Reading put their off the pitch troubles firmly behind them for at least one evening last night as they swept aside rivals Swindon Town in the EFL Trophy 5-0 to secure their place in the knockout stage of the competition.
With news coming out that the club could be placed into administration, ongoing financial woes could put the club in jeopardy if a buyer cannot be found, and at the very least a further points reduction which would mean certain relegation to League Two.
Last night though belonged to the players and manager Ruben Selles. They swept aside Swindon under the three goal blitz by Harvey Knibbs. The striker completed his hat trick by converting a penalty shortly after the half time break. This after putting Reading in control with two goals in the first half.
Selles told The Reading Chronicle shortly after the match; “Scoring goals is always important, especially for the front players. He got his goals today and hopefully, he can score more in the league, and we can have good results.”
It is the form in League One that does need to pick up as the Berkshire side are now in the drop zone after only picking up a point from their last four league games. They have no problem scoring goals in the Trophy though, and this game comes after a 9-0 win at Exeter City.
https://twitter.com/ReadingFC/status/1711844933248729150?s=20
Selles continued, praising the club’s young, up-and-coming stars; “It was a good feeling. We had a team on the pitch that had a clear idea of how they want to play. It is important for us to play and do the thing we want to do, and it was a good performance from everyone.
“It is a routine that we want to do because I think we have the players to do it. They are working well and wait to play. They know what they are doing. We need to develop our talented players and I think the cups are a good time to do that, and in the league. Today we have shown that we have a really good Academy and the players coming up are ready to fight for a spot.”
Writer’s View
Reading are a club in trouble. Once again the staff and fans are the ones that really suffer. With a club being badly run off the pitch it is something special when a result like this comes along to lift the impending gloom and doom feeling.
They will fight on, both players and the supporters, until there is no fight left. No one wants to see a club die, and if Selles can somehow turn things around on the pitch, the likely sale of the club will hopefully see a decent prospective bidder. Let’s just hope the checks are in place of any new owner.
