The saying goes that a week is a long time in football and if ever evidence was needed of that, then you need look no further than Reading’s final seven days before the international break.
Following a 4-0 away defeat at Nottingham Forest – in which the team showed all the traits of a side bereft of confidence by conceding after just 17 seconds and then capitulating in the second half – the club seemed to be staring down the barrel of relegation.
Yet here we are now, enjoying the luxury of the international break and feeling much more optimistic about the chances of survival after drawing away at Bournemouth and winning at home to Blackburn.
Reading’s five point gap to the bottom three is in fact only one point greater than it was after the defeat to Forest, but taking points off two top six sides in the space of four days can do a lot for morale.
Both results – 1-1 against Bournemouth and 1-0 against Blackburn – were exactly the sort you need in a relegation battle and exactly the sort Reading have not had enough of this season.
When Dominic Solanke opened the scoring after eight minutes at the Vitality Stadium last Tuesday, the most likely outcome seemed to be Reading collapsing again and succumbing to their star-studded (in Championship terms) opponents.
But from that moment on, the Royals were the better side and were perhaps unlucky not to come away from the south coast with three points after Tom Ince’s belting equaliser.
It was only the third time this season that Reading have conceded first away from home and taken something from the game. Picking up solitary points in matches can often be the basis of a strong survival bid – Jose Gomes got Reading over the line three years ago with nine draws in the final 18
fixtures.
To say that Reading have taken four points away from home against the Championship’s top two this season but only one point away at the bottom two proves just how Jekyll and Hyde this side are.
When they fancy it, they can compete with anyone and their quality shines through. When they don’t, they are one of the worst teams in the division.
Fortunately, that quality came to the fore again against Blackburn, specifically Josh Laurent’s sensational looping strike to win the game.
It was Reading’s first clean sheet under Ince and their first 1-0 victory since the middle of October. Limiting Rovers to just one shot after going in front in the 78th minute was the sort of game management we’ve rarely seen this season.
It would be naïve to say that Reading are a side transformed because it is impossible to know what sort of performance they will put in every game. But we know they have it in them to get over the line.
By Olly Allen
