Walsall

Walsall v Reading

Vertu Trophy Round of 32
Poundland Bescot Stadium

Tuesday 10th December 2024

7pm

Journey Time to the ground: 2 hours.  The journey to the ground took a little longer than I was anticipating.  We left home at 4:10pm and after being stuck in a bit of traffic due to roadworks on the A49 near Craven Arms we arrived at the ground at 6:10pm.  We parked in the away fans' car park at the Poundland Bescot Stadium which cost £8 as I hadn't pre-booked a space!  Having arrived in good time for the earlier kick-off we first collected our tickets from the ticket office as they hadn't arrived in the post, and had a look in the club shop and a walk around the ground before entering the ground.  

Ticket Price: £12

Programme Price: £4

Attendance: 1,501 with 238 Reading fans.

When the draw was made for the Second Round of the Vertu Trophy I knew I had to make the trip to Walsall as it isn't too far from where we're now based in Shropshire.  This was my second visit to Walsall having previously been back in 2003 for a Third Round FA Cup game.  We had tickets in the away end, which for this game straddled a corner of the Away Stand Sponsored by B.A.T and the Experienced Energy Solutions Stand.  We decided to sit in the Away Stand Sponsored by B.A.T which is a single-tiered all-seater stand behind one of the goals. 

To the left of the Away Stand Sponsored by B.A.T is the Pallet-Truck Stand which is the main stand at the Poundland Bescot Stadium.  It's a single-tiered, all-seater stand which houses the team dug-outs at its front.  Opposite the Away Stand Sponsored by B.A.T is the Poundland Stand, an impressive two-tiered all-seater stand which is much larger than the other three sides at the Poundland Bescot.  To the right of the Away Stand Sponsored by B.A.T is the Experienced Energy Solutions Stand which is another single-tiered all-seater stand.  

Reading made a number of changes for this game and fielded a very young team.  Walsall had the better of the first-half, with Reading particularly vulnerable from crosses, and could have been at least three up at half-time if it wasn't for some very poor finishing.  Albert Adomah was particularly guilty of slicing wide from a yard out.  Somehow the game was scoreless at the break.

Into the second-half and Reading were reduced to ten-men with a little over half-an-hour remaining.  Goalkeeper David Button attempted to control a long-ball midway inside the Reading half but his poor control was pounced on by George Hall.  Button's attempted tackle bought down the striker and as the last man Button was shown a straight red.  Four minutes later and amazingly The Royals took the lead against the run of play.  Charlie Wellens fired a free-kick into the Walsall box from the half-way line and the ball was spilt by The Saddlers goalkeeper Sam Hornby.  He was able to block Jayden Wareham's effort but Tyler Sackey was on hand to fire into the top corner from ten-yards.  Reading were reduced to nine just three minutes later with Ashqar Ahmed shown a second yellow card for bringing Josh Gordon down on the edge of the area.  The Royals defended admirably for the remaining 15 minutes of the game and the additional seven minutes of stoppage time, however Walsall equalised with almost the last kick of the game with Danny Johnson firing past stand-in keeper Tom Norcott to send the game to penalties.

Wareham stepped up to take the first penalty but his effort was save by Hornby.  This miss was compounded by Adomah slotting home for The Saddlers.  Louis Holzman confidently equalised for The Royals before Johnson put Walsall back into the lead.  Hornby then saved a second Reading penalty from Wellens with Donervon Daniels extending The Saddlers lead.  Despite scoring a second penalty through Abraham Kanu, Reyes Cleary converted to send Walsall through to the next round.

Atmosphere: The atmosphere was non-existent from the home fans with it being a low attendance EFL Trophy game.  There was little noise during the game and the home fans were only heard when they equalised and during the penalty shoot-out.  The atmosphere in the away end was pretty good especially when the team was in the lead with nine-men during the second-half.

Journey Time home: 1 hour 30 minutes.  We left the ground straight after the final whistle at 9:10pm and got away quickly as there was no traffic.  We arrived home at 11:50pm after stopping at McDonalds in Shrewsbury for over an hour for a very late dinner!

Overall I really enjoyed my trip to Walsall.  With it being an EFL Trophy game and Reading playing a very young team there was little pressure on the game.  The game was better quality than I was expecting with both teams fielding weakened teams.  The players put a lot of effort into the game and although it would have been a bit smash and grab, probably would have deserved the win.  The atmosphere in the away end was also surprisingly good considering the low attendance.