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Previous encounters (Reading )
Reading Away, Falmer Years: 11/12, 13/14 - 16/17 C'ship, seasons 1, 3-6 . 17/18 - 22/23 Prem, no meetings. Ground: Madejski Stadium 24.1k . Nickname: Royals. Championship record from 11/12 to 22/23; 1, (19 Prem), 7, 19, 17, 3 / 20, 20, 14, 7, 21, 18 @ 31/3/23. C'ship: promo - '12, p-os - '17 . Prem: relegated - '13. Season7 onwards - not Premier League. Royals v Albion (A) from 11/12 @ C: 3-0, -, 0-0, 2-1, 1-1, 2-2 . . W = 0 D = 3 L = 2 For Home Falmer Years results and reports scroll further below. memorable match: Season1 (A) - Boxing Day at the Madejski and travelling support in festive mood. What could possibly go wrong? Season6 (A) Championship 20/8/16 - 2-2 ~ og, Knockaert. Albion had started the season very well, winning two fixtures at the Amex and drawing at Derby on opening day. They'd also cruised past Colchester in 1st round of the League Cup at the community stadium. Chris Hughton had released Greer, Crofts & Calderon but signed Sidwell & Norwood. He'd rotated his squad in league & cup, having luxury of a stronger complement of players available. This inspite of pre-season injuries to Goldson, Huenemeier & March and recently Stockdale. The U23 group also provided personnel who could slot into the match-day 18 as required. There were others (once regular) sent out on long loans but the only player borrowed for BHA select to date was Glenn Murray from Bournemouth. * match report: Bizarrely, goals were scored early in each half. Royals put the first this season past Seagulls in just two minutes, direct from a f-k that evaded Stockdale (2min). A few moments later they put past their keeper at a Knockaert corner (8 min). Right at beginning of the second period Albion went ahead when Knockaert converted a low drive (46min). But prior to the hour mark the home eleven levelled with a close range effort (58min). Shortly afterwards Hughton made changes, first inserting Norwood and ten minutes later Murphy. In final stages Hemed came on to keep pressure on locals as the game opened up. At the death Royals were down to ten men when Hemed was decked. Hughton said, 'sometimes away from home you prefer a tighter affair but we've got enough in the team to ensure we didn't get beaten.This is a tough place to come.' All in all Brighton fans thought it was a point gained rather than two lost. Stats; h-t 1-1, goals 2, 59-8, 46, poss 62%-38%, on target 4-2, off target 8-2, blocked 4-3, corners 9-5, fouls 13-16, o/s 2-3, yellow 2-2, red 1-0, subs 3-3 . att 16,781. Stockdale, Rosenior, Bruno, Dunk, Bong, Knockaert, Sidwell, Kayal, Skalak (Murphy), Murray (Hemed), Baldock (Norwood). Champ's P4 . W2 D2 L0 . F8 A2 . Pt8 Po2 . W = 50% L = 0% Season5 (A) 31/10/15 - 1-1 ~ Murphy. Brighton had been turned from no-hopers into promo hopefuls by Chris Hughton - see below. He'd enhanced the squad in summer with new contact players an dispensed with using on-loans to just make numbers up. There was a world of difference in performances this term and Albion led the table, being undefeated to boot. This amazing sequence had reached and survived unlucky 13, was the best start even old fans could remember and was still on track to break the longest unbeaten run record. On the day close to 4k travelling support attended in a crowd of 21k. * match report: The first half ended goalless, although both side's attackers were well held by defences. BHA used a revised 451 shape, which was a change from regular 442. Soon after the break Seagulls took the lead following a great move. Murphy took his chance when set up by Hemed, from good work by Bruno (51min). Royals stepped it up in an attempt to equalise but visitors were holding out. About twenty minutes from normal time locals made a double sub and five minutes later both Zamora & Calderon also came on. But Reading levelled it within a minute when Stockdale fumbled a shot straight at him and gifted their striker a tap-in (78min). Ince shored up a pressed defence in stoppage and so Albion got a point. Hughton said, 'in those 14 games none of them have been comfortable. We've had to scrap for every point we have, every game is a challenge. Could we have won some of them more comfortably, yes, but at the moment we are always in every game.' Considering the Mad Stad is a tough place to pick up a win, Brighton fans woulda settled for a draw before k-o anyway - and it looked ok now too. Stockdale, Bruno (Calderon), Huenemeier, Dunk, Rosenior, Crofts, Stephens, Kayal (Ince), Murphy, Hemed (Zamora), Baldock. Champ's P14 . W8 D6 L0 . F19 A11 . Pt30 Po1 . W = 57.1% L = 0% Season4 (A) 10/3/15 - L 2-1 ~ O'Grady. This game was resheduled into midweek due to conflicting with the previous Saturday FA Cup QF date for Royals. Both clubs were stuck together in the bottom eight but nine points clear of the cut-off line. Each side was latterly managed by replacement coaches and Chris Hughton had steered Seagulls away from relegation troubles since arriving at New Year. On the road Albion had a reasonable record but needed to keep clean sheets to ensure at least a point average per travel. Scoring goals had been a big problem for strikers and so defenders and midfielders somehow found the odd one when necessary. Brighton employed a lone front man as was the norm in this division but it was often a thankless task when starved of service. On the night over 1k BHA fans travelled to the Mad Stad in a crowd of 14k. * match report: This could certainly be on the shortlist for worst away display of the campaign as Albion were made to look less than average on a poor pitch. In all they racked up merely 5on/offs, 1corner and 2 o/s, conceding 12 f-k and 2 goals to boot. Hughton rested several players and was made to woe the decision. Those that came in performed with less than quality needed in this division and paid the price. Before half an hour gone Ince & Stockdale got in a right muddle and Royals striker nipped in to net (24min). The first half was truly dreadful and Hughton wanted more action during the second period. Debutant Ledesma was soon bundled over in the area and Ref pointed to the spot. O'Grady did the business and Albion were level again (53min). But it all fell apart a couple of moments later when the same guy as before smashed home another shot (56min). Seagulls huffed & puffed but could still be trying to score if they played until midnight. Hughton said, 'probably over the 90 minutes we didn't deserve to win.' He put on Best with fifteen minutes left and went to 442. Then Bruno appeared for last ten minutes but neither change made any difference whatsoever. There seemed to be an awful lot of work to do with this squad - including their mindsets as the run-in now started. Stockdale, Halford, Greer, Dunk, Bennett, Kayal, Ince (Best), Forster-Caskey, Ledesma (Bruno), O'Grady, LuaLua. Champ's P36 . W9 D13 L14 . F41 A45 . Pt40 Po19 . W = 25% L = 38.8% Season3 (A) 15/9/13 - 0-0. This fixture was played on a Sunday in front of TV cameras. It completed the other eleven Championship fixtures held on Saturday after the international break. Albion were in mid table having recovered from a poor start to our third campaign, following two initial defeats, with two wins and a draw. Oscar Garcia was finding life tough in English level two, although the Spaniard had Welshman Nathan Jones (a Spanish speaker) in support as assistant head coach. To add to the mix, there was something of an injury crisis - especially among strikers. CMS and Hoskins were long-term casualties thru surgery, while key men like Bridcutt and Orlandi had also gone under the knife. Bruno suffered with hamstring probs and the squad was buffered by ex-development kids like Forster-Caskey, Rohan Ince and Solly March. There had been little transfer window activity since Keith Andrews and Stephen Ward joined on-loan, although Craig Conway came in late to beat the on-loan deadline. * match report: In factual terms this match remained goalless throughout but on any other day Brighton might have won. Reading's keeper won MoM accolades for three fine stops when BHA took realistic chances to score. Albion beat Hoops 12 to 8 for on/off targets anyway. The incidents that caused more concern than entertainment were two sendings off - one for each side. On the half hour (31min) Reading lost their striker to two bookable offences (foul and simulation) and with Albion getting a toehold in the game, points were up for grabs. But it all went tits up when Ulloa got a straight red (3 game ban) for high feet when having a rush of blood to his head (39min). Halftime team talks musta been interesting and soon locals pounded visitors at beginning of the second period. Brighton battled back and with LuaLua an unlikely front man, went for broke as the game stretched. Garcia introduced Barnes to lead the line from the hour, while Buckley replaced LuaLua out wide for the remaining ten or so minutes. Barnes almost scored immediately but it was saved, then later the ball hit a post and goalie too. TK had a quiet afternoon in comparison. Most travelling fans (1600) agreed it was two points dropped rather than just one gained. Kuszczak, Calderon, Greer, Upson, Ward, Crofts, Ward, Forster-Caskey, David (Barnes), Ulloa, LuaLua (Buckley). Champ's P6 . W2 D2 L2 . F6 A5 . Pt8 Po14 . W = 33.3% L = 33.3% Season2 - not C'ship. Season1 (A) 26/12/11 - L 3-0. We went off to the Madejski Stadium on Boxing Day, which completed first half of our '11/12 campaign in the Championship. Brighton fans last visited six years ago in December of '05/6, when top of the table Reading hammered us deeper into the drop zone. Both clubs previously had history in equivalent of league1. Now BHA were comfortably housed at the Amex, looking forward to the day when bigger-club status assisted a push toward higher things. Talking of peering over your shoulder, 2005 ended with anti-climax on and also off the field, where Lewes District Council launched a far from festive legal challenge to the initial 'yes' verdict for Falmer. It was to be another three years before contractors moved onto the site and yuletide work finally commenced for the community stadium. 'Pot-less' Dick Knight spent thirteen million overall, just getting BHA to Falmer on paper, while Martin Perry would have had an extended misspent middle-age but for many extra hours pulling it all together. Fate interceded following that simultaneous 2008 credit crunch and Tony Bloom committed to financially support blue & white endeavours, eventually for a sum ending with eight noughts. His Father Christmas benevolence extended to hiring Gus Poyet in trying circumstances with the Championship dream of '9/10 quickly becoming a nightmare. By Boxing Day 2009 Gus said, 'there is nowhere to hide. We have to accept it and fight our way out of it.' The rest is history. *** match report: It was a far from happy Xmas for Brighton and although the final score flattered Reading, we got well and truly beat. Albion were one down after holding off early probes to get inside our area. But the home unit were fast and furious and opened us up a tad too easily with kick and rush footy (17min). It shoulda been held to one-nil for break time but no, we conceded again in stoppage to very simple stuff as usual. Gus shook things up and swapped both wingers, reshaping from 451 to 342 in a vain attempt to get back in this match. Ref was giving us nowt and CMS got shoved in the back but the official ignored it. Moments later CMS got an identical chance but headed wide. Nothing went our way but in all honesty, we were not up to par in front of goal. At the death El-Abd sliced an interception past Ankergren and it really summed up our festive visit for 2011. Ankergren, El-Abd, Greer, Dunk, Taricco, Buckley (Paynter), Harley, Bridcutt, Sparrow, LuaLua (Noone), Mackail-Smith. Champ's P23 . W9 D5 L9 . F23 A26 . Pt32 Po11 . W = 39.1% L = 39.1% * * * * * Withdean Era: 12 seasons from 1999 to 2011 - Season3 01/2 - League One . Seasons 4 02/3, 6 04/5, 7 05/6 - Championship. Withdean era: Royals V Albion 0-0, 1-2, 3-2, 5-1 . . . W = 1 D = 1 L = 2 memorable match: Season4 (A) - revived hope to possibly avoid a first relegation. Noughties last there - 10/12/05 (A) C'ship. A turgid performance exposing rot which wouldn't support our returning to the Madejski at level2 again this decade. 7/8/04 (A) C'ship. Fastest goal scored on the roads around England took merely the first few seconds to complete during this opening day away fixture. see: Seasons 3, 4, 6, 7 for club & stadium info. Also Paul Brooker, Paul Kitson, Maheta Molongo, Jake Robinson, Colin Kazim-Richards.
Reading - Home, Falmer Years: 11/12, 13/14 - 16/17 C'ship, seasons 1, 3-6 . '16 LC, season6 . '14 FAC, season3 . 17/18 - 22/23 Prem, no meetings. Season7 onwards - not Premier League. Albion v Royals (H) from 11/12 @ C: 0-1, -, 1-1, 2-2, 1-0, 3-0 . . W = 2 D = 2 L = 1 For Away Falmer Years results and reports scroll further up. memorable match: Season6 (H) - our final C'ship season at fortress Amex, on the way to tougher times ahead. Season6 (H) Championship 25/2/17 - 3-0 ~ Baldock, Murphy, Knockaert. In a very busy February of 7 fixtures in all, Seagulls had w2 d2 l1 to date. Now they faced two top teams in four days at the Amex to complete this month's marathon matches - and possibly take a couple more positive steps toward automatic promotion. One thing Brighton fans were sure of, Chris Hughton would definitely field his strongest starting eleven - see previously below! From that losing League Cup side, Maenpaa was injured in humiliating FA Cup defeat at Lincoln, while Goldson was now out for rest of this season with a heart condition. Meanwhile Manu, Hunt & Ince went out on loan until May. Of the others, Pocognoli had made the grade into the 1st 11but Huenemeier, Norwood & Skalak were out of form and not making the match-day 18. * match report: In the event, in front of teatime tv cameras, Albion were a little flattered by the score but the three points were very welcome anyway, especially as Newcastle were overtaken at top of the table. Royals enjoyed a lot of possession but Seagulls were robust in rearguard and kept a clean sheet to boot. In fact the goals came from visitors losing the ball at vital moments. With BHA attacking the north stand in the opening 45 mins, Bruno got to a miss-hit clearance and lobbed it forward toward Baldock. He ran thru, controlled the bounce and tucked it away (35min). After turnaround Albion hit travellers on the counter when Stephens played Murphy in and he chipped the keeper (56min). The game was quite open and as Reading made subs to boost attacking intent Hughton left his until later, first introducing Hemed with 15 mins to go. Five mins afterwards Brighton broke yet again against run of play and Murphy fed Knockaert who smashed his shot to the far post (80min). Two more subs duly followed with the match now won. Hughton said, 'that was us at our best, up against one of the best teams in this division. I thought Murphy was immense.' Brighton fans we jubilant to head the division once more and were happy to look forward to hosting Magpies in three days time for the right to be current no.1. Stats; h-t 1-0, goals 35,56,80, poss 37%-63%, on target 5-3, off target 8-4, blocks 2-5, corners 6-5, o/s 2-0, fouls 13-6, yellows 2-1, subs 3-3 . att 29,613. Stockdale, Bruno, Dufy, Dunk, Pocognoli (Tomori), Knockaert, Stephens, Sidwell, Murphy, Baldock (Akpom), Murray (Hemed). Champ's P33 . W21 D8 L4 . F57 A26 . Pt71 Po1 . W = 63.6% L = 12.1% Season6 (H) 20/9/16 League Cup r3 - L 1-2 ~ Hemed. An Albion second eleven had gotten past both lowly Colchester 4-0 at the Amex in r1 and Oxford 2-4 away in r2 to progress timewise into this evening cup competition. Potential was there for a money-spinning draw if Seagulls could next knockout fellow Championship outfit Royals on domestic turf. Both clubs were together on 14pts currently, just behind play-off places in the Championship. Chris Hughton hinted at alterations to his regular league starting eleven again, like previously in earlier rounds. In the event, he made all eleven changes. Huenemeier & Goldson required game time following injury, while Pocognoli was making his debut. Ince & Manu were something of fringe players but Sidwell & Norwood usually part of the league match-day squad. On the night a low crowd of 6k attended - partly due to train cancellations because of an ongoing industrial dispute. * match report: Albion were knocked out after a poor team display under floodlights. What made this result a little difficult to take was that Royals were reduced to 10 men in the five minutes before half time. Prior to that incident for a straight red, visitors had taken the lead against run of play. From one of their few corners, they were quickest to a bouncing ball thru the area (32min). Five minutes after the break, Royals went two up from a counter and fine finish (54min). Hughton reacted by withdrawing Ince on the hour mark and inserting Hemed, going from 433 to orthodox 442. About ten minutes later Skalak & Murphy took to the field in an attempt to find a way back into the tie. Seagulls threw the kitchen sink at travellers in final twenty minutes but mostly off target. Hemed scored with five minutes left (85min), although the game looked cooked as Reading held out by solid defending and organisation. Hughton said, 'we needed to make more of that dominance we had in the last period. We've got to make sure we get the balance right.' Stats; poss 52%-48%, on target 5-5, off target 13-3, corners 9-3, o/s 2-1, fouls 11-11, yellow 3-1, red 0-1. Maenpaa, Hunt, Huenemeier, Goldson, Pocognoli (Skalak), Sidwell, Ince (Hemed), Norwood, Manu (Murphy), Murray, Baldock (capt). Season5 (H) Championship 15/3/16 - 1-0 - Wilson. Chris Hughton had come in at New Year 2015 and worked wonders since - see below. After a year and three months in the job he had Albion in a p-o spot, not far behind the top two. And Seagulls were well clear of seventh place to boot, as we passed the three quarter stage and got into the run-in. Compared to seasons beforehand, the playing squad for matchday was now different and had more quality. Only Stockdale & Dunk of those around in '14 home game still turned out regularly. Calderon was sometimes sub, while Forster-Caskey went out on loan. Holla was on fringes now but March suffered a long term injury. From campaigns further back, Bruno was again having a great season but Greer was mostly on the bench now and Ince & Chicksen were also out on loan. LuaLua probably had been here as long as some senior pros - Crofts was back and so was Zamora. But old Ankergren wasn't seen much - except on pay day. * match report: Albion sneaked a trademark single goal win that sent them into auto promo positions for the first time since well before the Xmas & New Year blip in form. On loan Man Utd youngster Wilson started this fixture and found the mark with a crisp shot after very good work by Baldock (25min). From then Seagulls kept another clean sheet - 6 in 7 and counting. More huff & puff only altered a few stats but not the final score. Hughton made the usual double swop during closing stages, when wingers changed over and fit again Bong got to test limbs for a spell. At the death a few seconds were wasted while Sidwell shored up a purposeful rearguard. Hughton said, 'we wanted to get Gaetan involved and try and close down the game and Liam has done a great job for us. We did stretch them a little bit more. We countered really well which gave us opportunities, although at one-nil you are always a little vunerable.' Brighton fans went home happy, knowing BHA had nicked the points but all is fair in footy & race for the Prem. Suddenly more than a few of the 23k began to believe promotion was possible once again. Stats; poss 48%-52%, on target 3-3, off target 7-9, corners 4-1, fouls 16-13. Stockdale, Bruno, Goldson, Dunk, Rosenior, Knockaert (LuaLua), Stephens, Kayal, Murphy (Bong), Baldock (Sidwell), Wilson. Champ's P37 . W18 D14 L5 . F50 A34 . Pt68 Po2 . W = 48.6% L = 13.5% Season4 (H) 26/12/14 - 2-2 ~ Forster-Caskey, Calderon. Yes folks, Sami Hyypia had resigned as manager earlier in the week. Boxing Day had arrived once more and this year Seagulls entertained Royals - rather than Bees, Lions, Addicks, Hornets, Cottagers or even Cherries. It also marked the halfway stage of this campaign and highlighted what was required during reciprocal fixtures in four months of campaigning still ahead. And not to put too fine a point on it, nothing less than 30pts was required thru 2015 - to help beat the drop back into League One. Xmas & pre-New Year matches were especially critical because taking six points would mean there was at least a chance to get out of the bottom three in January. That was when the transfer window would be open and Tony Bloom was expected to dip into deep pockets for additional players to bolster an ailing 2014 squad. On a rainy afternoon, 26k attended from official figs quoted but was probably a couple of thousand less by head count. * match report: One minute into this very important contest, ex-Seagull Glenn Murray netted to give caretaker Nathan Jones one massive shock to any hope of getting the job permanently. Inside half an hour Albion went two down when he duly headed a second (26min). CMS having been recalled from Peteroro, then came on to replace injured Bent (30min). BHA plugged away and got back into the fixture just before half time. Halford produced a long throw that Dunk aimed to the far post where JFC bundled it in (40min). March got on too around the hour mark and fifteen minutes later McCourt became last ditch playmaker. Jones later pushed Halford forward as blue&white shirts probed for a late equaliser. With time running out, fans already leaving early for buses and Royals clinging on to their luck, Calderon was in the right place to snatch a dramatic draw prior to stoppage (90min). You couldn't really make it up but somehow knew it woulda been very hard to take if Albion had actually lost. Jones did his best and what is more, so did the squad in turning possible humiliation around. The fans got behind the lads for the fightback and in the event a point was ok - for now! Stockdale, Calderon, Halford, Dunk, J Bennett, Gardner, Holla (McCourt), Forster-Caskey, E Bennett (March), Bent (Mackail-Smith), Colunga. Champ's P23 . W3 D11 L9 . F24 A32 . Pt20 Po23 . W = 13% L = 39.1% Season3 (H) 8/3/14 - 1-1 ~ og. Albion like Reading were on edges of play-offs and Royals were considered dangerous opposition. We'd been beat by a similar ex-Prem outfit in Wigan last time out at the Amex and were due to host elite QPR in a few days too. Battle for a top-six slot was heating up, with all these top-flite sides in the mix. BHA could not afford many more mistakes as we approached the three quarters stage of an ongoing tough campaign. Other reversals versus promo candidates Derby & Forest, plus shock defeat to lowly Barnsley, put further pressure on extracting maximum points at Falmer. Oscar Garcia used a squad rotation program in midfield and relied on a steady settled defence but only one striker. * match report: A fortunate own goal gifted Seagulls a halftime lead (17min). But the real game changer was the decision by Ref to send off Greer for a second bookable early into the second period (51min). Garcia stuck Dunk on to deal at the back and later introduced Buckley on the hour mark. This bold move added to solo threats up front and sounded an intention to go win the game. But travellers quickly got an equaliser and cat was among Seagulls (64min). It all got a bit frantic with both sides getting chances to score again. Kuszczak did his bit when called upon and the fixture was played out with good support from the stands. Garcia said, 'The Ref saw the foul. I am very happy and proud of all my players as we could have won.' And so say all of us. Kuszczak, Bruno, Greer, Upson, Ward, Ince, Andrews, Forster-Caskey (March), David (Dunk), Ulloa, Lingard (Buckley). Champ's P33 . W13 D11 L9 . F35 A28 . Pt50 Po8 . W = 39.3% L = 27.2% Season3 (H) 4/1/14 FAC3 - 1-0 ~ Crofts. Over 20k post-festive revellers attended this traditional tie and the club priced tickets to appeal to supporters trying to find extra money for footy entertainment - with three home games scheduled between New Year and mid January. Although BHA had drawn a fellow Championship club, Head Coach Oscar Garcia made numerous changes to his regular p-o place seeking starting eleven. There had been limited opportunities for Brezovan, Dunk, Chicksen, Andrews, Agustien, March and Forster-Caskey previously but now they got a chance to shine in knockout fashion. Much speculation surrounded Bridcutt, as to whether he would move onto the Prem during this transfer month - Gus Poyet at Sunderland was said to be interested. * match report: Crofts bagged the winner after half an hour and the score remained at one-nil thereafter (31min). He said, 'this can be a springboard for us in the league to get further up the table, it happened against Newcastle last year.' Garcia made trademark changes around the hour mark, introducing Orlandi and Dunk and much later LuaLua for impact. Stats went in Albion's favour and amounted to nearly 20 on/offs and blocked shots. Seagulls hit the wooodwork three times but found one to go in, which was just enough to settle this knockabout contest. Royals keeper prevented a bigger score as they fought to stay in the Cup and force a replay. Reflecting on the pinball action, asst coach Nathan Jones said, 'we are contemplating changing the crossbars and making them a bit thinner if I am honest.' He always had a wry sense of humour - especially when entering the draw for round four. BTW it was away to lower league opposition - not the big club at the Amex he wanted. Oh well, win some, lose some! Brezovan, Calderon, Greer (Dunk), El-Abd, Chicksen, Crofts, Andrews, Agustien (Orlandi), March (LuaLua), Barnes, Forster-Caskey. Season2 - not C'ship. Season1 (H) 10/4/12 - L 0-1. Gus Poyet asked Brighton fans to turn out in numbers for a working Tuesday evening after Easter hols type of fixture. In the event over 20k attended which kept up average gates and the away end was pretty much filled too. Reading were chasing an auto-promo spot after hitting a fine run of form through mid season and on into the run-in. BHA were just outside play-off places, where some big Championship clubs were vying for qualification. Albion were slightly off the boil entering this phase of proceedings, although hadn't been beaten at the Amex since before Xmas. But we needed to up the ante overall h/a, where recent results recorded; wlw ddl. However Seagulls hadn't suffered consecutive defeats since disastrous December flipped over into happy New Year. Poyet nearly always made alterations to the starting line-up from previous fixtures and again had plenty of squad members available for selection. In truth he probably didn't yet know what his best team-sheet actually was, what with earlier injuries and suspensions. The spine of the team remained fairly settled and playmaker Vicente was first choice but up front there were concerns about getting enough goals. *** match report: Royals weathered opening exchanges with Albion on the front foot and looking to grab quick advantage. But after BHA conceded a f-k outside the area, visitors took the lead. The ball deflected off the wall and tucked inside the far post with Brezovan stranded (14min). Once ahead, Reading seemed content to soak up pressure and hit us on the counter. They appeared dangerous moving forward, although El-Abd and Greer had good games in defence and restricted their chances. During the second period, there was more entertainment, loads of gamesmanship and usual ott stuff for Ref to sort out. He awarded Albion a penalty (52min) when Barnes got decked but the same players low spot kick was saved. GP introduced LuaLua past the hour mark to try his luck down left flank. Vicente, Dicker and Navarro pushed on but useful build-up came to nought in the final third. With ten minutes or so left, Gus stuck on Vokes and Assulin in vain hope of salvaging something. Royals goalie had an excellent match and if anything got thru his defence he again did a decent job. Brighton fans went home slightly disappointed but nine months beforehand all such events were merely a nice dream of the future. Brezovan, Calderon, Greer, El-Abd, Reyes, Dicker, Navarro, Vicente, Buckley (LuaLua), Mackail-Smith (Vokes), Barnes (Assulin). Champ's P42 . W17 D12 L13 . F49 A43 . Pt63 Po7 . W = 40.4% L = 30.9% * * * * * Withdean era: season3 - 01/2 L1 . seasons 4, 6, 7 - 02/3, 04/5, 05/6 C'ship. Withdean era: Albion V Royals 3-1, 0-1, 0-1, 0-2 . . . W = 1 D = 0 L = 3 memorable match: Season3 (H) - a useful Seagulls side putting together some good displays to satisfy faithful in midwinter hostings. see: Seasons 3, 4, 6, 7 for club & stadium info. Also Peter Taylor, Steve Coppell, Mark McGhee.
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Previous encounters (Reading )
Reading Away, Falmer Years: 11/12, 13/14 - 16/17 C'ship, seasons 1, 3-6 . 17/18 - 22/23 Prem, no meetings. Ground: Madejski Stadium 24.1k . Nickname: Royals. Championship record from 11/12 to 22/23; 1, (19 Prem), 7, 19, 17, 3 / 20, 20, 14, 7, 21, 18 @ 31/3/23. C'ship: promo - '12, p-os - '17 . Prem: relegated - '13. Season7 onwards - not Premier League. Royals v Albion (A) from 11/12 @ C: 3-0, -, 0-0, 2-1, 1-1, 2-2 . . W = 0 D = 3 L = 2 For Home Falmer Years results and reports scroll further below. memorable match: Season1 (A) - Boxing Day at the Madejski and travelling support in festive mood. What could possibly go wrong? Season6 (A) Championship 20/8/16 - 2-2 ~ og, Knockaert. Albion had started the season very well, winning two fixtures at the Amex and drawing at Derby on opening day. They'd also cruised past Colchester in 1st round of the League Cup at the community stadium. Chris Hughton had released Greer, Crofts & Calderon but signed Sidwell & Norwood. He'd rotated his squad in league & cup, having luxury of a stronger complement of players available. This inspite of pre-season injuries to Goldson, Huenemeier & March and recently Stockdale. The U23 group also provided personnel who could slot into the match-day 18 as required. There were others (once regular) sent out on long loans but the only player borrowed for BHA select to date was Glenn Murray from Bournemouth. * match report: Bizarrely, goals were scored early in each half. Royals put the first this season past Seagulls in just two minutes, direct from a f-k that evaded Stockdale (2min). A few moments later they put past their keeper at a Knockaert corner (8 min). Right at beginning of the second period Albion went ahead when Knockaert converted a low drive (46min). But prior to the hour mark the home eleven levelled with a close range effort (58min). Shortly afterwards Hughton made changes, first inserting Norwood and ten minutes later Murphy. In final stages Hemed came on to keep pressure on locals as the game opened up. At the death Royals were down to ten men when Hemed was decked. Hughton said, 'sometimes away from home you prefer a tighter affair but we've got enough in the team to ensure we didn't get beaten.This is a tough place to come.' All in all Brighton fans thought it was a point gained rather than two lost. Stats; h-t 1-1, goals 2, 59-8, 46, poss 62%-38%, on target 4-2, off target 8-2, blocked 4-3, corners 9-5, fouls 13-16, o/s 2-3, yellow 2-2, red 1-0, subs 3-3 . att 16,781. Stockdale, Rosenior, Bruno, Dunk, Bong, Knockaert, Sidwell, Kayal, Skalak (Murphy), Murray (Hemed), Baldock (Norwood). Champ's P4 . W2 D2 L0 . F8 A2 . Pt8 Po2 . W = 50% L = 0% Season5 (A) 31/10/15 - 1-1 ~ Murphy. Brighton had been turned from no-hopers into promo hopefuls by Chris Hughton - see below. He'd enhanced the squad in summer with new contact players an dispensed with using on-loans to just make numbers up. There was a world of difference in performances this term and Albion led the table, being undefeated to boot. This amazing sequence had reached and survived unlucky 13, was the best start even old fans could remember and was still on track to break the longest unbeaten run record. On the day close to 4k travelling support attended in a crowd of 21k. * match report: The first half ended goalless, although both side's attackers were well held by defences. BHA used a revised 451 shape, which was a change from regular 442. Soon after the break Seagulls took the lead following a great move. Murphy took his chance when set up by Hemed, from good work by Bruno (51min). Royals stepped it up in an attempt to equalise but visitors were holding out. About twenty minutes from normal time locals made a double sub and five minutes later both Zamora & Calderon also came on. But Reading levelled it within a minute when Stockdale fumbled a shot straight at him and gifted their striker a tap-in (78min). Ince shored up a pressed defence in stoppage and so Albion got a point. Hughton said, 'in those 14 games none of them have been comfortable. We've had to scrap for every point we have, every game is a challenge. Could we have won some of them more comfortably, yes, but at the moment we are always in every game.' Considering the Mad Stad is a tough place to pick up a win, Brighton fans woulda settled for a draw before k-o anyway - and it looked ok now too. Stockdale, Bruno (Calderon), Huenemeier, Dunk, Rosenior, Crofts, Stephens, Kayal (Ince), Murphy, Hemed (Zamora), Baldock. Champ's P14 . W8 D6 L0 . F19 A11 . Pt30 Po1 . W = 57.1% L = 0% Season4 (A) 10/3/15 - L 2-1 ~ O'Grady. This game was resheduled into midweek due to conflicting with the previous Saturday FA Cup QF date for Royals. Both clubs were stuck together in the bottom eight but nine points clear of the cut-off line. Each side was latterly managed by replacement coaches and Chris Hughton had steered Seagulls away from relegation troubles since arriving at New Year. On the road Albion had a reasonable record but needed to keep clean sheets to ensure at least a point average per travel. Scoring goals had been a big problem for strikers and so defenders and midfielders somehow found the odd one when necessary. Brighton employed a lone front man as was the norm in this division but it was often a thankless task when starved of service. On the night over 1k BHA fans travelled to the Mad Stad in a crowd of 14k. * match report: This could certainly be on the shortlist for worst away display of the campaign as Albion were made to look less than average on a poor pitch. In all they racked up merely 5on/offs, 1corner and 2 o/s, conceding 12 f-k and 2 goals to boot. Hughton rested several players and was made to woe the decision. Those that came in performed with less than quality needed in this division and paid the price. Before half an hour gone Ince & Stockdale got in a right muddle and Royals striker nipped in to net (24min). The first half was truly dreadful and Hughton wanted more action during the second period. Debutant Ledesma was soon bundled over in the area and Ref pointed to the spot. O'Grady did the business and Albion were level again (53min). But it all fell apart a couple of moments later when the same guy as before smashed home another shot (56min). Seagulls huffed & puffed but could still be trying to score if they played until midnight. Hughton said, 'probably over the 90 minutes we didn't deserve to win.' He put on Best with fifteen minutes left and went to 442. Then Bruno appeared for last ten minutes but neither change made any difference whatsoever. There seemed to be an awful lot of work to do with this squad - including their mindsets as the run-in now started. Stockdale, Halford, Greer, Dunk, Bennett, Kayal, Ince (Best), Forster-Caskey, Ledesma (Bruno), O'Grady, LuaLua. Champ's P36 . W9 D13 L14 . F41 A45 . Pt40 Po19 . W = 25% L = 38.8% Season3 (A) 15/9/13 - 0-0. This fixture was played on a Sunday in front of TV cameras. It completed the other eleven Championship fixtures held on Saturday after the international break. Albion were in mid table having recovered from a poor start to our third campaign, following two initial defeats, with two wins and a draw. Oscar Garcia was finding life tough in English level two, although the Spaniard had Welshman Nathan Jones (a Spanish speaker) in support as assistant head coach. To add to the mix, there was something of an injury crisis - especially among strikers. CMS and Hoskins were long-term casualties thru surgery, while key men like Bridcutt and Orlandi had also gone under the knife. Bruno suffered with hamstring probs and the squad was buffered by ex-development kids like Forster-Caskey, Rohan Ince and Solly March. There had been little transfer window activity since Keith Andrews and Stephen Ward joined on-loan, although Craig Conway came in late to beat the on-loan deadline. * match report: In factual terms this match remained goalless throughout but on any other day Brighton might have won. Reading's keeper won MoM accolades for three fine stops when BHA took realistic chances to score. Albion beat Hoops 12 to 8 for on/off targets anyway. The incidents that caused more concern than entertainment were two sendings off - one for each side. On the half hour (31min) Reading lost their striker to two bookable offences (foul and simulation) and with Albion getting a toehold in the game, points were up for grabs. But it all went tits up when Ulloa got a straight red (3 game ban) for high feet when having a rush of blood to his head (39min). Halftime team talks musta been interesting and soon locals pounded visitors at beginning of the second period. Brighton battled back and with LuaLua an unlikely front man, went for broke as the game stretched. Garcia introduced Barnes to lead the line from the hour, while Buckley replaced LuaLua out wide for the remaining ten or so minutes. Barnes almost scored immediately but it was saved, then later the ball hit a post and goalie too. TK had a quiet afternoon in comparison. Most travelling fans (1600) agreed it was two points dropped rather than just one gained. Kuszczak, Calderon, Greer, Upson, Ward, Crofts, Ward, Forster-Caskey, David (Barnes), Ulloa, LuaLua (Buckley). Champ's P6 . W2 D2 L2 . F6 A5 . Pt8 Po14 . W = 33.3% L = 33.3% Season2 - not C'ship. Season1 (A) 26/12/11 - L 3-0. We went off to the Madejski Stadium on Boxing Day, which completed first half of our '11/12 campaign in the Championship. Brighton fans last visited six years ago in December of '05/6, when top of the table Reading hammered us deeper into the drop zone. Both clubs previously had history in equivalent of league1. Now BHA were comfortably housed at the Amex, looking forward to the day when bigger-club status assisted a push toward higher things. Talking of peering over your shoulder, 2005 ended with anti-climax on and also off the field, where Lewes District Council launched a far from festive legal challenge to the initial 'yes' verdict for Falmer. It was to be another three years before contractors moved onto the site and yuletide work finally commenced for the community stadium. 'Pot-less' Dick Knight spent thirteen million overall, just getting BHA to Falmer on paper, while Martin Perry would have had an extended misspent middle-age but for many extra hours pulling it all together. Fate interceded following that simultaneous 2008 credit crunch and Tony Bloom committed to financially support blue & white endeavours, eventually for a sum ending with eight noughts. His Father Christmas benevolence extended to hiring Gus Poyet in trying circumstances with the Championship dream of '9/10 quickly becoming a nightmare. By Boxing Day 2009 Gus said, 'there is nowhere to hide. We have to accept it and fight our way out of it.' The rest is history. *** match report: It was a far from happy Xmas for Brighton and although the final score flattered Reading, we got well and truly beat. Albion were one down after holding off early probes to get inside our area. But the home unit were fast and furious and opened us up a tad too easily with kick and rush footy (17min). It shoulda been held to one-nil for break time but no, we conceded again in stoppage to very simple stuff as usual. Gus shook things up and swapped both wingers, reshaping from 451 to 342 in a vain attempt to get back in this match. Ref was giving us nowt and CMS got shoved in the back but the official ignored it. Moments later CMS got an identical chance but headed wide. Nothing went our way but in all honesty, we were not up to par in front of goal. At the death El-Abd sliced an interception past Ankergren and it really summed up our festive visit for 2011. Ankergren, El-Abd, Greer, Dunk, Taricco, Buckley (Paynter), Harley, Bridcutt, Sparrow, LuaLua (Noone), Mackail-Smith. Champ's P23 . W9 D5 L9 . F23 A26 . Pt32 Po11 . W = 39.1% L = 39.1% * * * * * Withdean Era: 12 seasons from 1999 to 2011 - Season3 01/2 - League One . Seasons 4 02/3, 6 04/5, 7 05/6 - Championship. Withdean era: Royals V Albion 0-0, 1-2, 3-2, 5-1 . . . W = 1 D = 1 L = 2 memorable match: Season4 (A) - revived hope to possibly avoid a first relegation. Noughties last there - 10/12/05 (A) C'ship. A turgid performance exposing rot which wouldn't support our returning to the Madejski at level2 again this decade. 7/8/04 (A) C'ship. Fastest goal scored on the roads around England took merely the first few seconds to complete during this opening day away fixture. see: Seasons 3, 4, 6, 7 for club & stadium info. Also Paul Brooker, Paul Kitson, Maheta Molongo, Jake Robinson, Colin Kazim-Richards.
Reading - Home, Falmer Years: 11/12, 13/14 - 16/17 C'ship, seasons 1, 3-6 . '16 LC, season6 . '14 FAC, season3 . 17/18 - 22/23 Prem, no meetings. Season7 onwards - not Premier League. Albion v Royals (H) from 11/12 @ C: 0-1, -, 1-1, 2-2, 1-0, 3-0 . . W = 2 D = 2 L = 1 For Away Falmer Years results and reports scroll further up. memorable match: Season6 (H) - our final C'ship season at fortress Amex, on the way to tougher times ahead. Season6 (H) Championship 25/2/17 - 3-0 ~ Baldock, Murphy, Knockaert. In a very busy February of 7 fixtures in all, Seagulls had w2 d2 l1 to date. Now they faced two top teams in four days at the Amex to complete this month's marathon matches - and possibly take a couple more positive steps toward automatic promotion. One thing Brighton fans were sure of, Chris Hughton would definitely field his strongest starting eleven - see previously below! From that losing League Cup side, Maenpaa was injured in humiliating FA Cup defeat at Lincoln, while Goldson was now out for rest of this season with a heart condition. Meanwhile Manu, Hunt & Ince went out on loan until May. Of the others, Pocognoli had made the grade into the 1st 11but Huenemeier, Norwood & Skalak were out of form and not making the match-day 18. * match report: In the event, in front of teatime tv cameras, Albion were a little flattered by the score but the three points were very welcome anyway, especially as Newcastle were overtaken at top of the table. Royals enjoyed a lot of possession but Seagulls were robust in rearguard and kept a clean sheet to boot. In fact the goals came from visitors losing the ball at vital moments. With BHA attacking the north stand in the opening 45 mins, Bruno got to a miss-hit clearance and lobbed it forward toward Baldock. He ran thru, controlled the bounce and tucked it away (35min). After turnaround Albion hit travellers on the counter when Stephens played Murphy in and he chipped the keeper (56min). The game was quite open and as Reading made subs to boost attacking intent Hughton left his until later, first introducing Hemed with 15 mins to go. Five mins afterwards Brighton broke yet again against run of play and Murphy fed Knockaert who smashed his shot to the far post (80min). Two more subs duly followed with the match now won. Hughton said, 'that was us at our best, up against one of the best teams in this division. I thought Murphy was immense.' Brighton fans we jubilant to head the division once more and were happy to look forward to hosting Magpies in three days time for the right to be current no.1. Stats; h-t 1-0, goals 35,56,80, poss 37%-63%, on target 5-3, off target 8-4, blocks 2-5, corners 6-5, o/s 2-0, fouls 13-6, yellows 2-1, subs 3-3 . att 29,613. Stockdale, Bruno, Dufy, Dunk, Pocognoli (Tomori), Knockaert, Stephens, Sidwell, Murphy, Baldock (Akpom), Murray (Hemed). Champ's P33 . W21 D8 L4 . F57 A26 . Pt71 Po1 . W = 63.6% L = 12.1% Season6 (H) 20/9/16 League Cup r3 - L 1-2 ~ Hemed. An Albion second eleven had gotten past both lowly Colchester 4-0 at the Amex in r1 and Oxford 2-4 away in r2 to progress timewise into this evening cup competition. Potential was there for a money-spinning draw if Seagulls could next knockout fellow Championship outfit Royals on domestic turf. Both clubs were together on 14pts currently, just behind play-off places in the Championship. Chris Hughton hinted at alterations to his regular league starting eleven again, like previously in earlier rounds. In the event, he made all eleven changes. Huenemeier & Goldson required game time following injury, while Pocognoli was making his debut. Ince & Manu were something of fringe players but Sidwell & Norwood usually part of the league match-day squad. On the night a low crowd of 6k attended - partly due to train cancellations because of an ongoing industrial dispute. * match report: Albion were knocked out after a poor team display under floodlights. What made this result a little difficult to take was that Royals were reduced to 10 men in the five minutes before half time. Prior to that incident for a straight red, visitors had taken the lead against run of play. From one of their few corners, they were quickest to a bouncing ball thru the area (32min). Five minutes after the break, Royals went two up from a counter and fine finish (54min). Hughton reacted by withdrawing Ince on the hour mark and inserting Hemed, going from 433 to orthodox 442. About ten minutes later Skalak & Murphy took to the field in an attempt to find a way back into the tie. Seagulls threw the kitchen sink at travellers in final twenty minutes but mostly off target. Hemed scored with five minutes left (85min), although the game looked cooked as Reading held out by solid defending and organisation. Hughton said, 'we needed to make more of that dominance we had in the last period. We've got to make sure we get the balance right.' Stats; poss 52%-48%, on target 5-5, off target 13-3, corners 9-3, o/s 2-1, fouls 11-11, yellow 3-1, red 0-1. Maenpaa, Hunt, Huenemeier, Goldson, Pocognoli (Skalak), Sidwell, Ince (Hemed), Norwood, Manu (Murphy), Murray, Baldock (capt). Season5 (H) Championship 15/3/16 - 1-0 - Wilson. Chris Hughton had come in at New Year 2015 and worked wonders since - see below. After a year and three months in the job he had Albion in a p-o spot, not far behind the top two. And Seagulls were well clear of seventh place to boot, as we passed the three quarter stage and got into the run-in. Compared to seasons beforehand, the playing squad for matchday was now different and had more quality. Only Stockdale & Dunk of those around in '14 home game still turned out regularly. Calderon was sometimes sub, while Forster-Caskey went out on loan. Holla was on fringes now but March suffered a long term injury. From campaigns further back, Bruno was again having a great season but Greer was mostly on the bench now and Ince & Chicksen were also out on loan. LuaLua probably had been here as long as some senior pros - Crofts was back and so was Zamora. But old Ankergren wasn't seen much - except on pay day. * match report: Albion sneaked a trademark single goal win that sent them into auto promo positions for the first time since well before the Xmas & New Year blip in form. On loan Man Utd youngster Wilson started this fixture and found the mark with a crisp shot after very good work by Baldock (25min). From then Seagulls kept another clean sheet - 6 in 7 and counting. More huff & puff only altered a few stats but not the final score. Hughton made the usual double swop during closing stages, when wingers changed over and fit again Bong got to test limbs for a spell. At the death a few seconds were wasted while Sidwell shored up a purposeful rearguard. Hughton said, 'we wanted to get Gaetan involved and try and close down the game and Liam has done a great job for us. We did stretch them a little bit more. We countered really well which gave us opportunities, although at one-nil you are always a little vunerable.' Brighton fans went home happy, knowing BHA had nicked the points but all is fair in footy & race for the Prem. Suddenly more than a few of the 23k began to believe promotion was possible once again. Stats; poss 48%-52%, on target 3-3, off target 7-9, corners 4-1, fouls 16-13. Stockdale, Bruno, Goldson, Dunk, Rosenior, Knockaert (LuaLua), Stephens, Kayal, Murphy (Bong), Baldock (Sidwell), Wilson. Champ's P37 . W18 D14 L5 . F50 A34 . Pt68 Po2 . W = 48.6% L = 13.5% Season4 (H) 26/12/14 - 2-2 ~ Forster-Caskey, Calderon. Yes folks, Sami Hyypia had resigned as manager earlier in the week. Boxing Day had arrived once more and this year Seagulls entertained Royals - rather than Bees, Lions, Addicks, Hornets, Cottagers or even Cherries. It also marked the halfway stage of this campaign and highlighted what was required during reciprocal fixtures in four months of campaigning still ahead. And not to put too fine a point on it, nothing less than 30pts was required thru 2015 - to help beat the drop back into League One. Xmas & pre-New Year matches were especially critical because taking six points would mean there was at least a chance to get out of the bottom three in January. That was when the transfer window would be open and Tony Bloom was expected to dip into deep pockets for additional players to bolster an ailing 2014 squad. On a rainy afternoon, 26k attended from official figs quoted but was probably a couple of thousand less by head count. * match report: One minute into this very important contest, ex-Seagull Glenn Murray netted to give caretaker Nathan Jones one massive shock to any hope of getting the job permanently. Inside half an hour Albion went two down when he duly headed a second (26min). CMS having been recalled from Peteroro, then came on to replace injured Bent (30min). BHA plugged away and got back into the fixture just before half time. Halford produced a long throw that Dunk aimed to the far post where JFC bundled it in (40min). March got on too around the hour mark and fifteen minutes later McCourt became last ditch playmaker. Jones later pushed Halford forward as blue&white shirts probed for a late equaliser. With time running out, fans already leaving early for buses and Royals clinging on to their luck, Calderon was in the right place to snatch a dramatic draw prior to stoppage (90min). You couldn't really make it up but somehow knew it woulda been very hard to take if Albion had actually lost. Jones did his best and what is more, so did the squad in turning possible humiliation around. The fans got behind the lads for the fightback and in the event a point was ok - for now! Stockdale, Calderon, Halford, Dunk, J Bennett, Gardner, Holla (McCourt), Forster-Caskey, E Bennett (March), Bent (Mackail-Smith), Colunga. Champ's P23 . W3 D11 L9 . F24 A32 . Pt20 Po23 . W = 13% L = 39.1% Season3 (H) 8/3/14 - 1-1 ~ og. Albion like Reading were on edges of play-offs and Royals were considered dangerous opposition. We'd been beat by a similar ex-Prem outfit in Wigan last time out at the Amex and were due to host elite QPR in a few days too. Battle for a top-six slot was heating up, with all these top-flite sides in the mix. BHA could not afford many more mistakes as we approached the three quarters stage of an ongoing tough campaign. Other reversals versus promo candidates Derby & Forest, plus shock defeat to lowly Barnsley, put further pressure on extracting maximum points at Falmer. Oscar Garcia used a squad rotation program in midfield and relied on a steady settled defence but only one striker. * match report: A fortunate own goal gifted Seagulls a halftime lead (17min). But the real game changer was the decision by Ref to send off Greer for a second bookable early into the second period (51min). Garcia stuck Dunk on to deal at the back and later introduced Buckley on the hour mark. This bold move added to solo threats up front and sounded an intention to go win the game. But travellers quickly got an equaliser and cat was among Seagulls (64min). It all got a bit frantic with both sides getting chances to score again. Kuszczak did his bit when called upon and the fixture was played out with good support from the stands. Garcia said, 'The Ref saw the foul. I am very happy and proud of all my players as we could have won.' And so say all of us. Kuszczak, Bruno, Greer, Upson, Ward, Ince, Andrews, Forster-Caskey (March), David (Dunk), Ulloa, Lingard (Buckley). Champ's P33 . W13 D11 L9 . F35 A28 . Pt50 Po8 . W = 39.3% L = 27.2% Season3 (H) 4/1/14 FAC3 - 1-0 ~ Crofts. Over 20k post-festive revellers attended this traditional tie and the club priced tickets to appeal to supporters trying to find extra money for footy entertainment - with three home games scheduled between New Year and mid January. Although BHA had drawn a fellow Championship club, Head Coach Oscar Garcia made numerous changes to his regular p-o place seeking starting eleven. There had been limited opportunities for Brezovan, Dunk, Chicksen, Andrews, Agustien, March and Forster-Caskey previously but now they got a chance to shine in knockout fashion. Much speculation surrounded Bridcutt, as to whether he would move onto the Prem during this transfer month - Gus Poyet at Sunderland was said to be interested. * match report: Crofts bagged the winner after half an hour and the score remained at one-nil thereafter (31min). He said, 'this can be a springboard for us in the league to get further up the table, it happened against Newcastle last year.' Garcia made trademark changes around the hour mark, introducing Orlandi and Dunk and much later LuaLua for impact. Stats went in Albion's favour and amounted to nearly 20 on/offs and blocked shots. Seagulls hit the wooodwork three times but found one to go in, which was just enough to settle this knockabout contest. Royals keeper prevented a bigger score as they fought to stay in the Cup and force a replay. Reflecting on the pinball action, asst coach Nathan Jones said, 'we are contemplating changing the crossbars and making them a bit thinner if I am honest.' He always had a wry sense of humour - especially when entering the draw for round four. BTW it was away to lower league opposition - not the big club at the Amex he wanted. Oh well, win some, lose some! Brezovan, Calderon, Greer (Dunk), El-Abd, Chicksen, Crofts, Andrews, Agustien (Orlandi), March (LuaLua), Barnes, Forster-Caskey. Season2 - not C'ship. Season1 (H) 10/4/12 - L 0-1. Gus Poyet asked Brighton fans to turn out in numbers for a working Tuesday evening after Easter hols type of fixture. In the event over 20k attended which kept up average gates and the away end was pretty much filled too. Reading were chasing an auto-promo spot after hitting a fine run of form through mid season and on into the run-in. BHA were just outside play-off places, where some big Championship clubs were vying for qualification. Albion were slightly off the boil entering this phase of proceedings, although hadn't been beaten at the Amex since before Xmas. But we needed to up the ante overall h/a, where recent results recorded; wlw ddl. However Seagulls hadn't suffered consecutive defeats since disastrous December flipped over into happy New Year. Poyet nearly always made alterations to the starting line-up from previous fixtures and again had plenty of squad members available for selection. In truth he probably didn't yet know what his best team-sheet actually was, what with earlier injuries and suspensions. The spine of the team remained fairly settled and playmaker Vicente was first choice but up front there were concerns about getting enough goals. *** match report: Royals weathered opening exchanges with Albion on the front foot and looking to grab quick advantage. But after BHA conceded a f-k outside the area, visitors took the lead. The ball deflected off the wall and tucked inside the far post with Brezovan stranded (14min). Once ahead, Reading seemed content to soak up pressure and hit us on the counter. They appeared dangerous moving forward, although El-Abd and Greer had good games in defence and restricted their chances. During the second period, there was more entertainment, loads of gamesmanship and usual ott stuff for Ref to sort out. He awarded Albion a penalty (52min) when Barnes got decked but the same players low spot kick was saved. GP introduced LuaLua past the hour mark to try his luck down left flank. Vicente, Dicker and Navarro pushed on but useful build-up came to nought in the final third. With ten minutes or so left, Gus stuck on Vokes and Assulin in vain hope of salvaging something. Royals goalie had an excellent match and if anything got thru his defence he again did a decent job. Brighton fans went home slightly disappointed but nine months beforehand all such events were merely a nice dream of the future. Brezovan, Calderon, Greer, El-Abd, Reyes, Dicker, Navarro, Vicente, Buckley (LuaLua), Mackail-Smith (Vokes), Barnes (Assulin). Champ's P42 . W17 D12 L13 . F49 A43 . Pt63 Po7 . W = 40.4% L = 30.9% * * * * * Withdean era: season3 - 01/2 L1 . seasons 4, 6, 7 - 02/3, 04/5, 05/6 C'ship. Withdean era: Albion V Royals 3-1, 0-1, 0-1, 0-2 . . . W = 1 D = 0 L = 3 memorable match: Season3 (H) - a useful Seagulls side putting together some good displays to satisfy faithful in midwinter hostings. see: Seasons 3, 4, 6, 7 for club & stadium info. Also Peter Taylor, Steve Coppell, Mark McGhee.
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