Jessie Stapleton’s winner, together with a Lewes defeat, secured second-tier safety for the Royals.
A second-half goal from Jessie Stapleton was enough for Reading Women to bag all three points today. It was their first double of the campaign and, more importantly, secured Championship football next season, with a 1-0 victory against Durham Women - who were reduced to 10 players after the sending-off of Dee Bradley in the 32nd minute, following a lunging tackle on Tia Primmer.
The midday kick-off didn’t stop the early league-survival celebrations, both on and off the pitch, with the Royals enjoying a six-point cushion over Lewes FC (in the remaining relegation place) as they, and the rest of the Championship matches, were just starting.
It was a match which Reading made hard work of, creating more than enough chances to secure a comfortable win. However, similar to other games this season, they lacked the clinical and ruthless final ball.
The narrow 1-0 margin meant the home fans (and the players and management team) had to endure some worrying moments throughout the first and second halves - and even into time added on - as the 10 players of Durham gave it everything they had and pushed for the equaliser.
Liam Gilbert kept faith with the same starting line-up that grabbed the important away point at Blackburn Rovers last weekend, with Deanna Cooper and Amelia Elwood both additions to a full-strength substitutes bench.
Demonstrating how much the club has continued to evolve, adapt and change, there were only four players in today’s starting line-up who started against Durham back in October, on the 3G pitch - when Royals won 2-0 with goals from Amelia Elwood and on-loan Freya Gregory.
Reading (4-1-4-1): Burns (GK), Roberts, Stapleton, Hendrix (Captain), Dugdale, Primmer (Cooper, 90+3), Estcourt, Flannery (Longhurst, 80), Perry, Woolley, Wade
Unused subs: Orman (GK), Mayi Kith, Smith, Jarvis, Elwood, Houssein, Hunt
Goalscorers: Stapleton, 66
Yellow cards: Flannery (dissent) 56, Primmer (foul), 79
Although it was Durham who had the opening attempt - with Beth Hepple’s right-foot shot comfortably collected by Jackie Burns in the Reading goal - Reading dominated the first half and, with better finishing, could have put the game beyond reach by the break.
Lauren Wade and Jesse Woolley caused problems for the visitors all afternoon. With just five minutes on the clock, Wade crossed from the left wing to Woolley who, unfortunately, just couldn’t get enough of a contact on her close-range shot to trouble Tatiana Saunders, in the Durham goal.
The next few minutes saw continued pressure from Reading and more chances created. Primmer’s cross flashed across the six-yard box, Charlie Estcourt dragged a shot wide - from her effort on the edge of the penalty area - and Woolley’s first touch took her just too wide, with her shot blocked by a defender.
There were two big misses that left everyone, whatever team you were supporting, with their heads in their hands. With nearly a quarter of an hour gone, Woolley won possession and slid Maddison Perry through on goal. With only the goalkeeper to beat, her first attempt was saved well by Saunders, but as the ball rebounded to Perry, her second effort went wide of the post, with an empty net beckoning.
With Durham reduced to 10 players, after the referee had judged Dee Bradley’s lunging attempt to win the ball from Primmer as reckless and dangerous, it was the visitors who nearly pulled off a shock lead at half-time.
With a ball over the top of the Reading defence, Mollie Lambert lobbed the ball over the out-rushing Burns and, as everyone was expecting the ball to be tapped into the empty net, two Reading players rushed back and somehow managed to do enough to stop the Durham striker (under protestations from the Wildcats’ players and bench for a penalty) and force a corner.
Half-time: 0-0
There were no changes for either team at the break and, until the goal, the opening 20 minutes of the restart were uneventful.
A near-post corner whipped in by Wade caused confusion in the Durham defence, with the attempted clearance looping up to hit the angle of the crossbar and post. Reading kept the ball alive and, after an assist from captain Brooke Hendrix, somehow managed to find Stapleton in the six-yard box to score from close range. 1-0.
Durham immediately created a half chance from a corner, with Lauren Biggs heading over the crossbar.
Reading continued to create and miss chances to extend the lead. Wade fashioned an opportunity for Perry - her shot blocked - and, just a few minutes later, Perry returned the favour for Wade, with her volleyed effort blasted over the crossbar, from the penalty spot area.
Similar to the end of the first half, with six minutes of time added on, there were still two more big chances to change the result. Durham pressure created a chance for Lambert who, from the edge of the penalty area, forced Burns into a full-stretch diving save and, in the last few seconds, Perry blazed her shot high and over the crossbar from another similar good position.
Final score: 1-0
Reading kept up their 100% winning record against Durham across five meetings (the Royals winning 4-1 in the last home meeting back in 2018) and are now one place and two points above Durham in the league too.
As the visitors started their long journey home, the news of the Crystal Palace result came through, meaning Lewes took the second relegation place and both teams get to do this all over again next season.
It’s been a difficult season for all - fans, players, staff and management alike - for many different and seemingly perpetual reasons both on and off the pitch. It’s easy to criticise the team, and some of the performances this season, but it’s important not to underestimate how difficult it must be to keep the strength of character and confidence when you might not know if you are going to get paid each month (not forgetting it’s now a part-time set-up) and whether the club is going to continue to be in existence!
So, full credit to the Reading players, Gilbert, Dan Logue and the rest of the coaching team for their continued character, resolve and resilience shown - and to the Reading fans who have stuck with the team throughout the season (both home and away).
Among the final-whistle celebrations, Sarah Turner, chair of STAR, presented the Player of the Season award to captain Brooke Hendrix - as voted for by the fans. Although this may have been a last-minute thought, it’s important to recognise this as a further small step in the right direction - it was ignored last season and, rather bizarrely, decided by Kelly Chambers (and announced at the ‘exclusive’ gala event).
With the pressure off, we can now travel to (relegated) Watford (April 28, 2pm), enjoy the last match of the season and hope for new owners (who are serious about the women’s team too) with real ambitions to aim for a return to the Women’s Super League. See you there!
