Hull City

Hull City v Reading

Sky Bet Championship
KCOM Stadium
Saturday 10th August 2019

3pm

Journey Time to the ground: 6 hours 15 minutes.  During pre-season it had been announced that Reading would be providing free coach travel to the furthest 15 away games of the season, as long as you were a member of the supporters club.  At a cost of £10 for the season, this felt like too good an opportunity to miss and a chance for me to complete visits to all the Championship grounds.  We left home at 7:30am for the coach-pick up at 8am and arrived at the KCOM Stadium at 1:15pm after a 45 minute stop to grab a KFC at Woodall Services on the M1.

Ticket Price: £30

Programme Price: £3

This was my first visit to the KCOM Stadium and the early arrival gave us plenty of time to look around.  Unfortunately there isn't much to do around the ground as it is set in a park so after looking in the club shops we headed into the ground.  We had tickets in the away end which is the North Stand.  This is a single-tiered all-seater stand.  The view of the pitch from our seats was good as was the leg-room.

To the left of the North Stand is the East Stand, another single-tiered all-seater stand and seemed to be the area where the most vociferous Hull fans congregated.  Opposite the North Stand is the South Stand, which is identical to the North Stand being another single-tiered all-seater stand.  To the right of the North Stand is the West Stand.  This is the main stand at the KCOM Stadium and is a two-tiered all-seater stand which houses the team dug-outs and player's tunnel at it's front.

A busy end to the transfer window had filled Reading fans with hope for a decent season and the trip to Hull had been eagerly anticipated as a chance to see the new players and how good the team could be.  However Reading went behind after just six minutes when young goalkeeper Joao Virginia let Kamil Grosicki's shot squirm underneath him and onto the post before Jarrod Bowen smashed home from a yard out.  Hull doubled their lead ten minutes later when Jackson Irvine was left unmarked in the middle of the box to head in Bowen's right-wing cross.

With a first-half display that had sucked the optimism out of most of the away support, Reading finally started to play some football in the second-half.  Reading pulled a goal back in the 66th minute when new signing Lucas Joao, who had scored for Sheffield Wednesday against Reading the week before, scored his first goal for the Royals, collecting a cross-field ball from John Swift before cutting into the box and firing a low effort past George Long in the Hull goal.  Reading pushed for an equaliser and came close when another new signing, George Puscas, smashed an effort off the bar from about three yards, but ultimately a poor first-half had cost them.

Attendance: 10,673 with 530 Reading fans.

Atmosphere:  The atmosphere wasn't bad.  Although the crowd wasn't massive, the Hull fans in the East Stand made some noise.  The atmosphere in the away end was alright, although slightly subdued because of conceding the early goals.  It would be interesting to see what the atmosphere would be like when the ground is full.

Journey Time home: 5 hours.  The coach left around 5pm and dropped us into town at 9:45pm after a quick 20 minute stop at Warwick Services for some food.  It was about a 15 minute walk home so we were home just after 10pm.

I enjoyed my trip to Hull as the coach travel element made it different to any other ground I'd been too.  However the KCOM Stadium seemed to be quite run-down considering it is only 17 years old.  The cladding on the outside reminded me of the old Wimbledon dog stadium and there was anti-Allam graffiti which they had obviously tried to clean up unsuccessfully.  The game wasn't great from a Reading point of view, although there are such fine margins in the Championship that anyone can beat anyone.

Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough v Reading

Sky Bet Championship
Riverside Stadium
Saturday 27th April 2019

3pm

Journey Time to the ground: 5 hours 15 minutes.  After a very last minute decision to attend the last away game of the season we left the house at 9:30am.  After a couple of stops on the way up at Leicester Forest East and Trowell services, and a diversion on the A19 due to an accident, we parked up on a verge off Stephenson Way (along with a number of other cars and hoping we wouldn't end up with a ticket) at around 2:45pm.  From here it was a five minute walk to the ground.

Ticket Price: £30

Programme Price: £2

This was my first visit to the Riverside Stadium, a ground that had always seemed a long way from home!  We had tickets in the away section which is the Southern section of the East Stand along one side of the pitch.  This single-tiered all-seater stand is shared with the home fans.  The view of the pitch and leg room are good, although with the small number of travelling fans being housed towards the back of the stand, it felt very isolated from the rest of the ground.

To the left of the East Stand is the South Stand, where the main Middlesbrough singing section is.  This is also a single-tiered all-seater stand.  Opposite the East Stand is the West Stand.  This is the main stand at the Riverside and is a two-tiered all-seater stand housing the team dug-outs at it's front.  To the right of the East Stand is the North Stand, another single-tiered all-seater stand.

With Reading still needing a point to secure safety and Middlesbrough still in contention for a play-off position, there was a lot riding on this game.  Reading took the lead in the 11th minute, when Danny Loader collected a short throw-in from Chris Gunter before unleashing a shot into the top right-hand corner from the end of the area for his first senior goal.  Middlesbrough equalised in the 31st minute, with Lewis Wing lashing in from ten yards after Jonny Howson's right-wing cross had only been half cleared.  Middlesbrough continued to the press forward and went ahead six minutes before half-time.  George Saville want down after a collision with Andy Yiadom and a penalty was awarded.  Britt Assombalonga sent Emi Martinez the wrong way from the spot, smashing his penalty into the left-hand corner of the net.

Middlesbrough continued to be the more dominant team in the second-half, without creating as many clear-cut chances as they had in the last period.  Reading did try and push for an equaliser towards the end, but to no avail.  As Rotherham were being hammered, it didn't matter and the final whistle confirmed that Reading were safe from relegation with a game to spare.

Attendance: 22,003 with 380 Reading fans.

Atmosphere:  The atmosphere was good.  The last away game of the season is always the annual inflatables game, and an array of blow-up items were flying around the away end for the duration of the game.  The Middlesbrough fans in the South Stand behand the goal were fairly vocal through-out the game, but I could imagine the atmosphere being a bit flat if it was a nothing game.

Journey Time home: 6 hours 30 minutes.  We headed straight back to the car and after a stop in Middlesbrough town centre to get some fuel decided to make the long trip home.  We stopped at Woolley Edge services and got some Burger King for dinner.  We continued down the M1 and decided to stay on it until it hit the M25 which was bit of a mistake as an accident added about an hour onto our journey.  After another stop at Newport Pagnell services to get more fuel, we ended up around home at around 11:30pm

The trip up to Middlesbrough wasn't bad.  It's a pretty long one to do in one day and I think if I was to visit again I would probably make a weekend of it.  The weather was fairly cold for April, which made me glad that we hadn't had to go up during the winter!

Bristol City

Bristol City v Reading

Sky Bet Championship
Ashton Gate
Friday 19th April 2019

12pm

Journey Time to the ground: 2 hours 45 minutes.  The powers that be had decided in all their wisdom, that the game would be a midday kick-off on Good Friday.  With the weather being glorious, it felt like most of the country was heading towards the South West.  We left home at 9am and managed to get stuck behind a couple of accidents on the M4 meaning that my other half dropped us off outside the ground at 11:45am whilst he continued to drive round looking for a parking space.  He eventually parked up in Raleigh Road about a five minute walk from the ground, but didn't end up getting into the ground until half an hour into the first-half!

Ticket Price: £32

Programme Price: £3.50 

This was my fourth visit to Ashton Gate, but the first since the redevelopment of the ground.  We had tickets in the away end in the Atyeo Stand behind one goal, which is the opposite end to where the away fans used to be housed.  This is an all-seater single-tiered stand.  The leg room was a little tight but as we were stood for the whole game this wasn't an issue.  The stand is wholly given to away fans. 

To the left of the Atyeo Stand is the Dolman Stand, another single-tiered all-seater stand.  Opposite the Atyeo Stand is the South Stand, again a single-tiered all-seater.  To the right of the Atyeo Stand is the Lansdown Stand which is a large two-tiered stand.  This is the main stand at Ashton Gate and houses the team dug-out at it's front.  The only open corners are at either side of the Atyeo Stand as the redevelopment has seen the other two corners filled with seating. 

As this was a fairly local away game on a bank holiday and form had recently picked up, Reading travelled in good numbers for a change.  The first-half was played at typical Championship pace in the blazing sun, with both sides creating a number of good chances.  The closest either team came to scoring was when Matt Miazga headed Josh Brownhill's shot off the line. 

Reading broke the deadlock three minutes into the second-half with a well-executed free-kick routine.  Lewis Baker played the free-kick across the box to Ovie Ejaria, who played a diagonal ball out to Andy Rinomhota on the right-wing.  Rinomhota pulled the ball into the path of Yakou Meite, who stroked the ball underneath Max O'Leary and into the net.  If it had been scored by a top team, people would still be raving on about it now!  The Robins equalised in the 72nd minute when Brownhill nodded home Niclas Eliasson's left-wing cross.  Both sides pushed for a winner, but a point was probably a fair result in the end. 

Attendance: 23,309 with 2,017 Reading fans.

Atmosphere:  The atmosphere was pretty good.  A full away end always makes a difference and being sat quite close to the home fans in the Lansdown Stand meant there was a fair bit of banter flying between the two. 

Journey Time home: 2 hours.  We made the short walk back to the car and headed towards the M5 to head down to the beach.  Unfortunately it was chock-a-block so we decided to head to Severn Beach instead.  We had a walk along the estuary before heading home via Burger King at Severn View Services and Swindon Outlet.  We arrived home around 7pm.

I enjoyed my trip to Bristol City.  The traffic on the way was frustrating and having been 1-0 up it was slightly disappointing not to come away with the win.  It's always nice watching football in good weather, and despite the views of the Bristol City fans sitting closest to us, I have a feeling we'll be playing each other again next season.

Stoke City

Stoke City v Reading

Sky Bet Championship
bet365 Stadium
Saturday 16th March 2019

3pm

Journey Time to the ground: 3 hours 30 minutes.  We left home at around 10:30am stopping to pick the tickets up on the way.  We had a quick stop at Norton Canes services to get some food from Leon on the way up and parked up in the car park at BFM Europe at a cost of £5.  From here it was a five minute walk to the ground.

Ticket Price: £25

Programme Price: £3.50 

This was my second visit to the bet365 Stadium, having previously tied in a visit with an open day at the nearby Keele University when I was at school.  We had tickets in the away end in the South Stand.  This is a single tiered all-seated stand which is shared with home supporters.  We were on the left-hand side of the stand next to one of the open corners and the wind and rain really blew in at us from this side!  The leg room and view of the pitch from this stand was very good.

To the left of the South Stand is the Franklyn Stand.  This is the main stand at the bet365 Stadium and is a large two-tiered all-seater stand which houses the team dug-outs at its front.  Opposite the South Stand is the Boothen End sponsored by Staffordshire University.  This is a single-tiered all-seater stand almost identical to the South Stand, the only difference being the right-hand side being an open corner.  To the right of the South Stand is the East Stand, another single-tiered all-seater stand.

The game was quite simply awful, with the weather definitely not helping matters.  Mid-way through the first-half Stoke struck the woodwork twice in as many minutes, first Tom Ince seeing his shot from 15-yards cannon off the upright before Sam Vokes looped a header off the cross-bar from Thibaud Verlinden's left-wing cross.

The second-half continued in the same scrappy manner with both teams struggling to create any clear cut chances and the game ended 0-0, which was probably to be expected considering Stoke's recent run of goal-less draws!

Attendance: 24,368 with 669 Reading fans.

Atmosphere:  The atmosphere was disappointing.  The away end was pretty subdued mostly due to the awful weather and although the Stoke fans did have a go at Delilah a couple of times, the poor game dampened the atmosphere somewhat.

Journey Time home: 3 hours 30 minutes.  As we were cold and wet, we dashed back to the car as soon as the game finished.  We stopped at Warwick Services on the way back down and got some KFC for dinner before arriving home around 8:30pm.

I didn't really enjoy my trip to Stoke.  The weather was cold and wet, the game was awful and the ground pretty bland and unnecessarily intimidating with the visiting fans being held in a cage and subjected to a sniffer dog search before entering the ground.  Not somewhere I'll look forward to visiting again.

Manchester United

Manchester United v Reading
The Emirates FA Cup Third Round
Old Trafford
Saturday 5th January 2019

12:30pm

Journey Time to the ground: 4 hours 30 minutes.  We picked my sister up just before 7am and after a short stop at Norton Canes services to get some breakfast we were parked up in the Lowry Outlet Mall just before 11:30am.

Ticket Price: £45 although Reading Football Club subsidised this to £30, the maximum price away fans are charged in the Premier League.

Programme Price: £3.50

This was my second visit to Old Trafford, although it was my first for a football match having previously seen the Rugby League World Cup Final here in 2013.  As this was a cup game, Reading had an extended allocation so we were sat in the East Stand Upper Tier.  This is not the usual away end and was up quite a few flights of steps which was a little bit of a struggle for me having had an ACL reconstruction a couple of months previously!  It seemed as through Reading fans were in the whole of the Upper Tier with Manchester United fans in the Lower Tier below.  The leg room was adequate and the view from our seats was very good.

To the left of the East Stand is the Sir Bobby Charlton Stand, a single-tiered all-seater stand.  Although this is the smallest stand at Old Trafford, it is the main stand and houses the team dug-outs at its front.  Opposite the East Stand is the Stretford End, which is a huge two-tiered all-seater stand where the most vociferous Manchester United fans tend to congregate.  To the right of the East Stand is the Sir Alex Ferguson Stand which is another huge two-tiered all-seater stand.

The first-half saw a little bit of history for Reading when Manchester United were given a penalty with the use of VAR.  Juan Mata was adjudged to have been fouled by Omar Richards although the decision didn't go down too well with the Reading fans at Mata had laid the ball through to Fred who was in an offside position.  Mata stepped forward and send Anssi Jaakkola the wrong way from the spot in the 22nd minute.  Romelu Lukaku doubled United's lead in the fourth minute of first-half stoppage time, latching onto Alexis Sanchez's through ball before rounding Jaakkola and slotting into the empty net.

The second-half was a fairly even affair with both sides creating chances, and although Reading continued to fight, they were unable to grab a consolation goal. 

Attendance: 73,918 with 3,048 Reading fans.

Atmosphere:  The atmosphere was really good.  The Reading fans were up for the game and were noisy throughout the game.  The Man United fans were also up for the game and right behind the team, now that form has started to pick up since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has taken temporary charge of the team.

Journey Time home: 4 hours.  With the game being an early kick-off and finishing before 3pm, we decided to have a look around the Lowry Gallery in Salford Quays which was well worth a visit.  We had a late lunch/early dinner at The Real China in the Lowry Outlet and had a look into a couple of shops before leaving around 4:30pm.  We stopped at Stafford services and Cherwell Valley services on the way home to get fuel and were dropping my sister home around 8:30pm.

 

Although I had been looking forward to the trip to Manchester, I was worried that we were going to be humiliated.  However the team showed some real spirit and if we can carry that into the league then we will stay up.  On both of my visits to Old Trafford I've been slightly disappointed, as although the ground feels big, it doesn't feel as impressive as it should.

Birmingham City

Birmingham City v Reading
Sky Bet Championship
St Andrew's Trillion Trophy Stadium
Tuesday 23rd October 2018

7:45pm

Journey Time to the ground: 3 hours.  As we had the day off work we left home at 1:30pm intending to go the National Sea Life Centre, but after arriving at 3:45pm and having a quick look, we decided against this and headed to the Bull Ring instead.  We had a look at China Town and a look around the shopping centre before getting some dinner in the Tonkotsu outlet in Selfridges.  We left the Bull Ring around 6:40pm and headed towards St Andrew's, parking up in Jenkins Street at 7:15pm, which was a ten minute walk from the ground.

Ticket Price: £10

Programme Price: £3

This was my first visit to St Andrew's, a ground I had wanted to visit for quite a while and with the ticket prices being so reasonable we decide to make the trip.  We had tickets in the away end in the Gil Merrick Stand Lower Tier.  The leg room wasn't too bad and the view from behind the goal was good.  The Gil Merrick Stand is a two-tiered stand, although the upper tier wasn't open on our visit.  The lower tier is shared with home fans.

To the left of the Gil Merrick Stand is the Main Stand.  This small two-tiered stand houses the team dug-outs at it's front.  Opposite the Gil Merrick Stand is the Tilton Road End which is a large single-tiered stand.  To the right of the Gil Merrick Stand is the Spion Kop which is also a large single-tiered stand.  The most vociferous Birmingham fans tend to congregate in the Tilton Road End.

The first-half was a fairly even affair with both side struggling to create chances in an uneventful opening period.

Reading continued their worrying trend of conceding early goals after half-time when Birmingham opened the scoring in the 49th minute.  Jota's left-wing corner was met by Michael Morrison, who flicked a header into the path of Gary Gardner who stabbed the ball home from close range.  The lead was doubled in the 70th minute when Lukas Jutkiewicz floated a header in at the far-post from Che Adams's right-wing cross.  Reading grabbed a late consolation in the last minute of normal time when Yakou Meite latched on to Andy Yiadom's long ball and slotted passed Lee Camp in the Birmingham goal, however it was a case of too little too late and The Blues held on for the win.

Attendance: 22,126 with 503 Reading fans.

Atmosphere:  The atmosphere was really good.  The home stands all seemed to be pretty full and the Birmingham fans really got behind their team throughout the game.  The atmosphere in the away end was slightly flat, especially in the second-half with Reading trailing.

Journey Time home: 2 hours 30 minutes.  We left the ground as soon as the game finished and were back in the car around 10pm.  We drive straight back and arrived home at around 12:30am.

 

I enjoyed my day out in Birmingham.  The ground is quite impressive and the atmosphere inside was very good.  It's just shame that Reading are playing so poorly at the moment as it makes games less enjoyable than they should be!

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.