Wembley

Reading v Arsenal
The FA Cup
Wembley Stadium
Saturday 18th April 2015
5:20pm

Journey Time to the ground: 2 hours 15 minutes.  We left Newbury at 11am and drove to my parents house in Reading before making our way up to High Wycombe.  We then jumped on the train from High Wycombe to Wembley Stadium.  As we arrived about four hours before kick-off, we went to get some lunch Moulin Grill then had a look around the London Designer Outlet for a couple of hours before entering the ground about an hour before kick-off.

The ground was about a 5 minute walk from Wembley Stadium station.

 

Ticket Price: £33

Programme Price: £5

This was my eighth visit to the new Wembley and the second time I had seen Reading play there.  We were sat in the Upper Tier of the East Stand at around the level of the corner flag.  The Upper Tier is tier five and although it is a long way back from the pitch, the view of the playing action is good.  The leg room is good, although the seats are slightly uncomfortable as they seem to slope downwards. 

Wembley Stadium is the only five tiered ground that I know of, however the North Stand is the only stand which has the fourth tier.  Opposite the East Stand is the West Stand, which is identical to the East Stand and includes a large television screen built in between the third and fifth tiers.  The two side stands, the North Stand and the South Stand are almost identical to each other with a larger upper tier than either of the ends behind the goal.  The North Stand is the main stand, with the players' tunnel and dug-outs. There are large hospitality areas running between the lower and upper tiers running around the whole of the ground.  The stadium feels huge inside, especially when sat towards the back of the upper tier.

 

This was Reading's first FA Cup Semi-Final since 1927 and having never made an FA Cup final, and being rank outsiders, the majority of Reading fans travelled in the hope of not being embarrassed and being able to enjoy the day.  The first-half was as expected with Arsenal dominating possession and creating a lot of chances.  Reading managed to hold out until five minutes before half-time when Alexis Sanchez finished smartly to give Arsenal the lead.

I was worried that the goal so close to half-time would have broken Reading's spirit, but if anything the opposite was true.  Reading seemed to sense there was an opportunity to make something of the game, and equalised 10 minutes into the second-half.  Pavel Pogrebnyak managed to get the ball across the box and Garath McCleary was on hand at the back-post to volley in, a goal that was given by the hawk-eye system.  I have never celebrated as nuchas I did that equaliser!  There seemed to be belief within the team and although Aaron Ramsey hit the post for Arsenal, the game finished 1-1 and headed into extra-time.

Into the first period of extra-time came the moment that broke Reading hearts.  In added time at the end of the first-half of extra-time Adam Federici, who had been magnificent all game, let Alexis Sanchez's tame effort slip underneath his body, through his legs and roll over the goal-line.  Reading tried to find a second equaliser in the second-half of extra-time, but ultimately come up slightly short.

Attendance: 84,081 with 30,963 Reading fans.

Atmosphere:  The atmosphere was good.  I have never heard noise like it when we scored our equaliser.  However I don't think the acoustics at Wembley are that good.  The ground seems too big to generate a really decent atmosphere as the sound seems to get lost in the bowl and it is difficult for chants to be co-ordinated between the upper and lower tier.

Journey Time home: 2 hours 30 minutes.  There was quite a long wait at Wembley Stadium station to get the train back up to High Wycombe.  Once at High Wycombe we drove back to my parents' house in Reading to pick up the car before driving back to Newbury.  We got back into Newbury at around 10:30pm in time to get a KFC before it closed! 

 

Overall, I enjoyed my trip to Wembley, if not the result.  It was a long day, with it being the late kick-off and also arriving so early to soak up the atmosphere.  I have never seen Reading win at Wembley and it is a horrible place to lose, but I have never been more proud of my team as I was at the final whistle.