Norwich City

Norwich City v Reading

Sky Bet Championship
Carrow Road

Friday 30^th December 2022

7:45pm

Journey Time to the ground: 3 hours 15 minutes.  We left home at 2:30pm and arrived in Norwich at 5:45pm despite roadworks on the A11 outside Norwich.  We managed to park up in Corton Road which is about a ten-minute walk from the ground.

Ticket Price: £30

Programme Price: £3.50

Attendance: 26,218 with 543 Reading fans.

This was my first visit to Carrow Road having previously got all the way to the ground but unable to get in back in March 2017.  As we were early again we headed into the city centre and went to The Bell Hotel for dinner, another Weatherspoon's ticked off!  We made the short walk from the city centre to the ground and had a look in the club shop before heading into the ground.  We had tickets in the away end which is part of the South Stand on one side of the pitch.  The South Stand is a large single-tiered all-seater stand which is shared with home supporters.  The view from close to the front of the stand was very good, however the leg room was tight, especially for a newish stand.

To the left of the South Stand is The Regency Security Stand.  This is a large two-tiered all-seater stand.  In between the South Stand and The Regency Security Stand is the Joma Community Stand, a two-tiered all-seater family stand.  Opposite the South Stand is The Geoffrey Watling Stand.  This is a smaller single-tiered all-seater stand, but is still considered the main stand at Carrow Road and houses the team dug-outs at its front.  To the right of the South Stand is the Barclay End, a two-tiered all-seater stand where the most vociferous Norwich fans seemed to congregate.

Norwich had been in poor form but unfortunately for Reading had sacked manager Dean Smith after their game on Boxing Day, which meant I was slightly worried of the new manager bounce that often follows after a sacking.  Both teams had chances in the first-half with Tom Ince's free-kick being tipped over by Angus Gunn in the Norwich goal and Joe Lumley doing well to prevent Teemu Pukki from breaking the deadlock. 

Norwich opened the scoring ten minutes into the second-half with Adam Idah's smart effort from Pukki's knock down beating Lumley.  It looked like it would be another fruitless away trip but with seven minutes remaining Reading were awarded a penalty when Nesta Guiness-Walker was tripped by Kieran Dowell.  Up stepped Andy Carroll who smashed his spot-kick into the bottom right-hand corner of the net past the despairing dive of Gunn.  A point apiece was probably fair on the balance of the game.

Atmosphere: The atmosphere was ok.  The Norwich fans in the Barclay End made noise throughout the game, however the atmosphere in the away end was awful with us only really making any noise of note when we scored our late equaliser.

Journey Time home: 3 hours 50 minutes.  We arrived back at the car at 9:40pm and despite some traffic getting out of Norwich and stopping for some food and fuel on the A11 arrived home at 1:30am.

I enjoyed my trip to Norwich.  It's always great to score a late equaliser and Carrow Road is a good ground to watch football.  Norwich is a pretty cool city and seemed a very welcoming place to visit, even if it does seem to take ages to get to on the A11!

Watford

Watford v Reading

Sky Bet Championship
Vicarage Road

Tuesday 8^th November 2022

7:45pm

Journey Time to the ground: 1 hour 50 minutes.  We left home just before 4:30pm and despite a broken-down vehicle blocking a lane on the M25 parked up at 6:20pm.  We parked in Scammell Way which was a 15-minute walk from Vicarage Road.

Ticket Price: £20

Programme Price: £3.50

Attendance: 18,847 with 1,934 Reading fans.

This was my third or fourth visit to Vicarage Road, can't quite remember how many times I've been before!  We had arrived in good time so headed into Watford town centre and went to The Moon Under Water for dinner and to tick off another Weatherspoon's!  We headed back to the ground and had a look at the club shop before making our way into the ground.  We had tickets in the away end, the Vicarage Road Stand.  This a single-tiered all-seater stand that is shared with home fans.  The view from midway up the stand was very good and the leg room was comfortable. 

To the left of the Vicarage Road Stand is the Sir Elton John Stand.  This Sir Elton John Stand is a single-tiered all-seater stand which is the main stand at Vicarage Road and houses the team-dugs at its front.  Opposite the Vicarage Road Stand is the Rookery Stand, another single-tiered all-seater stand where the most vociferous Watford fans seemed to congregate.  To the right of the Vicarage Road Stand is the Graham Taylor Stand.  This is a two-tiered all seater stand and the largest at Vicarage Road.  Due to the way the ground is sunk into a hill, the ground is a lot bigger on the inside than it appears on the outside!

After a couple of decent away performances I travelled in anticipation that we could pick up at least a point however the first-half was only 15 minutes old when Watford took the lead from the penalty spot, Joao Pedro converting after he had been hauled down by Ovie Ejaria. 

Watford continued to dominate the game in the second-half but it took until three minutes from time for the Hornets to double their lead, Pedro getting his second of the night on the volley after sub goalkeeper Dean Bouzanis was only able to parry Ismaila Sarr's initial effort.  All in all it had been a pretty insipid performance from Reading.

Atmosphere: The atmosphere was pretty poor.  The Watford fans weren't very loud, despite the fact they won the game quite comfortably and although there was a large away following, the atmosphere in the away end was the worst I've experienced in a very long time.

Journey Time home: 1 hour 20 minutes.  We got back to the car at 10:10pm and had a clear run home, arriving at 11:30pm after a stop at McDonalds to grab some more food on the way!

I did enjoy my trip to Vicarage Road as it's a decent ground in a good location and is quick and easy to get to from Reading, although it wasn't the best performance from Reading and the atmosphere was lacking.

Luton Town

Luton Town v Reading

Sky Bet Championship
Kenilworth Road

Tuesday 1^st November 2022

7:45pm

Journey Time to the ground: 2 hours 20 minutes.  We left home at 4:05pm and despite some heavy traffic coming into Luton were parked up at 6:25pm.  We parked in Hazelbury Crescent which is literally one minute walk from Kenilworth Road.

Ticket Price: £24

Programme Price: £3.50

Attendance: 9,620 with 926 Reading fans.

With a bit of time to kill before kick-off we took a walk down the main road and had some dinner at Gourmet Hut Luton.  We had a quick look around the ground then made our way in.  This was my first visit to Luton and it has to be the most unique ground I have visited so far.  We had tickets in the away end, the Oak Road Stand which is shared between home and away fans.  The away entrance is a set of turnstiles between two houses and once through these, there is no concourse as such and it's almost like being in someone's back garden.  You then have to walk up a metal staircase before making it into the stand.  The Oak Road Stand is a single-tiered all-seater stand.  The view from the front of the stand wasn't too bad, although there were some supporting pillars at its front.  The leg room is very tight, however this wasn't an issue as we were stood all game. 

To the left of the Oak Road Stand is Executive Boxes.  This is a tiny stand made completely of executive boxes and houses the team dug-outs at its front.  Opposite the Oak Road Stand is the Kenilworth Road End.  This is a single-tiered all-seater stand and seemed to be where the most vociferous Luton fans congregated.  To the left of the Kenilworth Road End is the Main Stand.  This is a two-tiered all-seater stand.  In between the Kenilworth Road End and the Main Stand is the David Preece Stand, a small single-tiered all-seater stand.

After witnessing a decent performance at Burnley at the weekend, I travelled to Luton in anticipation of being able to get something out of the game.  The first-half was very even between two well-matched teams.  Both sides created chances but neither goalkeeper was particularly tested.

Reading had the better of the chances in the second-half however despite Jeff Hendrick, Tom Ince and Tyrese Fornah all going close from distance neither side was able to break the deadlock and both teams had to settle for a goalless draw.

Atmosphere: The atmosphere was very good in the away end but pretty quiet in the rest of the ground.  There was noise through-out the 90 minutes from the away fans but very little from the home fans, probably as there wasn't really much to get excited about on the pitch.

Journey Time home: 2 hours.  We got back to the car at 9:40pm and decided to head the opposite way to the traffic to hit the M1.  We got home at 11:40pm after a quick detour to McDonalds on the way.

I really enjoyed my trip to Luton thanks to the uniqueness of the ground, and the entrance to the away end in particular.  It is a proper old school ground and really reminded me of going to football as a child in the 90s.  It will be a shame when Luton do move to a new ground as there are very few like Kenilworth Road left in the football league.

Burnley

Burnley v Reading

Sky Bet Championship
Turf Moor

Saturday 29^th October 2022

3pm

Journey Time to the ground: 5 hours.  We decided to leave nice and early for this one so were out of the house just after 7:15am.  We had a short stop at Stafford Services to have some breakfast and arrived in Burnley just before 12:15pm.  As we were so early we manged to park in Lebanon Street which is about a five minute walk from Turf Moor.

Ticket Price: £25

Programme Price: £3.50

Attendance: 18,684 with 691 Reading fans.

This was my first visit to Turf Moor and as we had arrived very early we headed into the town centre to have a look around and grab some lunch at The Boot Inn, ticking off another Weatherspoon's pub!  We walked back to the ground and had a look in the club shop before making our way into the ground.  We had tickets in the away end, the Barnfield Construction Stand, behind the goal at one end.  The Barnfield Construction Stand is a single-tiered all-seater stand which is shared with home supporters.  The view from midway up the stand wasn't too bad, although there were a couple of pillars in the way.  The leg room was quite tight but this wasn't an issue as we were stood up for the whole game.

To the left of the Barnfield Construction Stand is the North Stand.  This is a large two-tiered all-seater stand.  Opposite the Barnfield Construction Stand is the Utilita Jimmy McIlroy Stand, another large two-tiered all-seater stand.  To the right of the Barnfield Construction Stand is the Bob Lord Stand.  This is a smaller single-tiered all-seater stand but is still considered the main stand at Turf Moor and houses the team dug-outs at its front.  The most vociferous Burnley fans seemed to congregate in the home half of the Barnfield Construction Stand and half of the North Stand closest to the away fans.

Burnley were riding high in the Championship and looking good for an instant return to the Premier League however the first-half was a fairly even affair with neither side managing to create many clear-cut chances.

Reading took the lead against the run of play ten minutes into the second-half with a classic route one goal.  Goalkeeper Joe Lumley's long clearance was flicked on by Yakou Meite into the path of Tom Ince's who hit an excellent first-time finish past Arijanet Muric in the Burnley goal.  The Clarets were level ten minutes later with Manuel Benson hitting an excellent volley from the edge of the area into the bottom corner of the net.  The game ended in controversial circumstances when Reading were denied a stonewall penalty when Ian Maatsen felled Ince in the box, Burnley broke down the other end and Anass Zaroury headed in a 94^th minute winner.

Atmosphere: The atmosphere at Turf Moor was electric.  The Burnley fans really get behind the team and make some noise.  The atmosphere in the away end was also really good as we actually managed to make noise for the whole 90 minutes which added to the atmosphere as a whole.

Journey Time home: 5 hours 30 minutes.  We arrived back at the car just before 5pm, however the traffic was pretty heavy getting out of Burnley onto the motorway.  We'd decided we were going to make the most of the day and as the Rugby League World Cup was on, planned to spend the evening watching Australia v Italy in St Helens.  It took us just under two hours to get to St Helens from Burnley and after watching Australia batter the Italians we grabbed some dinner at McDonalds before setting off for home.  We left McDonalds at 10pm and got home at 1:40am, making it a pretty long day!

I really enjoyed my trip to Turf Moor despite the result!  It's an impressive ground and the Burnley support make for a really good atmosphere.  I can see the ground being somewhat of a fortress for the Clarets in the Championship as the atmosphere is very partizan and I would imagine a little intimidating to play in.

Peterborough United

Peterborough United v Reading

Sky Bet Championship
Weston Homes Stadium

Wednesday 16^th February 2022

7:45pm

Journey Time to the ground: 4 hours 15 minutes.  We left home just before 3:15pm and decided to drive the scenic route to Peterborough.  This was a bit of a mistake as the weather wasn't the best!  We had a half-hour stop for some food at McDonalds in Leighton Buzzard on the way and ended up parking up just before 7:30pm.  We parked up in Fairfield Road which is about two minutes walk from the ground.  It is permit-holders only but we took a chance as it was so close to kick-off!

Ticket Price: £28

Programme Price: £3.50

Attendance: 11,520 with 949 Reading fans.

It had been almost two years since my last away trip thanks to coronavirus.  The game was due to be played on Boxing Day but had been postponed due to the number of Coronavirus cases in the Reading camp.  This was handy for me as I worked Boxing Day so wouldn't have been able to make the original fixture date!  This was my first trip to the Weston Homes Stadium and we had tickets in the away end, which is one half of the Main North Stand at the side of the pitch.  The Main North Stand is a single-tiered all-seater stand that houses the team dug-outs at its front.  The view from mid-way up the stand was pretty good although the leg room was pretty tight but this didn't matter as we stood for the whole game.

To the left of the Main North Stand is the Deskgo Stand which is a single-tiered all-seater stand.  Opposite the Main North Stand is the BGL South Family Stand.  This is the largest stand at London Road and is a two-tiered all-seater stand with executive boxes running between the two tiers.  To the right of the Main North Stand is the Weston Homes London Road End, this is a single-tiered terrace and seemed to be where the most vociferous Peterborough fans were congregated.

This was a crucial game with both sides struggling towards the foot of the table, and a win for Reading would go a long way towards securing Championship football for next season, so I travelled in anticipation of an away win.  The weather wasn't conducive to good football with the wind swirling round the ground.  The closest either side came to scoring in the first-half was Tom Ince's free-kick from the edge of the area which was tipped over by Stephen Benda in the Peterborough goal 

In the second-half and it was Peterborough who were pushing for a goal that would take them out of the relegation zone and send Reading into the bottom three in the process.  They created a number of decent chances and Reading were indebted to goalkeeper Karl Hein and some last-ditch defending from Michael Morrison to keep the score 0-0.  Reading had a chance to nick a win at the end but Lucas Joao's finish was tame when he'd done all the hard work to slalom through the Peterborough defence.  The game finished goalless and both teams had to settle for a point.

Atmosphere: The atmosphere wasn't too bad.  The Peterborough fans aren't the loudest in the world but fans in the Weston Homes London Road End behind the goal did try a make some noise.  The fairly largeish away following also made some noise, although the atmosphere did start to turn a bit toxic with lots of Pauno out chants from midway through the second-half.

Journey Time home: 3 hours.  We left the ground as soon as the game finished and were back in the car by 9:40pm.  There wasn't too much traffic getting away from the ground and out of Peterborough so we managed to get back home just after 12:40am.

I really enjoyed my trip to Peterborough but only because it's been so long since I've been to an away game!  The ground is a decent size and good to visit but the game was awful!

Leeds United

Leeds United v Reading

Sky Bet Championship
Elland Road

Saturday 22nd February 2020

3pm

Journey Time to the ground: 5 hours 40 minutes.  We left home just before 8am for the 8:15am coach pick-up and after a 45-minute stop at Woodall Services where we got some KFC for lunch, the coach parked up in the Elland Road car park just before 1:40pm.

Ticket Price: £39

Programme Price: £3.50

Attendance: 35,483 with 806 Reading fans.

This was my second visit to Elland Road having previously visit when Leeds were first relegated in 2004.  We decided to have a walk around the ground and had a look in the club shop before heading into the ground.  We had tickets in the away end which had moved since my last visit to Elland Road and we were situated on one side of the John Charles West Stand upper tier at the side of the pitch.  The John Charles West Stand is the main stand at Elland Road and is a two-tiered all-seater stand with the team dug-outs at its front.  The view from midway in the upper tier was good, although the leg room was particularly tight.

To the left of the John Charles West Stand is the Don Revie Stand.  This is a single-tiered all-seater stand.  Opposite the John Charles West Stand is the East Stand.  This is a huge two-tiered all-seater stand that dominates Elland Road and makes the other three stands seem pretty small when in reality they aren't.  To the right of the John Charles West Stand is the South Stand.  This is another two-tiered all-seater stand.  The most vociferous Leeds fans seemed to congregate in the Don Revie Stand and South Stand at either end of the ground.

With Leeds riding high in the promotion places and Reading's form having been pretty poor since the new year the first-half was surprisingly even with both teams creating chances but neither side able to break the deadlock. 

It was just before the hour mark that Leeds scored the only goal of the game.  Pable Hernandez initial shot was blocked, however he picked up the rebounded and rounded Liam Moore before poking the ball into the top corner from six yards.  

Atmosphere: The atmosphere was very, very good.  Leeds have an excellent fan base who really get behind their team and noise comes from all sides at Elland Road which makes for a very good atmosphere.  As we hadn't sold many tickets, Leeds fans were in the lower tier in front of the away end.  This lead to some decent banter between the two sets of fans, especially the middle-aged man in the pink jumper, and definitely lead to a feeling of the away fans being penned in.  Because of this the atmosphere in the away end was pretty good, especially with a relatively small away following.

Journey Time home: 4 hours 45 minutes.  The coach left Elland Road just after 5pm and after a short 20-minute stop at Warwick Services we were dropped off in town at 9:30pm.  We decided to get a taxi from town and were dropped off at home just after 9:45pm. 

I did enjoy my trip to Leeds although it would have been nice if we had been able to bring home a point.  The banter between the fans kept me entertained through the whole game and added to the away game experience.

Sheffield Wednesday

Sheffield Wednesday v Reading

Sky Bet Championship
Hillsborough

Saturday 15th February 2020

3pm

Journey Time to the ground: 5 hours 15 minutes.  I had mistakenly booked our coach tickets for the Mad Stad pick up rather than from town so we left home at 8:45am to get a taxi up to the ground for the 9:15am pick up.  We were under weather warnings for Storm Ciara so I wasn't expecting the best journey up but we experience no issues so after a 45-minute stop at Woodall Services for some lunch at KFC we were dropped off outside Hillsborough at 2pm.

Ticket Price: £33

Programme Price: £3

Attendance: 22,199 with 690 Reading fans.

This was my second visit to Hillsborough having previously made the trip up for the last away game of our 2005-06 Championship winning season.  The weather wasn't great so we dodged the showers and had a look in the club shop before making our way into the ground.  We had tickets in the West Stand upper tier which is the away end behind one of the goals.  The West Stand is a large two-tiered all-seater stand which is given entirely to away fans although the lower tier wasn't used on our visit.  The view from the upper tier is very good although the leg room was a little tight.

Hillsborough is simply huge and is currently the largest ground in the Championship.  To the left of the West Stand is the North Stand.  This is a single-tiered all-seater stand where the most vociferous Wednesday support seemed to congregate.  Opposite the West Stand is the Kop.  This is the largest stand at Hillsborough and is single-tiered all-seater stand.  To the right of the West Stand is the South Stand, a two-tiered all-seater stand.  The upper tier is known as the Grandstand Family Enclosure.  The South Stand is the main stand at Hillsborough and houses the team dug-outs at its front.

Both teams were in pretty poor form, however I had predicted a win and we put a couple of bets on before the start of the game, Reading to win 2-0 and Reading to win 3-0.  Reading took the lead 20 minutes into the first-half when Ovie Ejaria played an excellent through-ball to allow Yakou Meite to slide the ball under Cameron Dawson from six yards.  

Reading were handed a huge advantage in the second-half with Wednesday being reduced to ten men just two minutes into the half with Osaze Urhoghide the man seeing red.  Reading doubled their lead with 20 minutes remaining when George Puscas diverted Andy Yiadom's long-range effort passed Dawson.  Into stoppage time and Reading were given a chance to extend the lead when Sam Baldock was tripped in the area by Dominic Iorfa.  One of our bets was going to come in, but which one would it be?  Baldock stepped up to convert the spot-kick to seal a 3-0 win and send me home £40 richer in the process! 

Atmosphere: The atmosphere was good.  The Sheffield Wednesday fans in the North Stand were loud but clearly disgruntled by their team performances at the moment.  The atmosphere in the away end was really good.  The comfortable nature of the win meant the performance could be enjoyed which always helps with the atmosphere!

Journey Time home: 4 hours 15 minutes.  We left Hillsborough just before 5:15pm and after a short stop at Warwick Services were dropped off at the Mad Stad at 9:15pm.  We got a taxi home and were dropped off just before 9:30pm.

I really enjoyed the trip to Hillsborough.  A very good performance and a comfortable away win meant the atmosphere in the away end was really good.  The journey was a lot smoother than expected considering the storm warnings and the stoppage time goal meaning our bet came in was the icing on the cake!