A tough day at the office with the Royals losing comfortably to Wycombe at home.
Reading’s final outing of 2024 ended with a heavy 6-0 defeat against a rampant Wycombe Wanderers side at Arbour Park on Sunday afternoon. Goals from Jess Watkins, Danielle Puddefoot (penalty) and Ellen Wardlaw took the visitors into a 3-0 lead at the break, and a brace from Kayla Potter - together with a well executed free-kick from Giula Livi - confirmed a comfortable victory for the Chairgirls.
After Reading’s League Cup match away to Sholing was called off last weekend - Storm Darragh cancelling out most of the scheduled fixtures - the Royals were back in league action. They found themselves up against an in-form Wanderers side, looking to keep the pressure on the teams above them - sitting fourth in the table at kick-off, five points behind the leaders - with only one league defeat this season.
Reading manager Pedro Bruno made three changes to the starting line-up (the last match ending in defeat against league leaders Ascot United). Megan Giles and Sumayah Zayadi both returned, together with a first start for recent addition Poppy Airey. An injury-hit squad also meant the Royals could only name three substitutes.
Team: Cherry Preisner (GK), Mia Bradley (Captain), Lilly Brooke-Cousins, Poppy Airey, Megan Giles (Mollie Dench, 46), Lucy Bolitho, Keira Morl, Zuzanna Gajzler (Rosie Robinson, 61), Assia Fatri (Megan Giles, 84), Sajunae Turner (Lily Simmons, 46), Sumayah Zayadi (Sajunae Turner, 61)
Reading yellow cards: Poppy Airey
Reading looked to have started the match brightly, with Wanderers goalkeeper Amber Taylor called into action first in the opening couple of minutes. She hold onto a shot from Zuzanna Gajzler, after the Royals winger fired a shot towards the near post, having cut in from the right.
Any hope of the Royals getting on the front foot was proven short-lived when Chairgirls’ number four Puddefoot swung in a corner (her earlier shot forcing a save from Cherry Preisner for resultant set-piece), with Watkins jumping highest to head home from within a crowded six-yard box. 0-1.
With club captain Jordanne Hoesli-Atkins still suffering from an ankle injury, it was Mia Bradley who, once again, took on the armband. She led from the front with a player-of-the-match performance in terms of effort, skill and threat in attack, with a long-range speculative shot just too high in immediate reply to the visitors’ early lead.
Wycombe were getting closer to doubling their lead. First Reading goalkeeper Preisner got down quickly to push a shot away from Wardlaw and then Potter wondered how she hadn’t scored: her first effort was curled wide of the top corner, before she saw her back-post tap-in go the wrong side of the post.
With the half-hour mark approaching, Wanderers doubled their lead after Lilly Brooke-Cousins was adjudged to have handled the ball inside the penalty area. Puddefoot struck the ball past the Reading goalkeeper from the spot kick. 0-2.
Reading came close when a well-worked corner set-piece was whipped back in by Bradley - her back-post cross was headed narrowly wide by the Wycombe defence for another Reading corner (which, unfortunately, came to nothing).
The Royals found themselves three down at the break when Bradley’s clearance, under some pressure, went straight to Wardlaw - who, from the corner of the Reading penalty area, placed her shot past Preisner and into the far corner of the goal. 0-3.
Reading made a double substitution at the break, introducing Mollie Dench and Lily Simmons for Sajunae Turner and Megan Giles (who were both utilised again, later in the match).
Reading were stunned, within two minutes of the restart, after one of their corners was cleared and a counter-attack from the visitors caught the Royals’ defence off guard. Wanderers strikers Potter and Wardlaw combined well to create an opening for Potter, who finished coolly and accurately past the Reading goalkeeper from the edge of the penalty area. 0-4.
With just over 20 minutes remaining, Potter grabbed her second of the match. The striker was just too quick for the Reading defenders, creating space and time to cut in from the left and slot the ball past Preisner. 0-5.
Wanderers’ substitute Livi capped off an impressive display for the team in green and white stripes. Her 20-yard, angled free-kick was just out of reach of the stretching Reading goalkeeper, sailing into the top corner of the goal. 0-6.
Although it’s not the end to the year that Reading (or their fans) hoped for, there’s still a lot to be proud of, with victories in the FA Cup. That’s together with a League Cup match vs Sholing and semi-final of the Berks & Berks Cup vs Maidenhead United to look forward to early in the new year.
And although they currently find themselves rooted to the bottom of the table, without a point, they have four and five games in hand over relegation rivals Badshot Lea and Selsey respectively. They’re both only two points ahead of the the Royals, so it’s still all to play for.
The players, coaching team and - hopefully - some of the Community Trust can now have a well earned break (from competitive matches at least) to enjoy the festivities.
It all starts again in the New Year - on the 12th night - with just enough time to take down the Christmas decorations before heading over to the league leaders, Ascot United, at their Racecourse ground on Sunday January 5 for a 2pm kick-off.
See you there!
Happy Christmas.
