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Old 01-10-2014, 01:04 AM   #124
NoSkillz
College Benchwarmer
 
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: St. Catharines, Canada
Sat. March 6, 2021

Barclays Premier League
Reading (13-3-13, 42 points, 8th) vs. Dover (17-5-7, 56 points, 4th)
The Madejski Stadium, Reading, UK

Betting Odds: Reading: 5-4 (Favourites) Draw: 11-5 Dover: 7-4
Past Meetings: 3W 1D 2L

We face 8th placed Reading, always a tough opponent due to their strong defensive tactics. That said, we have historical success against them, picking up points in four of six lifetime meetings. Like us, they are still alive in the FA Cup and have a juicy quarterfinals matchup against Portsmouth next weekend. They've got three great strikers, with Cees Duarte leading the club in scoring with 10 goals but the more dangerous players are James Hunter (with 7) and explosive Hani Megahed, who has been out of form thus far and sits with only 5 goals. Megahed is supremely talented and we kept him off the scoresheeet in our 2-0 win at home earlier this season.

I decide to stick with my flat 4-4-2 Control here but may move to a counter attacking mode if things are slow, as they usually are against Reading. They are very tough to break down. Claudio Contreras will be inserted back into the lineup after one game from Oliver Nicholas and I'm benching out of form winger Gianluca Bolis in favour of Petr Kostal. On loan right midfielder Martin Prochazka is unavailable this game due to being owned by Reading.

Dover: 4-4-2 Control
GK - I. Wilke
D - R. Gaucho, C. Contreras, P. Tjiuoro, S. Loucif
M - A. Bamba, A. Rocca, N. Cairney, P. Kostal
S - G. Gesios, Z. Bardi
Bench - J. Varga, O. Nicholas, D. Pratley, Mancini, C. Murray, G. Bolis, P. Simek

Reading are in the same formation and have both Hunter and Megahed up front. Their speed will be VERY difficult to handle. I may have to have my defensive line pulled back a bit. I tell the team they can win today and pull aside Gesios, Bardi and the out-of-form Arsene Bamba for individual chats.

1' - Right away, Reading get a chance, as their talented strikers exchange passes and Hunter eventually gets a chance from just inside the area, shooting wide. I worry that Tjiuoro and Contreras will have trouble with their speed today.

4' - We have a goal kick and the ball eventually makes its way to Gesios. He dribbles up field and from way out, sends a rocket that is turned aside by a diving Adam Federici, their Australian keeper. They easily clear the ensuing corner.

6' - Reading work it up field and it's sent to Megahed. He turns and EASILY outruns Contreras, sending a low, hard blast to the far corner. WIlke makes the fine diving save but the rebound comes right to their midfielder Alexandre Coeff. He has a wide open net and somehow, Wilke recovers just in time to get his shot and keep it out. Oh boy. I need to make some tactics changes soon.

13' - We get a couple of marginal chances. Gesios sends a lovely ball up the right centre of the pitch to Bardi and from outside the area, his piledriver is blocked over the goal by Federici. On the corner, Rocca's cross is headed out but right to Neil Cairney and he curls a long shot JUST wide.

16' - We have close to three minutes of straight possession, first with Gesios dribbling through their defence before seeing a shot turned aside and later, we keep possession in midfield. Eventually, we move the ball to the right flank and Petr Kostal, who is in for out-of-form Gianluca Bolis. Kostal pushes the ball past his man to gain a step and from the right sideline sends a high, arching cross into the box. Gesios is there and powers a header into the net! Fantastic! DOVER GOAL 1-0

I tried to change to a counter attack at the 13' mark but just now, due to us having such a prolonged period of possession, it finally changes to that philosophy.

22' - Kostal, a rarely used player, is making his presence felt. He sends a gorgeous through ball at midfield to Gesios and he runs into the Reading area and fires a shot that is just turned behind the net by the keeper. We get a corner and Contreras just heads the ball over the net.

32' - Gesios is everywhere and he has a give and go with Cairney, sending him alone into the area but his shot clanks off the goal post and deflects to safety. Great move by Gesios and Cairney as we pile on pressure.

38' - Megahed shows his great speed and burns past Tjiuoro into our area. It's one-on-one and Wilke just gets a piece of their striker's shot to send it behind the goal. We clear the corner.

HALFTIME - Reading are having to open up a bit more than desired due to being down in the game. They have a distinct possession edge (54% to 46%) but we're outshooting them 12-10 (5-6 on target). Wilke has been great. Paulus Tjiuoro is playing "nervously" according to my assistant manager, likely due to the speed of those two forwards. I move Tjiuoro over to the left side of centre to handle Megahed, as he has slightly better pace and acceleration than Claudio Contreras. I tell the team I'm pleased and pull aside Tjiuoro and Contreras to tell them I have faith in their abilities. I tell Cairney to prove a point, as he only has a 6.2 rating - he's played well but has missed a number of chances.

Reading come out in a 5-2-1-2 formation. Hopefully we can spring a counter attack with their fullbacks likely pinching.

48' - James Hunter sprints up field with Renato Gaucho in hot pursuit and sends a rocket to the far corner that is pushed aside by Wilke.

51' - A wild play, as Federici makes a poor pass to his defender that goes astray and Gesios is all over it but his shot is saved by a recovering Federici.

54' - Reading are pouring on pressure with this formation and Wilke has to make a save in traffic.

57' - Hunter again gets free in the middle and his shot from the outer edge of the box curls wide.

62' - We work a counter attack and the ball is sent up to Cairney. Federici is challenging and Cairney tries to lob him, just putting the ball over the net.

66' - Paulus Tjiuoro steals the ball near midfield and sends a long ball over the Reading midfield. Zoltan Bardi bolts down the middle in between the central defenders, sets the ball down with his chest and delivers a ball that goes over Federici and into the top of the net. We get an insurance marker! DOVER GOAL 2-0

Reading are back into a 4-4-2.

72' - I bring in veteran Oliver Nicholas for Claudio Contreras.

77' - I bring in Mancini for Petr Kostal. I change to a seldom used 4-1-3-2, with Mancini playing DMC and Arsene Bamba currently at MC.

85' - After a good five minutes of sustained pressure by Reading but no clear cut chances, we finally gain possession and hold the ball for a good minute in their end. We eventually send a lovely through ball to Bardi in the area but his left footed shot just goes wide.

86' - Cameron Murray is on for Arsene Bamba and I switch tactics again, moving to a 4-4-2 DM (4-2-3-1) Counter

90'+1 - Bardi sends Cameron Murray in down the left side of the box but his quick shot is blocked to safety by Federici.

That's it!

Reading 0 - 2 Dover
Goals - Giorgos Gesios (7.8), Zoltan Bardi (7.7)
Assists - Paulus Tjiuoro (7.1), Petr Kostal (7.6)
Man of the Match - Ingo Wilke (9.1)
Other Dover Notables - Salim Loucif (7.1), Claudio Contreras (7.0), Renato Gaucho (7.2), Arsene Bamba (7.0), Neil Cairney (5.8)
Attendance - 18.996

We did a good job controlling possession in the second half and edged them overall with 52% of possession. We were outshot 20-19 (9-8 on target). Neil Cairney had a rough game, getting a 5.8 rating but that was simply for his missed shots, as he hit the net on ZERO of his seven attempts. That's a professional win against a solid opponent. Hell of a match for Ingo Wilke only days after signing a contract extension and Petr Kostal looked good in place of out-of-form Gianluca Bolis.

-- Chelsea are shocked by mid-table Newcastle 2-0 at home and that allows us to pull ahead of the Blues by one point in the Premier League standings. Derby also do well to draw Manchester United 1-1 at Old Trafford. Manchester City have locked up a continental spot for next year already.

BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE - STANDINGS
(ALL TEAMS HAVE 8 GAMES REMAINING)

1. Man City - 79 points
2. Man United - 71 points
3. Dover - 59 points
4. Chelsea - 58 points
----------------------------------------------------
5. Arsenal - 52 points
6. Everton - 49 points
7. Liverpool - 48 points
----------------------------------------------------
8. Newcastle - 43 points
9. Reading - 42 points
10. Middlesbrough - 42 points



-- Ingo Wilke is named to the Premier League Team of the Week, no surprise after that performance!



Next Up

-- After a pretty quiet week, we host Hudderfield in the quarterfinals of the FA Cup.
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