City end Premier League 2 season with defeat at Reading

EDS & Academy

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Brian Barry-Murphy’s side gave as good as they got throughout much of the afternoon against our more experienced hosts but could not capitalise on a host of chances created.

Instead, Reading left-back Matthew Carson opened the scoring with a free-kick shortly before half-time that deceived everyone and dipped under True Grant’s crossbar.

Striker Jeremiah Okine-Peters scored twice in the second half to take the game beyond the young City side.

It means we finish the season with 18 points from 20 games. We’re currently in 20th place in a league of 26 with the rest of the division to complete their programme by Monday.

There was positive news ahead of kick-off as Max Alleyne was named in the starting XI in the Premier League 2 for the first time since the defeat to Crystal Palace in December after recovering from injury.

What happened

After surviving some early pressure, we created our first major opening of the afternoon with almost 10 minutes on the clock.

It came as a neat passing move from back to front ended with Lakyle Samuel sliding Kian Breckin through on goal.

The midfielder took the ball in his stride and rolled it beyond goalkeeper Coniah Boyce-Clarke but agonisingly wide of the post.

Alexis Tibidi was next to go close, cutting in from the right wing and forcing Boyce-Clarke into a diving save low to his left in the 20th minute.

A stop-start period followed until the 38th minute when City found some space in behind the Royals’ defence thanks to the pace of Tai Sodje.

He laid it back to Josh Adam, who shifted the ball on to his right foot but dragged his shot narrowly wide of the far post.

However, a goal against the run of play followed when Reading full-back Matthew Carson hammered in a free-kick from the right over everyone’s head and into the far corner.

The hosts took that confidence into the second half and forced Grant into three excellent diving saves within a few minutes of the restart.

Despite stabilising and retaining more of the ball, City were two down midway through the half.

Striker Jeremiah Okine-Peters slalomed through our defence on the edge of the box before hitting accurately beyond Grant and inside the far post.

City did everything we could to get back in the game in the final half hour but it wasn’t to be.

Instead, Okine-Peters grabbed his second and Reading’s third with just less than 10 minutes to go by reacting quickest to a loose ball after a collision between Grant and Reading’s Adrian Akande.

Teams

CITY XI: Grant, Samuel (Alfa-Ruprecht 81), Simpson-Pusey, Alleyne (Noble 65), Taylor, Breckin, Adam, O’Reilly, Tibidi (Henderson-Hall 71), Hamilton (C), Sodje (Galvez 65)

Unused sub: Brits

READING XI: Boyce-Clarke, Ryan, Carson (Paul 85), Clarke (Kawa 37) Stickland (C), Holzman, Akande (Avenell 85), Hammond-Chambers-Borgnis, Tuma (Clark 78), Wellens, Okine-Peters

Unused sub: Rowley

What it means

City end the Premier League 2 campaign with 18 points from our 20 games.

Our final position will be determined when all the sides have completed their league programme by Monday 29 April.

As we have not finished in the top 16, we will not take part in the play-offs.