymous Again

[Olé]

As if to highlight the ridiculous inconsistency that makes the Championship special, City followed up their convincing but rare win at West Brom on Tuesday night with an utterly abject display in front of the capacity away following at Reading - ponderous, mistake prone and slow, creating nothing and in the end well beaten by a limited Reading side.

This was as bad as it gets: a defence that miscued clearances to opponents, utterly ineffective wing backs with and without the ball, and a succession of odd substitutions that hauled off City's better players. By the time Zak Vyner - our only real playmaker via long balls - was removed, the game was up, even if the visitors were denied penalty shouts.

City looked well off the pace from the word go. In two minutes Rob Atkinson underhit a clearance straight to Tom Ince who ran to the byline and lifted into the six yard box where Yakou Meite saw his glanced header go wide. City had little in response besides miskicks and bad crosses and Max O'Leary had only one save to make from Jeff Hendrick.

It was an awful half of non descript football, although in the final five minutes of the half Antoine Semenyo won a right wing free kick that Alex Scott floated into the box where in a crowd Semenyo swiveled at the near post and fired well over. Right after the break the ball broke to Abdul Baba whose fizzing 20 yard shot kept low but flashed just wide.

Hapless City continued to give it away with loose touches and clearances around their own box setting up a succession of Reading corners. So it was absolutely no surprise when they went in front on 52 minutes from a right wing corner that was whipped into the six yard box and met at the near post by Mamadou Loum who buried his header. 

City's triple sub - for energetic Joe Williams and both strikers - was an odd reaction for a team that gave their front men no service, but Chris Martin, Andi Weimann and Tommy Conway entered and just inside the hour mark should have had a penalty as Martin nodded down a long ball, Reading handled and Mark Sykes drilled into the side netting.

Minutes later another deep pass from City's oddly best playmaker Vyner saw Weimann bring it down and race into a 2 on 2, holding off his marker before spinning crossfield for the onrushing Jay Dasilva who had time and space to test the keeper but - characteristic of recent form - lobbed a feeble looped ball over the box which Martin wasn't expecting. 

By now it was open season on the City goal as the visitors struggled to clear their lines - Ince blasting well over after a lengthy spell of pressure. Cam Pring entered for Dasilva and heading into the final quarter of an hour the away side won corners where Conway amongst others seemed to be assaulted in Reading's scrum while the ball arched in.

City have probably gone longer than anyone in the football league without a penalty and after the handball and now this it looked as though the ref was happy to allow anytying in the Reading box. Before the last 10 Sykes was tripped on the right and Matty James free kick into the danger area was only half cleared and Atkinson hooked well over.

City were getting some much needed joy as Vyner of all players strode foward and found the open man with through balls - a Martin lay off putting Weimann clean through that Reading desperately hooked behind. And so Pearson hauled Vyner off. And that was it - and in the final exchanges O'Leary raced off his line rashly twice and was nearly caught. 

Before the end the keeper made a brilliant save with his legs as an average Reading side yet again carved through City's lines and found the spare man as Ince roared in far post poised to blast home. Up the other end late sub King flicked Sykes cross over a crowded box - but keeper Joe Lumley beat Conway to the ball far post then feigned injury.

Along with referee John Busby's disinterest in the repeated marshaling of City players at set pieces, he seemed happy as Timm Klose got bundled clumsily off the ball on a break out on the right touchline deep in injury time, Shane Long going clear to center for injury time sub Andy Carroll to finish unerringly as the massed away ranks headed for the exit.

This has been a distinctly mixed season for City but after a strong display at West Brom there was little clue that they'd offer so little for 90 minutes at a very basic Reading team. Pearson's side was full of unforced errors as it played out of defence, it's wing backs are a disaster, far too deep and unable to cross, and the manager has no faith in his strikers. 

 

O'Leary 5

Klose 5

Atkinson 5

Vyner 7

Dasilva 4

Sykes 5

James 6

Williams 6

Scott 6

Semenyo 6

Wells 5

 

Martin 6

Weimann 6

Conway 4

Pring 6

King 5

[Robbored]

Post match Nige was clearly frustrated at the teams inconsistency after the win midweek at the Baggies., particularly as he selected the same starting 11 but they weren’t able to reproduce the same levels and why he made the substitutions that he did.

To me that’s largely down to the the quality of the opposition. Currently Reading are a stronger outfit than WBA and that showed today.

On to the Jacks at AG on Saturday. Let’s hope City can back to winning ways.

[Curr Avon]

The short version.

We. Were. Crap.

[Mr Popodopolous]

Excellent report as per @Olé seems like we were disappointingly flat.

Did you think it was a foul on Klose for their 2nd then? I thought we had a good case for it, he got bundled yet it's okay play on and score!

Doesn't detract from our performance- lack of- or the fact that we got what we deserved- nothing, but thought was a foul when I first saw it.

[italian dave]

I thought Conway gave the Reading defenders at least as much to worry about as Semenyo. 

That aside, spot on @Olé! It was doubly depressing because Reading were so poor too. 

Think you’re right about NP and strikers - which is odd given that goal scoring has hardly been our biggest problem. I’d like to see Conway and Wells given a run together again. It just seemed to click. 

[italian dave]

2 minutes ago, Robbored said:

 

To me that’s largely down to the the quality of the opposition. Currently Reading are a stronger outfit than WBA and that showed today.

 

And yet WBA beat Reading last week. 

I know what you mean, and not saying that to disagree, just to highlight how inconsistent the whole league can be.

I actually didn’t think Reading were that great. They stuck the ball in the net, which is more that WBA managed, but they were desperately boring to watch. So were we. 

[REDOXO]

10 minutes ago, Curr Avon said:

The short version.

We. Were. Crap.

A beautiful summation. @BigTonewould struggle to be more succinct. Pring offered more than Pretty much all of them in his cameo. Ole is spot on (I don’t give out Spot Ons lightly) with his marks. A 4 being a point each for clean boots, ironed shirt , pulled up socks and being ambulatory enough to walk on the pitch. De Silva covered the range brilliantly!

[Mr Chappers]

Something like 7 games in 22 days, for a squad of limited quality and with little depth in defence or midfield. Not really surprising that form is patchy, or that the high energy efforts at WBA could not be repeated.

[Charlie BCFC]

Those match ratings are very generous in my opinion. Thought that was Scott’s worst game this season by far, Semenyo poor and as much as I like Vyner he was nowhere near our best player. Good report though, couldn’t believe the ref did nothing about the rugby tackles on Atkinson and Conway in the box 

[Mr Popodopolous]

1 minute ago, Charlie BCFC said:

couldn’t believe the ref did nothing about the rugby tackles on Atkinson and Conway in the box 

Oh I can. Arguably a foul on Klose for their 2nd too...we don't get penalties, 46 League games and counting or the equivalent of a whole season.

Think it's 1 in 100 League games now.

[Charlie BCFC]

2 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

Oh I can. Arguably a foul on Klose for their 2nd too...we don't get penalties, 46 League games and counting or the equivalent of a whole season.

Think it's 1 in 100 League games now.

Think by the end of next week would be a whole calendar year since we last got one (not counting friendlies) which was Coventry away! I thought Klose one was a horrible mistake but haven’t watched it back admittedly 

Edited October 22, 2022 by Charlie BCFC

[Mr Popodopolous]

Just now, Charlie BCFC said:

Think by the end of next week would be a whole calendar year since we last got one (not counting friendlies) which was Coventry away.

See we got 3 bookings today as well, were we that bad?? From just 8 fouls.

[Charlie BCFC]

Just now, Mr Popodopolous said:

See we got 3 bookings today as well, were we that bad?? From just 8 fouls.

The Conway one was very harsh I thought albeit was a foul. The other two I thought were pretty fair at the time

[Mr Popodopolous]

1 minute ago, Charlie BCFC said:

The Conway one was very harsh I thought albeit was a foul. The other two I thought were pretty fair at the time

Thanks. One of them was preventing a Reading break iirc, Pring?

I do think we get penalised with cards more easily than perhaps we should however, for whatever reason.

[Charlie BCFC]

Just now, Mr Popodopolous said:

Thanks. One of them was preventing a Reading break iirc, Pring?

I do think we get penalised with cards more easily than perhaps we should however, for whatever reason.

Yeah Pring was on the break, thought the Reading player moved out the way but did stop a counter I guess. Martin was arguing with that Loum most of the second half and only got booked added time.

That Preston game that Stroud reffed had way too many yellows!

[REDOXO]

1 minute ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

Thanks. One of them was preventing a Reading break iirc, Pring?

I do think we get penalised with cards more easily than perhaps we should however, for whatever reason.

Pring showed fight for a place. I love that and it won’t go unnoticed. Many of the others who got on from the start or otherwise need a really good kick in the bollox. 

[Red-Robbo]

1 hour ago, Olé said:

As if to highlight the ridiculous inconsistency that makes the Championship special, City followed up their convincing but rare win at West Brom on Tuesday night with an utterly abject display in front of the capacity away following at Reading - ponderous, mistake prone and slow, creating nothing and in the end well beaten by a limited Reading side.

This was as bad as it gets: a defence that miscued clearances to opponents, utterly ineffective wing backs with and without the ball, and a succession of odd substitutions that hauled off City's better players. By the time Zak Vyner - our only real playmaker via long balls - was removed, the game was up, even if the visitors were denied penalty shouts.

City looked well off the pace from the word go. In two minutes Rob Atkinson underhit a clearance straight to Tom Ince who ran to the byline and lifted into the six yard box where Yakou Meite saw his glanced header go wide. City had little in response besides miskicks and bad crosses and Max O'Leary had only one save to make from Jeff Hendrick.

It was an awful half of non descript football, although in the final five minutes of the half Antoine Semenyo won a right wing free kick that Alex Scott floated into the box where in a crowd Semenyo swiveled at the near post and fired well over. Right after the break the ball broke to Abdul Baba whose fizzing 20 yard shot kept low but flashed just wide.

Hapless City continued to give it away with loose touches and clearances around their own box setting up a succession of Reading corners. So it was absolutely no surprise when they went in front on 52 minutes from a right wing corner that was whipped into the six yard box and met at the near post by Mamadou Loum who buried his header. 

City's triple sub - for energetic Joe Williams and both strikers - was an odd reaction for a team that gave their front men no service, but Chris Martin, Andi Weimann and Tommy Conway entered and just inside the hour mark should have had a penalty as Martin nodded down a long ball, Reading handled and Mark Sykes drilled into the side netting.

Minutes later another deep pass from City's oddly best playmaker Vyner saw Weimann bring it down and race into a 2 on 2, holding off his marker before spinning crossfield for the onrushing Jay Dasilva who had time and space to test the keeper but - characteristic of recent form - lobbed a feeble looped ball over the box which Martin wasn't expecting. 

By now it was open season on the City goal as the visitors struggled to clear their lines - Ince blasting well over after a lengthy spell of pressure. Cam Pring entered for Dasilva and heading into the final quarter of an hour the away side won corners where Conway amongst others seemed to be assaulted in Reading's scrum while the ball arched in.

City have probably gone longer than anyone in the football league without a penalty and after the handball and now this it looked as though the ref was happy to allow anytying in the Reading box. Before the last 10 Sykes was tripped on the right and Matty James free kick into the danger area was only half cleared and Atkinson hooked well over.

City were getting some much needed joy as Vyner of all players strode foward and found the open man with through balls - a Martin lay off putting Weimann clean through that Reading desperately hooked behind. And so Pearson hauled Vyner off. And that was it - and in the final exchanges O'Leary raced off his line rashly twice and was nearly caught. 

Before the end the keeper made a brilliant save with his legs as an average Reading side yet again carved through City's lines and found the spare man as Ince roared in far post poised to blast home. Up the other end late sub King flicked Sykes cross over a crowded box - but keeper Joe Lumley beat Conway to the ball far post then feigned injury.

Along with referee John Busby's disinterest in the repeated marshaling of City players at set pieces, he seemed happy as Timm Klose got bundled clumsily off the ball on a break out on the right touchline deep in injury time, Shane Long going clear to center for injury time sub Andy Carroll to finish unerringly as the massed away ranks headed for the exit.

This has been a distinctly mixed season for City but after a strong display at West Brom there was little clue that they'd offer so little for 90 minutes at a very basic Reading team. Pearson's side was full of unforced errors as it played out of defence, it's wing backs are a disaster, far too deep and unable to cross, and the manager has no faith in his strikers. 

 

O'Leary 5

Klose 5

Atkinson 5

Vyner 7

Dasilva 4

Sykes 5

James 6

Williams 6

Scott 6

Semenyo 6

Wells 5

 

Martin 6

Weimann 6

Conway 4

Pring 6

King 5

 

I wasn't there, so can't dispute your report, but the person who took my ticket would like it to be known he rates Vyner more a 5 (as with Scott). He said Pring was the best of a poor bunch. 

[Olé]

48 minutes ago, Red-Robbo said:

I wasn't there, so can't dispute your report, but the person who took my ticket would like it to be known he rates Vyner more a 5 (as with Scott). He said Pring was the best of a poor bunch. 

I had the same conversation in the pub at Reading station after. But I stand by my view. Vyner has the odd misplaced touch but by the end today before the ridiculous decision to sub him off he was doing everything that his teammates weren't.

The entire team decided he was the only one with the confidence to play forward balls. We slowed it down to 1mph and did nothing but go backwards. Our best two chances were late on with Zak striding up and playing a ball through the middle. So we took him off (like Williams before him).

 

[Dullmoan Tone]

What has happened to Dasilva?

He used to be the player you could bet would retain possession and link the attack. Granted he wouldn’t score more than 1 in a thousand shots, but a good player doesn’t become this inconsistent overnight?

[Andrew_V1]

Pring needs a run of games now as dasilva is utterly incapable of being productive in the final third and has been poor in this respect for a long time now.

second half has a prime example where he was put through on the overlap and was indecisive and ends up lifting it to the back post with no one to go and attack it.

Also we need to go back to wells and Conway as semenyo looks to be going through the motions. Offered next to nothing yesterday 

[Major Isewater]

10 hours ago, Robbored said:

Post match Nige was clearly frustrated at the teams inconsistency after the win midweek at the Baggies., particularly as he selected the same starting 11 but they weren’t able to reproduce the same levels and why he made the substitutions that he did.

To me that’s largely down to the the quality of the opposition. Currently Reading are a stronger outfit than WBA and that showed today.

On to the Jacks at AG on Saturday. Let’s hope City can back to winning ways.

I thought that Reading offered very little and were there for the taking which makes our performance even more frustrating.

 I think we bossed them up until their goal when suddenly they started believing in themselves and were first to every loose ball and positive going forward.

Currently our wing backs are not producing enough, the forwards have lost their shooting boots whilst the defence looks a bit tighter and we have something resembling a midfield.

I think mid table is calling unless Gould  can do some wheeler dealing in the transfer window. In which case we hopefully bring in one or two players who Pearson wants and can stiffen the resilience of the squad. We are likely to see some outgoings to accommodate this. 

[Major Isewater]

10 hours ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

Excellent report as per @Olé seems like we were disappointingly flat.

Did you think it was a foul on Klose for their 2nd then? I thought we had a good case for it, he got bundled yet it's okay play on and score!

Doesn't detract from our performance- lack of- or the fact that we got what we deserved- nothing, but thought was a foul when I first saw it.

On RobinsTV it looked very much like Klose got done for pace and sort of launched himself into the back of the Reading player, trying to get a free kick. 

[RedM]

8 hours ago, Olé said:

I had the same conversation in the pub at Reading station after. But I stand by my view. Vyner has the odd misplaced touch but by the end today before the ridiculous decision to sub him off he was doing everything that his teammates weren't.

The entire team decided he was the only one with the confidence to play forward balls. We slowed it down to 1mph and did nothing but go backwards. Our best two chances were late on with Zak striding up and playing a ball through the middle. So we took him off (like Williams before him).

 

I saw it like this too. If Pearson was hauling off players who were ineffective then Vyner wasn't one that needed to go.

[johnheadbcfc]

10 hours ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

Excellent report as per @Olé seems like we were disappointingly flat.

Did you think it was a foul on Klose for their 2nd then? I thought we had a good case for it, he got bundled yet it's okay play on and score!

Doesn't detract from our performance- lack of- or the fact that we got what we deserved- nothing, but thought was a foul when I first saw it.

Klose went down 3 times like a child no strength at all.

[RedM]

46 minutes ago, Andrew_V1 said:

Pring needs a run of games now as dasilva is utterly incapable of being productive in the final third and has been poor in this respect for a long time now.

second half has a prime example where he was put through on the overlap and was indecisive and ends up lifting it to the back post with no one to go and attack it.

Also we need to go back to wells and Conway as semenyo looks to be going through the motions. Offered next to nothing yesterday 

Pring offers a more physical presence, but always seems to attract a booking so I don't think Pearson fully trusts him. I like him though, at least he loos interested.

Agreed re Wells and Conway. They perform better together than any other combo. Semenyo for super sub, but that probably isn't enough for him.

[Sleepy1968]

30 minutes ago, RedM said:

Pring offers a more physical presence, but always seems to attract a booking so I don't think Pearson fully trusts him. I like him though, at least he loos interested.

Agreed re Wells and Conway. They perform better together than any other combo. Semenyo for super sub, but that probably isn't enough for him.

Wasn't Pring on the right touchline when he got booked?  A Reading break from either our corner or free kick (a set piece anyway) - how do we manage to get ourselves in that position in the first place? If Cam doesn't start ahead of Dasilva next Saturday then there is something very wrong.

[redsquirrel]

31 minutes ago, RedM said:

Pring offers a more physical presence, but always seems to attract a booking so I don't think Pearson fully trusts him. I like him though, at least he loos interested.

Agreed re Wells and Conway. They perform better together than any other combo. Semenyo for super sub, but that probably isn't enough for him.

i dont think hes done enough or mature enough to consider himself a guaranteed starter, wells has done much more,to come in put in the effort he does after so long on the bench makes him more of a pro, imo of course. that is where conway comes in too as id imagine the pair of them worked a lot together during nw quiet time,ie,playing for each other instead of going for glory most times

[Shuffle]

1 hour ago, RedM said:

I saw it like this too. If Pearson was hauling off players who were ineffective then Vyner wasn't one that needed to go.

I still cannot see any point in Andy King coming on for Vyner to sit alongside klose. Can anyone explain adjust don’t get some of Pearson substitutions?

[petehinton]

What struck me most about the triple subs, is that he was clearly fine with 0-0. The minute we needed a goal most (as soon as we went 1-0 down) he changed the entire front line which suggests he didn’t think we were gonna score how we were. Taking Semenyo off was a totally crazy decision imo. 

[bearded_red]

People who do ratings really have to start giving the two wingbacks a big fat zero. Both of them are absolutely useless.