Reading	2 - 0	Aston Villa
Scorers Sidwell 16 Sidwell 90  Booked Harper 65 Bikey 78	Half Time ( 1 - 0 )	Booked Young 57

Reading continued their unbeaten run in 2007 and recorded their first win over Aston Villa since 1912 as they ran out comfortable winners against a disappointing midlands side.

The game started brightly and both sides looked comfortable on the ball. Villa created the first opening when Carew hit the side netting from a tight angle; before Reading started to take control of the game.

The ever-dangerous Steve Sidwell managed to get himself in good positions all afternoon and the Villa defence seemed to have trouble picking him up. First of all he got on the end of a free-kick only to see his shot go over, but the referee had already blown for a free-kick against the Reading man for climbing.
After six minutes, a training ground move came off to perfection to allow Sidwell to run unmarked into the near post to head Hunt’s corner past Thomas Sorenson for the opening goal.

The home side continued to dominate against a lack-lustre Villa side who hardly managed to get going the whole game. Even with the influence of Martin O’Neil and their recent signings, the first half rarely saw them threaten Hahnemann’s goal as Reading defended well and attacked in numbers.
Another forage into the Villa half saw a good cross from Little find Leroy Lita but he could only hit his shot straight at Sorenson and would have to wait to continue his excellent scoring record.

The visitors then rallied briefly and managed to make some chances of their own. After some good interchanges with Petrov, debutant Shaun Maloney forced Hahnemann into a good save when he tipped the resulting shot over the crossbar. Carew then forced another save from the keeper’s legs but this was all the midland side could muster in a dull first-half performance from them.

The second-half began in a similar fashion to the first-half pattern. Reading pushed forward and had a goal disallowed when the referee decided that Sidwell had jumped into Sorenson as the keeper had leapt to claim a looping cross from his right.

Villa then pushed forward again in search of an equaliser. Ashley Young had a shot off-target but then came the closest his side were going to get all match. His shot from the edge of the area was deflected and dribbled across the goal, wrong-footing the goalkeeper but coming back out off the post. Agbonlahor was the first Villa player to react but his shot was saved by the recovering Hahnemann and the chance had gone.

As the half progressed, Reading showed that they deserved their top six position and proved just how much good work Steve Coppell has done there since he took over. Over the course of the game they were well on top and contained Villa for long periods, never really looking under any sustained pressure. Defensively they were very well organised and got a lot of men behind the ball; and going forward they offered each other good support and managed to attack in numbers.
And they were rewarded in injury time at the end of the game when Sidwell played a neat one-two with Dave Kitson on the edge of the box before slotting neatly past Sorenson into the bottom corner. It once again exposed Villa’s defensive weaknesses as they failed to pick up Sidwell’s continued run into the box and it probably goes some way to explaining how they have slipped down the table from their good start to the season.

Despite Coppell’s refusal to talk about taking his team into Europe in their first Premiership season, how long will it be before he can’t deny the possibility any longer? On this performance, not long.


Reading: Hahnemann, Murty, Bikey, Ingimarsson, Shorey, Little (Oster 77), Harper, Sidwell, Hunt, Lita, Long (Kitson 62).

Subs Not Used: Federici, de la Cruz, Duberry.

Aston Villa: Sorenson, Bardsley, Mellberg, Cahill, Barry, McCann, Petrov, Maloney, Agbonlahor (Berger), Carew, Young (Davis 88).

Subs Not Used: Taylor, Laursen, Ridgewell.

Att: 24,122

Ref: M Clattenberg

By Ben Hughes