So near, and yet so far
Reading 2 Burnley 2
Report by Patrick O'Neill
A battling, gutsy performance saw the Clarets leave the Madejski Stadium with a point - but it was nearly (and should have been) all three.
I was fairly confident beforehand that we could get something from the game, as confidence had to be high after the win over Ipswich. Reading would be no pushovers, but if we showed the same determination then anything was possible.
As it turned out, we played a lot better overall than I'd anticipated. We dominated large parts of the game, and only really slipped up twice.
The first slip-up came in the 19th minute, and it was a real howler. The sort of thing we'd laugh at if it happened to the opposition. Reading played the ball forward, and The Beast came rushing out of his goal. At the same time, Mo Camara was heading the ball back to him. The inevitable happened, and the ball went past Jensen towards the net. Lloyd Owusu was in the right place and could hardly miss. The home fans were generous with the sarcasm, and we couldn't believe what had happened.
We almost conceded another straight afterwards, but then settled down at the back. This allowed Camara to run forward. He played a great ball to Ian Moore, who didn't waste the chance. 1-1. The Reading fans seemed to have temporarily lost their voices.
For the rest of the first half it was really all Burnley. The home fans were getting impatient as the Royals failed to control the game. Nice to see that Steve Coppell hasn't lost any of his magic.
In the second half, the Clarets continued in the same vein. Our forwards were really causing the Reading defence problems, and it wasn't really a surprise when we took the lead in the 67th minute. However, it was a defender who scored: David May. I didn't see the goal too clearly, and it looked possibly a bit scrappy - but hey, a goal's a goal. It's still a bit odd seeing him playing for us, although I think he's turned out to be a good signing. Who would have imagined a few years ago that we'd be applauding a May goal for Burnley?
After that, it was a case of holding on, and we nearly managed it. But as we got within minutes of the final whistle we looked nervous, almost as if scared of winning. Reading seemed to sense this, and started attacking our goal in earnest, if rather belatedly.
The equalising goal was quite a good one, though I always say that there is no such thing as a good goal scored against Burnley. Midfielder James Harper spent several years at Arsenal, and showed that he'd learned something there with a swerving shot that Jensen really had no chance with. There was no time for Burnley to come back, and the game ended 2-2.
It was disappointing to drop two points like that, and it is worrying that we can't seem to hang on to a lead. But in the end it was a good point, which we would probably have settled for before the game. The same result against Millwall on Saturday would be very nice.
Burnley: Jensen, Roche, May, McGregor, Camara, Little, Chaplow (Orr, 45), Grant, Weller, Blake, Ian Moore.
Subs not used: West, Alan Moore, Chadwick, Rachubka.
Scorers: (Reading) Owusu 19, Harper 90 / (Burnley) Ian Moore 23, May 67.
Referee: Andy Penn (West Midlands).
Attendance: 10,543.
Paddy's Man of the Match: David May.
As with all articles on the site, the views expressed in the match reports section are those of the individual contributor, and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Burnley FC London Supporters' Club.
