Reading 3 - 0 Coventry City

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Reading 3 - 0 Coventry City

Postby dutchman » Tue Jan 19, 2021 10:30 pm

The Sky Blues slipped to their tenth Championship defeat of the season

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Coventry City were left to rue missed opportunities as they suffered their tenth Championship defeat of the season at promotion pushing Reading.

The Sky Blues could have been 2-0 up inside the first 14 minutes when Callum O’Hare and Leo Ostigard wasted clear cut chances to give them a comfortable lead at the Madejski Stadium.

But the Royals’ lethal finisher Lucas Joao punished Mark Robins’s men minutes later with a clinish finish before Andy Rinomhota doubled the home lead a minute into the second half.

City then pressed the self destruct button in the 71st minute when Kyle McFadzean was sent off for a second yellow card and John Swift fired in a wonder strike to make it 3-0 from the resulting free-kick.

Ostigard had a second half header saved well but the visitors really should have scored when chances presented themselves in the opening minutes, and O’Hare knew it after the nippy forward raced in to intercept a backpass from a defender with barely two minutes on the clock.

But, breaking into the box with just the keeper to beat, the midfielder placed his shot too close to Rafael Cabral to enable him to make the save.

And the visitors wasted another clear cut chance in the 13th minute when a short corner from Matty James went to Sam McCallum who sent in a lovely ball into the box where Ostigard met it cleanly with his head but directed it wide of the right-hand post with all the goal to aim at.

Coventry’s profligacy in front of goal was punished three minutes later when Reading grabbed the lead from their first attempt on goal.

A long ball over the top from Swift was gathered just inside the 18-yard line by Joao who beat the off-side trap and fired home past Ben Wilson to give the home side a 17th minute lead completely against the run of play with his 17th goal of the season.

The Royals went close to doubling their lead shortly after when the impressive Ovie Ejaria dribbled his way past two players into the box and thumped the foot of Wilson’s right-hand post, and Joao slid in at the far post two minutes before half-time, sending the ball wide to let City off the hook.

Robins’s men, however, played some lovely football at times, spreading the play and putting together some intricate passes in the final third as they enjoyed the greater share of possession in the first half, during which they should have been in front at the break.

But the home side wasted no time in extending their advantage from the restart when Ostigard missed a header to allow Joao in behind, the striker cutting in past Dom Hyam at the byline and pulling the ball back for Andy Rinomhota to slam home from 25 yards as City were too slow to close him down.

Ostigard, however, continued to be a goal threat at the other end where he was denied at the far post by the keeper who pushed his powerful and well directed header from a Hamer free-kick onto the right-hand upright as City attempted to get themselves back in the game.

New loan signing Viktor Gyokeres, who had been fairly isolated and didn’t have a single sight of goal on his debut, was replaced by Max Biamou just short of the hour as the Sky Blues continued to produce plenty of enterprising approach play but without the end product.

But disaster struck in the 71st minute when Kyle McFadzean was shown a second yellow card for a foul outside the box, leaving his side down to ten men as Swift hit a wonder strike from a good 25 yards out from the resulting free-kick straight into the top corner to make it 3-0 and put the game beyond Coventry’s reach.

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Re: Reading 3 - 0 Coventry City

Postby dutchman » Tue Jan 19, 2021 10:33 pm

Joao shines as Reading beat Sky Blues

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Lucas Joao and John Swift produced a goal and an assist apiece as Reading's attacking firepower proved too much for 10-man Coventry.

The Sky Blues started the stronger, with Callum O'Hare's low shot lacking conviction and Leo Ostigard glancing a free header wide before Joao held off a defender to slam home his 17th goal of the season and put the hosts ahead.

Veljko Paunovic's Royals then took control with Ovie Ejaria hitting the post after a mesmeric dribble and Portugal striker Joao diverting Tom Holmes' cross wide - but Andy Rinomhota doubled their lead straight after the break with a drilled effort from just outside the box.

Ostigard went close with two more headers for Coventry but Kyle McFadzean's sending off for two yellow cards halted their momentum and from the subsequent free-kick John Swift wrapped things up for Reading with a fine, dipping 30-yard strike.

Victory for Reading moved them above Brentford and Bournemouth - who lost at Derby - and to within three points of an automatic promotion spot, while Coventry slip below their tenants Birmingham into 18th.

Joao's opener came against the run of play, the front man taking Swift's lofted through ball on his chest before showing strength to ease Dominic Hyam out of the way and finish with aplomb.

Former Liverpool and Rangers midfielder Ejaria beat four players with amazing footwork on his way to hitting the inside of the near post and it was his air-kick from Joao's cutback that allowed Rinomhota to find the bottom corner on his 100th Royals appearance.

Ejaria also drew the foul from McFadzean which saw the visiting skipper dismissed and Swift's powerful free-kick past Ben Wilson was to be his last touch before being replaced.

Reading should have had a fourth, with substitute Sam Baldock slotting just wide after sprinting through on goal, while Max Biamou headed against the post as Coventry chased a consolation.

Michael Olise was forced off with a shoulder injury just after the hour mark but that was the only dampener on an exciting display by the home side.

Coventry manager Mark Robins:

"First of all, we played against a very good team. But you can't give them the goals that we gave them. All three of them, we've given them away. That's something that we've got to stop now.

"Obviously, losing McFadzean didn't help. But we kept giving Reading opportunities. We also had chances ourselves but we didn't take them. And we can't really let that happen again over the second half of the season.

"We keep saying the same things but we've just got to be more clinical. When you're playing against better opposition, we have got to be better ourselves. That's where we're at."

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