Friday April 13, 2012 Day 43 Finished St. Mary's Stadium

Southampton 1 - 3 Reading

  • Lambert 48’
  • Roberts 19’
  • Le Fondre 72’, 90’

  1. Le Fondre brace puts Reading top

    Le Fondre brace puts Reading top

    Reading usurped long-time leaders Southampton at the top of the Championship table after beating the Saints 3-1 at St Mary's. More

  • Live Commentary

    Time:90'
    • Southampton
    • Reading
    • 90+4' The final whistle goes, and Reading go top of the Championship! That's now 43 points from the last 48 available for the Royals. That's the form of champions!
    • 90+3' Le Fondre's 11th of the season has really put the icing on the cake of this result.
    • 90+2' GOAL!! SOUTHAMPTON 1-3 READING!! Route one stuff from Reading. Jose Fonte fails to deal with it and Le Fondre nips past him, rounds the keeper and finishes!
    • 90' Four minutes of stoppage time are signalled by the fourth official.
    • 89' Sharp feels Cummings backing into him as he jumps for a header and once again hits the deck all too easily. The striker has spent as much time on the deck as he has on his feet this evening.
    • 87' Do Prado is booked for handball as Reading are given a breather from the expected late onslaught from their hosts.
    • 84' Another good surge down the right from De Ridder and this time he gets his cross in, but Reading can nervously clear.
    • 83' Only West Ham can match Reading's defensive record on the road this season. Both sides have shipped just 20 in away games. Southampton have seven minutes plus stoppage time to breach the Royals again if they are to avoid letting their lead slip.
    • 81' Butterfield hoists in a high cross that Cummings has to put behind with Lambert lurking.
    • 80' De Ridder twists and jinks his way down the right touchline, but Reading have men back in numbers and force him to play back inside.
    • 79' Apparently Roberts was feeling a tightness in his groin, so his withdrawal was a precautionary rather than a tactical one.
    • 77' Reading substitution: Benik Afobe replaces Roberts.
    • 76' Southampton substitution: Guly do Prado replaces Dean Hammond.
    • 75' Butterfield goes for the chipped effort but it's an easy catch for Federici.
    • 73' That was Le Fondre's 10th league goal of the season, making him the first Reading player to hit double figures for the season. Reading have now scored with both their shots on target!
    • 72' GOAL!! SOUTHAMPTON 1-2 READING!! It's the substitute Le Fondre again! Hunt plays Kebe into the box, and the Malian plays it square back inside. Hunt hears the call from Le Fondre to leave it and Reading's top scorer arrows his strike right into the top corner!
    • 71' McAnuff has an ambitious shot from range that sails over the bar, much to the delight of the home fans.
    • 68' Reading launch a quick counter via Roberts, who is stalked by De Ridder before the substitute makes a great tackle to snuff out the counter.
    • 67' Southampton win a corner and send their big men up for it. Fox's delivery is to the far post but Fonte is beaten to it by his marker.
    • 66' The tempo is this game has dropped somewhat over the last 10 minutes or so. Possession has been about 50/50.
    • 64' Reading substitution: Adam le Fondre replaces Tabb.
    • 62' If 1-1 is the result here this evening, West Ham can close the gap to four ppoints when they host Brighton on Saturday.
    • 60' So far in this game Southampton have had eight shots on target to Reading's one.
    • 58' McAnuff receives a square pass across the edge of the box. He swings for it but gets a touch with his standing foot that leads to him taking an air shot! Reading working their way back into this game now.
    • 57' Roberts keeps the ball in play and hits a great cross over to the far post that Kebe just can't reach. Davis was left stranded by that ball over his head.
    • 55' De Ridder makes an immediate impact with a decent cross that is headed away. Southampton have their tails up now.
    • 53' Southampton substitution: Steve de ridder, who scored the equaliser when these two played out a 1-1 draw at Reading back in October, is on in place of Chaplow.
    • 53' Hooiveld steams in and attacks the corner. He can only glance it on and none of his team-mates can get a touch.
    • 52' Chaplow is played into space on the right and fires for the near post, but it's tipped wide by Federici!
    • 51' Some worrying news reaching us from the Midlands that Trevor Francis is in hospital after suffering a heart attack. More news as we get it.
    • 50' Roberts is sent sprawling inside the box as Kelvin Davis slides out to challenge him... NO PENALTY! Referee Mike Dean saw that the keeper made contact with the ball.
    • 49' Lambert's 27th league goal of the season will be enough to see Southampton remain at the top of the table on goal difference if this game stays at 1-1.
    • 48' GOAL!! SOUTHAMPTON 1-1 READING!! Billy Sharp chests the ball down from a cross and it sits up perfectly for Lambert to lash the ball home past Federici! It took a deflection, which may have been what beat the keeper.
    • 47' Can Southampton find a way back into this game? They have failed to score only once in their last 13 league games, when they lost 3-0 at Blackpool last month.
    • 46' The second half is underway! No changes for either side at the break.
    • 45+2' The whistle blows for half-time, and as it stands Reading will be top of the Championship tonight. Let me know what you thought of the first half via Twitter @tony_mabert. Get in touch!
    • 45+1' Lovely ball bent towards the far post for Lambert, who rises alone but heads over! The striker just couldn't get his head on top of the ball there.
    • 44' Reading have done a great job of withstanding Southampton high tempo, and now the hosts' levels are dropping off a bit as we approach half-time.
    • 42' Also on Twitter, we have an answer to my earlier question about Gorkss being the first to win the Championship two years on the trot. Geordie_T says: "Routledge won it twice in a row, with NUFC and QPR."
    • 40' Tom McGowan points out on Twitter: "Jason Roberts' record of playing for teams with blue and white kits is ridiculous. I've counted five. Not including the blue of Pompey."
    • 38' Lallana is fouled by Jay Tabb in the centre circle after the Irishman caught him on the shin. Tabb perhaps lucky to escape without a booking there.
    • 37' Federici slides into Federici as the keeper coems down to claim the ball. Chaplow appeared to try and move his boots out of the way as he collided with the keeper, but it's not enough to stop him getting the game's first booking.
    • 36' No keeper in the Championship this season has registered more clean sheets than Federici.
    • 35' Southampton send plenty of men forward for a free-kick that will be delivered long. Federici charges through the pack to leap and claim the set piece with authority.
    • 33' If Reading win the Championship title this season, then Gorkss would have won it in back-to-back seasons having won it with QPR last season. Any stattos out there know if that's ever happened before? Let me know on Twitter @tony_mabert. Thirsty for trivia!
    • 32' Kebe times his run well to lose his marker and try to meet Harte's cross, but Danny Fox recovers enough to just put the Mali midfielder off.
    • 31' Billy Sharp throws himself to the ground after the slightestof contact from Gorkss. The home fans are screaming for a penalty but the appeals are rightly ignored. Sharp made the most of the slightest nudge from Gorkss there.
    • 29' Roberts and Chaplow are having an exchange of words by the far touchline. Referee Mike Dean comes over to tell them to kiss and make up. As soon as he's gone, they're at it again!
    • 27' More intense Southampton pressure from the home side as Chaplow's floated cross is just missed by Lallana.
    • 26' Lallana fizes in a good delivery and Hooiveld loses his marker but heads well over the bar! The Dutch defender should have tested Federici from there.
    • 25' Nice turn on the edge of the box from Lallana and his cross is blocked at the expense of a corner.
    • 24' Lallana gives the ball to Chaplow on the edge of the box, but the return square pass is poor and easily dealt with.
    • 23' Jobi McAnuff charges over the halfway line with ball and is brought down by Chaplow's sliding challenge. The referee gives the free-kick, although replays show it was an excellent challenge.
    • 21' So, the Championship's best attack now has to score against the division's best defence. Perhaps Reading scoring first will set up a thriller here.
    • 20' Roberts scores his sixth league goal for Reading since joining the Royals from Blackburn in January.
    • 19' GOAL!! SOUTHAMPTON 0-1 READING!! Completely against the run of play, Reading are ahead! Kebe is given too much space out wide and he curls in a beautiful cross that Jason Roberts heads home!
    • 18' Lambert easily wins a header at the far post over Jimmy Kebe and he gets a solid header on target that Federici beats away two-handed as he dives! Another great save from the keeper to deny Lambert.
    • 17' Reading are having to ride out plenty of pressure at the moment. The ball is barely out of their half.
    • 16' Richard Chaplow goes to ground on the edge of the area, but the referee rules that Harte's barge was legal. The two players exchange a few choice words as play continues!
    • 14' Southampton's second corner soon ends up in Federici's arms, and the Australian keeper's relief is there for all to see!
    • 13' Southampton win their first corner now. Alex Pearce heads away but Saints keep the pressure on as Reading can't clear their lines. Lallana's shot flies in and takes a deflection off Kaspars Gorkss and Federici does well to save it!
    • 12' Hooiveld concedes the first corner of the match. Harte whips it in and Adam le Fondre heads over.
    • 10' Lallana twists and turns on theleft side of the Reading box but Shaun Cummings stands him up well. The cross is blocked and deflects off Lallana for a goal kick.
    • 8' Remember, Reading come here on the back of 40 points collected from their last possible 45, which includes 13 victories from 15 games. Very much title-winning form.
    • 7' Noel Hunt goes shoulder to shoulder with Jos Hooiveld in the Southampton area and goes down a bit too easily for referee Mike Dean's liking. The Irishman's half-hearted appeal is ignored.
    • 6' Saints bring plenty forward in this attack. Adam Lallana squares the ball to Lambert, who is crowded out and Reading clear.
    • 5' A rare disappointing delivery from Harte, and Saints clear. The second ball comes in and the offside flag goes up.
    • 4' Jason Roberts uses all his experience as he draws a foul from Southampton defender Jose Fonte. Ian Harte is the man to deliver from deep on the left.
    • 3' The ball is dinked through to Rickie Lambert. The striker hits a hard, low shot across Adam Federici, who manages to make the save! Early shot across the bows from the league's top scorer.
    • 2' Cracking atmosphere inside St Mary's, as you would expect. The good times are rolling again on this part of the south coast. Good, lively start from both sides.
    • 1' Southampton kick off and we're underway!
    • 19:42 The players are coming out on to the St Mary's pitch now. You can share your thoughts on this huge game by getting in touch with me via Twitter @tony_mabert. Let's hear you!
    • 19:40 Saints boss Nigel Adkins is highly impressed by the run which propeeled Reading up to the top of the table after struggling earlier in the season: "It maybe just underlines that they've been on a good run but also underlines what a good job we've been doing as well. They're a big threat. We have watched them and we are well aware of their capabilities and I'm sure they will be well aware of ours as well."
    • 19:35 Brian McDermott has urged his Reading players not to get carried away: "Individually you have to stop yourself getting ahead of yourself. I do that myself, I just concentrate solely on what we have to do and I try to keep thinking about what we have to do with preparation and what we have to do during the games. We've got four games to go, we've put ourselves in a really good position and we just have to keep going. We've got a real resilience and character about the group."
    • 19:30 Since their first league encounter in the old Division Three back in 1920, Southampton have won 12 of their games against Reading, with the Royals winning eight. There have also been 13 draws. When these two sides met at the Madejski Stadium back in October, Mikele Leigertwood's opening goal on 71 minutes from time was cancelled out with 10 minutes remaining by Steve de ridder as Southampton slavaged a 1-1 draw. Matchcast: Reading 1-1 Southampton
    • 19:25 Southampton striker Rickie Lambert is easily the Championship's top scorer this season with an incredible 26 goals so far in the campaign. Reading do not have a single player in double figures in the league this season, with Adam le Fondre leading the way for them with nine. Championship top scorers
    • 19:20 Saints and the Royals look well on course to win promotion back up to the Premier League after absences of eight and four years respectively. Both are locked together at the top of the table on 82 points, six clear of third-placed West Ham United. Southampton are top by virtue of their superior goal difference, which is nine better than Reading's. Championship table
    • 19:15 Reading are without midfielder Jem Karacan. Karacan sustained a broken ankle in the recent 2-0 win against Leeds, ruling the Turk out for the remainder of the campaign. Fellow midfielder Jay Tabb starts after recovering from a rib injury but Mikele Leigertwood misses out. Hayden Mullins keeps his place after filling in in the centre of midfield for the Royals in the 1-0 win at Brighton on Tuesday. Reading team page
    • 19:10 Southampton will be without Morgan Schneiderlin for this clash. The French midfielder suffered a knee injury during the 2-2 weekend derby draw with Portsmouth which ruled him out of Monday's win at Crystal Palace. Tadanari Lee remains on the sidelines with an ankle problem and fellow striker David Connolly is still short of fitness. Top scorer Rickie Lambert starts showed no signs of his recent groin injury when he took his season's tally to 30 with both goals in the 2-0 win at Selhurst Park. Southampton team page
    • 19:05 Southampton: Davis, Butterfield, Fonte, Hooiveld, Fox, Chaplow, Hammond, Cork, Lallana, Sharp, Lambert. Subs: Richardson, Harding, Martin, De Ridder, Guly /// Reading: Federici, Cummings, Pearce, Gorkss, Harte, McAnuff, Mullins, Tabb, Kebe, Hunt, Roberts. Subs: McCarthy, Church, Le Fondre, Gunnarsson, Afobe.
    • 19:00 Welcome to Eurosport's live coverage of the huge top-of-the-table clash between Championship title rivals Southampton and Reading at St Mary's!

  • Summary

    • 90+2' GOAL!! SOUTHAMPTON 1-3 READING!! Route one stuff from Reading. Jose Fonte fails to deal with it and Le Fondre nips past him, rounds the keeper and finishes!
    • 72' GOAL!! SOUTHAMPTON 1-2 READING!! It's the substitute Le Fondre again! Hunt plays Kebe into the box, and the Malian plays it square back inside. Hunt hears the call from Le Fondre to leave it and Reading's top scorer arrows his strike right into the top corner!
    • 52' Chaplow is played into space on the right and fires for the near post, but it's tipped wide by Federici!
    • 50' Roberts is sent sprawling inside the box as Kelvin Davis slides out to challenge him... NO PENALTY! Referee Mike Dean saw that the keeper made contact with the ball.
    • 48' GOAL!! SOUTHAMPTON 1-1 READING!! Billy Sharp chests the ball down from a cross and it sits up perfectly for Lambert to lash the ball home past Federici! It took a deflection, which may have been what beat the keeper.
    • 45+1' Lovely ball bent towards the far post for Lambert, who rises alone but heads over! The striker just couldn't get his head on top of the ball there.
    • 26' Lallana fizes in a good delivery and Hooiveld loses his marker but heads well over the bar! The Dutch defender should have tested Federici from there.
    • 19' GOAL!! SOUTHAMPTON 0-1 READING!! Completely against the run of play, Reading are ahead! Kebe is given too much space out wide and he curls in a beautiful cross that Jason Roberts heads home!
    • 18' Lambert easily wins a header at the far post over Jimmy Kebe and he gets a solid header on target that Federici beats away two-handed as he dives! Another great save from the keeper to deny Lambert.
    • 13' Southampton win their first corner now. Alex Pearce heads away but Saints keep the pressure on as Reading can't clear their lines. Lallana's shot flies in and takes a deflection off Kaspars Gorkss and Federici does well to save it!
    • 3' The ball is dinked through to Rickie Lambert. The striker hits a hard, low shot across Adam Federici, who manages to make the save! Early shot across the bows from the league's top scorer.
    • 19:05 Southampton: Davis, Butterfield, Fonte, Hooiveld, Fox, Chaplow, Hammond, Cork, Lallana, Sharp, Lambert. Subs: Richardson, Harding, Martin, De Ridder, Guly /// Reading: Federici, Cummings, Pearce, Gorkss, Harte, McAnuff, Mullins, Tabb, Kebe, Hunt, Roberts. Subs: McCarthy, Church, Le Fondre, Gunnarsson, Afobe.

Team Line-up & Ratings

  • Line-up

    Live Team Line-Up

  • Rate Players

    Rate Players

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    • Player Y! Users Expert My Rating
      Goalkeeper
      5 -
      Defenders
      5.4 -
      5 -
      5 -
      4.9 -
      Midfielders
      5.1 -
      Yellow Card Substitution Out53′ 4.4 -
      4.6 -
      Substitution Out76′ 4.6 -
      Strikers
      4.3 -
      Goal 6.3 -
      Subs
      Substitution In76′ Yellow Card 3.6 -
      Substitution In53′ 4.7 -
    • Player Y! Users Expert My Rating
      Goalkeeper
      7.6 -
      Defenders
      6.8 -
      6.8 -
      7.2 -
      7 -
      Midfielders
      6.5 -
      Substitution Out64′ 6.5 -
      6.8 -
      6.5 -
      Strikers
      6.7 -
      Goal Substitution Out77′ 7.2 -
      Subs
      Substitution In64′ Goals ×2 8.6 -
      Substitution In77′ 7.7 -