Five Things From Reading’s Resurgent Win At Bristol Rovers

Bobbins praises a performance that showed just how far Reading have come in the last five months or so.

Resurgence

To quote Jeff Goldblum: “Well, there it is.” That, ladies and gentleman, was a complete performance. As comprehensive a show that we’ve had in a long, long time on the road. Once Sam Smith tucked away his header in the eighth minute there was only one winner.

By half-time we looked home and hosed. We totally dominated the first 45 and that’s not an understatement. Bristol Rovers weren’t in the game and it was no surprise that they brought on some more experienced heads in an attempt to get back into it. It simply wasn’t happening, not even with Scott Sinclair who has ruined us in the past.

And that’s the beauty of this resurgence under Ruben Selles: we now have a team that’s exciting, vibrant, full of goals from different sources but still resolute and has an innate team spirit, one that we’ve not seen in many years.

It’s not without its faults, we know this all too well; they’re by no means faultless or unbeatable. But on this evening, there was absolutely no way the hosts could best us. Not a single hope.

Unabashed

From the very first minute it was apparent that we meant business. The early goal helped and, in turn, this heaped pressure on a Rovers side that had not scored in their previous six. Given this kind of statistic, many would have been forgiven in thinking this would duly mean Rovers would win 1-0 in the 98th minute, but not on Selles’ watch.

Once ahead, we really played some lovely football at times. The movement in central midfield between Lewis Wing, Harvey Knibbs and Ben Elliott was a cut above what the hosts had to offer. Only in the final third where things got a bit more congested did we fluff our lines a bit, but that’s nit-picking. The fluidity in our passing, our confidence on the ball, the challenges that flew in unabashed: it had all the hallmarks of a side that’s in the play-off positions or higher.

Photo by James Baylis - AMA/Getty Images

Mentally we’re in such a good place these days. If we cast our minds back to when we languished at the foot of the table, miles behind the dotted line of safety, looking out of place and all at sea, the turnaround in fortune and fortitude can’t be undersold. This performance encapsulated that journey perfectly.

We have a squad that works tirelessly for each other. A manager who “gets it” and this filters down to his players. Some might say we “have our Reading back” and who could argue based on this result and the recovery that we’ve witnessed over the course of the season? It’s been nothing short of a miracle.

Controlled

For such a complete team performance it’s difficult to pick out individuals as they all had good games, but, of course, Wing has to take many of the plaudits. His stunning free-kick, which no keeper on the planet could save, was just top drawer. At the moment his confidence must be sky high; there’s nothing he can’t seem to do right now, everything is coming up roses.

Knibbs and Elliott both had very decent games, also. Knibbs was his usual energetic self, flying into challenges and interceptions. Elliott came into his own, finally, and didn’t look out of place at all. Both were free to run rings around the opposition midfield with Wing present to mop things up. It’s amazing what confidence does to a player and, by extension, the entire midfield. Everything looked so much tidier and controlled as a result.

In defence, the blossoming love between Tyler Bindon and Amadou Mbengue continues to bring smiles to faces. They appear to bring the best out in each other despite their vastly different personalities and traits. Bindon pulled off what is probably save of the season with his head (Lincoln City, take note!) which was as close as Rovers got all night in truth. It’s a partnership that nobody would have come up with at any point this season, but just look at them now. Quite unbelievable really.

Celebrate

As the clock ticked by there was never any sense of danger. None of the usual traits of shanked clearances or positional lapses that would leave us brutally exposed. Everything was clicking into place and nothing could be done by the home side to alter the scoreline. It was as relaxed an end to a game away from home that I could remember, aside from Carlisle United perhaps.

We could have scored another two or three even and wouldn’t have been that much of a surprise. If it was a boxing bout it would have been stopped at half-time. That said, it would have ruined a perfectly good way to celebrate in front of the massed travellers from Berkshire.

The players, fully acknowledging Selles’ part in all of this, implored him to let the guard down and celebrate, for the job is almost done. We are as good as safe, barring absolute miracles from some of the teams below us. The team know it, Selles knows it, we all know it. We can almost taste it.

Proud

Being now nine points clear of the dreaded dotted line, it’s increasingly likely that we’re staying up, even if we don’t take another point from the last three games. We’re looking good to taking points from Burton Albion (which could send them down in the process) and we should get something from our last game of the season against Blackpool.

The teams below have to find form that they’ve never had this season, and need to garner about 20% of their current points tally, give or take, in their last few fixtures. Simply put, the probabilities just don’t stack up.

We’ve had the possibility to take matters into our own hands and achieve The Great Escape without any help from others. We accepted the challenge and met it head on. It’s a moment to feel very proud of the club we love.

The enormity of the task has never been underestimated, but they all, to a man, can be enormously proud of how they have handled themselves throughout the season. This result wrapped all of those feelings up in a lovely blue and white bow with sprinkles on top. Are we back? Yeah, why not!