West Bromwich Albion

West Bromwich Albion v Reading
Sky Bet Championship
The Hawthorns
Saturday 6th October 2018
3pm

Journey Time to the ground: 2 hours and 45 minutes.  We left home around 11:15am and were parked up in at private car park at Pargat Houseware just after 2pm after a quick stop at Warwick services on the way up.  The cost of parking was £5 and it was a 10 minute walk to the ground straight down Birmingham Road.  We bumped into Frank Skinner in the main car park outside the ground and managed to get a photo with him before heading into the ground.

Ticket Price: £20

Programme Price: £3.50

This was the second time I'd been to The Hawthorns, my first visit was in the early 2000s to see Aston Villa play a "home" Intertoto Cup game.  We had tickets in the away end behind the goal in the Smethwick End.  The Smethwick End is a single-tiered all-seated stand which is shared with home fans.  The leg room was ok and the view of the pitch was good. 

To the left of the Smethwick End is the West Stand.  This single-tiered all-seater stand is the main stand at The Hawthorns and houses the team dug-outs at it's front.  Opposite the Smethwick End is the Birmingham Road End, another single-tiered all-seater stand.  To the right of the Smethwick End, the single-tiered all-seater East Stand is the largest stand at The Hawthorns.

Reading opened the scoring in the sixth minute when Leandro Bacuna took a short corner, playing a one-two with John Swift, before firing an unstoppable shot in off the post from just inside the area.  The rest of the first-half was dominated by Reading, playing some of the best attacking football I've seen them playing for a good few years, but unfortunately despite creating a number of good chances they were unable to extend the lead.

This was to prove costly in the second-half with Dwight Gayle equalising in the 49th minute, heading in Tyrone Mear's right-wing cross after it had been left by goalkeeper Sam Walker.  West Brom took the lead in the 65th minute, Gayle getting the faintest of touches after Kyle Bartley had powered a header goalwards from Harvey Barnes right-wing corner.  Barnes got himself on the scoresheet seven minutes later, playing a give-and-go with Jay Rodrigues before slotting into the far corner.  The rout was completed with ten minutes remaining, Kyle Bartley's looping header from Chris Brunt's left-wing corner sailing in at the near post.

Attendance: 22,865 with 907 Reading fans.

Atmosphere:  The atmosphere wasn't too bad.  The Reading fans were quite loud for most of the first-half, with the West Brom fans, especially those to the left of the away fans in the Smethwick End really making some noise during the second-half.

Journey Time home: 2 hours 15 minutes.  Having never really been into the centre of Birmingham and fancying a curry, we decided to drive into the city centre and see what we could find.  We had a look around the Bull Ring but didn't find anywhere to grab some food.  We headed back to the car and consulted Google, ending up going to Diwan Balti Restaurant in Moseley.  The food was quite nice and very cheap!  We left the restaurant around 9pm and were back home for 11:15pm.

 

I did enjoy my trip to The Hawthorns despite the result!  The ground is a good size, but I'm not sure about the amount of corrugated metal on display inside as to me it makes it seem unfinished and a cheap fix.

Aston Villa

Aston Villa v Reading
Sky Bet Championship
Villa Park
Saturday 25th August 2018
3pm

Journey Time to the ground: 3 hours.  My sister picked us up just after 11:15am and we met my Dad from work before driving up to Villa Park.  We had a quick stop at Warwick services on the way and parked up in Howarth Way just after 2:15pm.  From here it was a 10 minute walk to the ground and we had a burger from one of the many vans before heading inside. 

Ticket Price: £25

Programme Price: £3

I've lost count of the number of times I've been to Villa Park.  When I was younger my Dad and I used to travel up for games almost once a month, but as I got older and decided to only support Reading this was my first visit for at least six or seven years.  As my Dad had got us the tickets we were sat in the upper tier of the North Stand behind one of the goals.  The North Stand is a two-tiered all-seater stand.  We were sat quite centrally towards the back of the stand.  The view from here was very good although the leg room was a little tight. 

To the left of the North Stand is the Doug Ellis Stand.  This is also a two-tiered all-seater stand which houses the away fans in the blocks closest to the North Stand.  Opposite the North Stand is the Holte End, another two-tiered all-seater stand where the majority of Villa's vociferous support tends to congregate.  To the right of the North Stand is the Trinity Road Stand which is the main stand at Villa Park.  This is a three-tiered all-seater stand which houses the dug-outs at it's front.

Aston Villa were the more dominant side in the first-half and came closest to breaking the deadlock when James Chester's header rattled the crossbar before Alan Hutton blazed the follow-up over the bar.

Villa broke the deadlock six minutes into the second-half when Ahmed Elmohamady headed home from Anwar El Ghazi's floated left-wing cross.  Reading missed a golden chance to equalise with eight minutes remaining when Sam Baldock's close range effort from Josh Sims' right-wing cross was somehow tipped onto the bar by Orjan Nyland, who reacted quickly to block Yakou Meite's follow-up effort for a corner.  It looked like Reading were heading for another defeat until the 90th minute when Sims was brought down in the box by Chester.  Up stepped Baldock who fired his penalty straight down the middle to rescue a point for the Royals.

Attendance: 33,405 with 703 Reading fans.

Atmosphere:  The atmosphere at Villa Park is generally very good and today was no exception.  The Villa fans really get behind their team although it was difficult to hear the away fans as the Villa fans make so much noise.

Journey Time home: 2 hours 15 minutes.  We got some food from a kebab shop before leaving just after 5:30pm and arrived home at around 7:45pm

 

I enjoyed my trip to Villa Park as it was nice to see us finally pick up a point!  I might be slightly biased as I have visited Villa Park so many times in the past and have even played on the pitch once before, but I think that Villa Park is one of the best grounds in the country.  It is a good size, still highly traditional and the atmosphere is normally very good as Villa are such a well supported team.

Sunderland

Sunderland v Reading
Sky Bet Championship
Stadium of Light
Saturday 2nd December 2017
3pm

Journey Time to the ground: 6 hours 15 minutes.  We left the house at 6am and drove up to South Shields where we were staying with friends for the weekend.  We stopped at the services for half an hour to get some breakfast and arrived in South Shields at 11:30am.  Our Sunderland supporting friend helps to organise a mini-coach that runs from the New Crown Hotel pub in South Shields to the Stadium of Light, so headed to the pub for a few drinks before being picked up at 2pm.  The journey along the coast took 45 minutes and we were dropped off about a five minute walk from the ground. 

Ticket Price: £25

Programme Price: £3

This was my second visit to the Stadium of Light.  We had tickets in The Carling Stand upper tier, the away end, which has been moved since my last visit ten years ago.  After climbing the eight flights of stairs up to the away end, we met up with some friends and decided to head to the back of the stand where we stood for most of the game, although the stand was all-seated.  The view from away end was good, as was the leg room between rows although it did feel like the away fans are a long way from the home fans in the rest of the ground.  The lower tier of the Carling Stand is also all-seater but for home fans.

To the left of the Carling Stand is the East Stand, a single-tiered all-seated stand.  Opposite the Carling Stand is the South Stand which is also a single-tiered all-seated stand.  To the right of the Carling Stand is the West Stand.  This is a two-tiered all-seated stand and is the main stand at the Stadium of Light housing the team dug-outs at it's front. 

The first-half was uneventful until the final minute of stoppage time when Callum McManaman was shown a second yellow for deliberately handling the ball into the net and Sunderland were forced to play the second 45 minutes with ten men.

Reading broke the deadlock eight minutes after half-time when Dave Edwards poked in Sone Aluko's low right-wing cross.  The lead was doubled in the 68th minute when Mo Barrow volleyed in at the far-post from Liam Kelly's right-wing cross.  Barrow made the game safe three minutes later, side-footing in from Yann Kermorgant's hooked cross.  Sunderland did grab a consolation goal with 14 minutes remaining, former Reading loanee Lewis Grabban powering a spot-kick past Vito Mannone after Joel Asoro had been tripped in the box by Leandro Bacuna.

Attendance: 27,386 with 568 Reading fans.

Atmosphere:  The atmosphere in the away end wasn't bad with fans enjoying one of the most comfortable away wins in a long time.  However the long suffering Sunderland fans were pretty quiet for most of the game, apart from booing.

Journey Time home: 30 minutes. The mini-coach picked us up where we had been dropped off at 5pm and we headed back to the pub for a couple of drinks, before getting a lift back to our friend's house.

 

I enjoyed my trip to Sunderland.  It was nice to see friends and spend a weekend away by the sea and finally watch a fairly comfortable Reading win!  I did feel sorry for both the Sunderland players and fans, the team are clearly devoid of confidence and their magnificent fan-base deserves to be watching a well-performing top-flight team.

Sheffield United

Sheffield United v Reading

Sky Bet Championship
Bramall Lane
Saturday 21st October 2017
3pm

Journey Time to the ground: 6 hours 30 minutes.  For the first time for a few seasons the club were running free coach travel for members.  We left home at 8am and caught a bus up to the Madejski where the coaches would be leaving from.  The coaches collected us at about 9am and arrived outside Bramall Lane at 2:30pm after a quick stop at Donington Services on the way.

We were dropped on Bramall Lane outside the away end so only had to cross the road to get into the ground!

Ticket Price: £22

Programme Price: £3

This was my first visit to Bramall Lane, a ground I had been looking forward to visiting for a while.  We had tickets in the Redbrik Estate Agency Stand Lower Tier, the away end, and due to the free coaches the travelling support was larger than normal.  We were sat about a third of the way up the stand right behind the goal and had a good view of the pitch.  The Upper Tier houses home fans and the whole stand is all-seated.

To the left of the Redbrik Estate Agency Stand is the John Street Stand which is a single-tiered all-seated stand with a row of executive boxes running across the back of the stand.  To the right of the Redbrik Estate Agency Stand is the GAC Stand which is also a single-tiered all-seated stand and is the main stand at Bramall Lane housing the dug-out at it's front.  Opposite the Redbrik Estate Agency Stand is the most impressive stand at Bramall Lane, the Kop Stand.  This is a huge single-tiered all-seated stand and is where the majority of the Blade vociferous support seems to converge. 

Sheffield United started the game brightly and were ahead in the 20th minute when Paul Coutts fired an effort into the top corner from the edge of the penalty area.  The lead was doubled in the 37th minute when former Reading loanee Billy Sharp tapped-in from Mark Duffy's low right-wing cross.

Reading finally start to come into the game when John Swift was brought on with 25 minutes remaining and pulled a goal back five minutes from time when Roy Beerens slotted in from Mo Barrow's low left-wing cross.  However the Royals had left it too late to pick up anything from the game.

Attendance: 26,265 with 1,150 Reading fans.

Atmosphere:  The atmosphere was good, with the Blades fans in the Kop Stand behind the goal making a lot of noise.  The away end was pretty quiet, as the style and quality of football Reading are playing at the moment are hard to get excited about!

Journey Time home: 4 hours.  The coach left almost straight after the game had finished and we had a short stop at Warwick Services on the way down.  We arrived back at the Madejski at about 8:45pm and some friends gave us a lift back home, arriving around 9pm. 

I enjoyed my trip to Bramall Lane.  I was very impressed by the ground and the atmosphere as a whole, but particularly the Kop Stand which was huge!  The only bad thing was the fact the Reading are playing so poorly at the moment that it's not fun to watch them!

Brentford

Brentford v Reading
Sky Bet Championship
Griffin Park
Saturday 16th September 2017
3pm


Journey Time to the ground: 1 hour 45 minutes.  We left the house at about 1pm and got the train from Reading to Paddington.  We changed at Paddington to get the train to Ealing Broadway, then caught the 65 bus from outside Ealing Broadway station to New Road.


The ground was a two minute walk from the bus stop on New Road.


Ticket Price: £30


Programme Price: £3.50


This was my fourth visit to Griffin Park, although I don't remember my first visit, which was the first football match I was ever taken to!  We had tickets in the Brook Road Stand upper tier which is the away end and were sat about level with the edge of the penalty area, three rows from the front.  The view from here was very good, and we were so close to the pitch it almost felt like we were on it!  The lower tier is terracing for away fans.


To the left of the Brook Road Stand is the Bill Axbey Stand which is a single tiered, covered all seated stand which houses the team dug-outs at it's front.  Opposite the Brook Road Stand is the BIAS Stand which is also know as the Ealing Road Terrace.  This is a single tiered, covered terrace and seems to be where the most vocal home support tends to congregate.  To the right of the Brook Road Stand is the Bees United Braemar Road Stand.  This is also a single tiered, covered all seated stand and is the main stand at Griffin Park.


Brentford started the brighter of the two teams and opened the scoring in the 15th minute when Josh Clarke played a neat one-two with Neal Maupay before firing past Vito Mannone, although the goalkeeper should have done better with the effort at his near-post.


Reading were gifted a way back to the game in the 69th minute when a penalty was awarded for a push on Liam Moore by Rico Henry.  Liam Kelly stepped up to confidently strike past Dan Bentley in the Brentford goal.  Reading came closest to stealing all three points when Sone Aluko hit the bar with a long range effort, although a draw was probably a fair result.


Attendance: 9,739 with 1,650 Reading fans.


Atmosphere:  The atmosphere was ok. Being in seats in the upper tier meant that the away atmosphere was probably worse than it would have been on the terrace below, and apart from a few in the BIAS Stand opposite, the home fans were pretty quiet too!


Journey Time home: 1 hour 30 minutes. We got the 65 bus back to Ealing Broadway and got some food at Five Guys.  We then decided to head into Central London for a bit and had a look around Leicester Square where I enjoyed my first ever Cinnabon and had fun in M&M World.  We got the tube back to Paddington, then the train onto Reading before walking home from the station and arriving back at around 11:30pm.


I really enjoyed my trip to Brentford.  Although the game wasn't the best, we managed to snatch a draw.  Griffin Park is one of the nicest grounds to watch a game of football in the league and it will be a real shame when Brentford move to a new ground in a couple of years.

Cardiff City

Cardiff City v Reading

Sky Bet Championship
Cardiff City Stadium
Saturday 27th August 2016
3pm

Journey Time to the ground: 1 hours 30 minutes.  We caught the 12:37pm train from Merthyr Tydfil to Grangetown which took just under an hour and 10 minutes.

The ground was about a 15-20 minute walk from Grangetown station along Sloper Road.

Ticket Price: £20

Programme Price: £3

This was my first visit to the Cardiff City Stadium although I had previous been to Ninian Park once.  We had tickets in the away corner which is situated in the corner between the Ninian Stand and the Grange Stand.  The away fans enter the ground by going through their own fenced away entrance which prevents any issues between home and away fans.  The leg room was ample and as we were able to pick where we sat, the view of the pitch was good.

To the left of the away corner is the Grange Stand which was a single-tiered all-seated stand.  Opposite the Grange Stand is the Canton Stand which is an identical single-tiered all-seated stand where the majority of the vociferous home support seem to congregate.  To the right of the Canton Stand is the Grandstand which is the main stand at the Cardiff City Stadium.  The Grandstand is a two-tiered all-seated stand which also houses the team dug-outs.  Opposite the Grandstand is the Ninian Stand which is the largest stand at the Cardiff City Stadium.  The Ninian Stand is a three-tiered all-seated stand which has recently been extended.

I had been looking forward to this game since the fixture list has been released as this would be the closest Reading game for me this season.  I was also pleased as Cardiff were the first team to honour Reading's twenty's plenty pledge and offer reciprocal pricing.

The first-half was a fairly dour affair with both sides stuggling to create any clear cut chances.

The second-half continued in the same vain and looked destined to remain goal-less until Yann Kermorgant scored a last-minute winner, volleying in Jordan Obita's deflected left-wing cross from 12-yards.

Attendance: 15,013 with 902 Reading fans.

Atmosphere:  The atmosphere was poor.  The ground was less than half full and the distance between the home and away fans was massive meaning that it was very difficult to get much of an atmosphere going.  The atmosphere in the away end was also pretty subdued as the game wasn't very exciting.

Journey Time home: 4 hours 30 minutes.  We walked into Cardiff city centre from the ground and spent a couple of hours looking around the St David's Shopping Centre.  We got some dinner at Five Guys before walking to Cathays station and catching the train back to Merthyr Tydfil, arriving back at home just after 9:30pm.

I did enjoy my trip to Cardiff, although that down to the result more than anything else.  Reading seen to be pretty solid, if not spectacular so should do well this season.

Bristol Rovers

Bristol Rovers v Luton Town
Sky Bet League Two
Memorial Stadium
Saturday 2nd January 2016
3pm

Journey Time to the ground: 1 hours 30 minutes.  We left Newbury at 1pm and after a short stop at Leigh Delamere services we managed to find some street parking on Church Road which is off the main Gloucester Road.

The ground was about a 5 minute walk from Church Road, along Gloucester Road before turning down Filton Avenue.

Ticket Price: £16

Programme Price: £3

This was my first visit to the Memorial Stadium and as a fairly local ground, one I had been looking forward to doing for quite a while.  We had tickets in the High Spec North Terrace which was where the bulk of the home fans congregated.  The covered terrace was pretty full, but we managed to make our way down toward the front and found some space to stand and also an unrestricted view of the pitch.

To the left of the High Spec North Terrace is the Dribuild East stand. This consists of uncovered terracing that runs the length of the pitch, then an upper tier of covered seating which runs for half the length of the pitch and straddles the half-way line called the Uplands Stand.  This stand is shared with away supporters, with them in the uncovered terracing closest to the South Stand and houses the dug-outs.  The South Stand is a temporary, covered seated stand which runs for just over half the width of the pitch, and is shared between home and away fans.  Opposite the East Stand is the West Stand which runs half the length pitch and straddles the half-way line.  This stand is the main stand with terracing to the front and seated hospitality areas to the rear and has and electronic scoreboard on it's roof.  To the right side of the West Stand is a small, temporary, covered, all-seated stand known as the South West Stand and to the left side of the West Stand, towards the High Spec North Terrace is the small covered Family Terrace.

Bristol Rovers thought they had taken the lead in the first-half when Ollie Clarke raced through and slotted past Mark Tyler only to see the lineman flag for offside.

The deadlock was broken on the hour mark when Rory Gaffney fired in from six yards after Tom Lockyer has seen his header cleared off the line.  Gaffney grabbed his second and secured the three points in the 72nd minute slotting in the rebounded after Tyler had fumbled his initial effort.  The home fans went home happy as the result lifted their team up to fifth in the table.

Attendance: 9,131 with 707 Luton fans.

Atmosphere:  The atmosphere was very good.  The Bristol Rovers fans in the High Spec North Terrace were particularly loud through-out the game and the club anthem Goodnight Irene rang out once they were in front.  It really reminded me of being back at football when I was younger.

Journey Time home: 1 hour 30 minutes.  We stopped at the Brazilian Lounge on Gloucester Road to have some food so didn't end up leaving til about 6pm and were comfortably back in Newbury by 7:30pm.

I enjoyed my trip to Bristol Rovers.  The game was good, the atmosphere was very good and standing on terracing reminded me of what it was like to go to football as a child.