Ugly win sets stage for Valentine’s derby

WE are often told all that matters is the three points. It’s important to keep that in the forefront of your mind sitting in room 337 of a budget hotel on junction 23 of the M6 just north of Manchester. The drizzling rain falls onto a vast car park, acres of tarmac broken up by a couple of transit vans and lorries, and then behind a threadbare hedge the slow moving traffic of the M6. The day after the night before, and contemplating a long drive home from Wigan, it must all be about the win.

The game was no prettier than my hotel room view. The most ugly, low quality, mistake ridden scrap, in grim conditions, was not an easy watch. There was little in the way of flashy skills and impressive athleticism, and the 8,000 crowd did not sound especially enthusiastic at any stage of the game.

The goalless first half was a fair reflection. Neither side threatened at any stage. In the second half Jeriel Dorsett and Paudie O’Connor both headed in from close range to give Reading a 2-1 win. With all due respect, central defenders heading goals from close range are rarely things of awe-inspiring beauty. They’re more like my hotel car park. Functional, important, effective but lacking any aesthetic qualities.

For Reading, the win keeps them in with a chance of reaching the end of season play offs. They will need to play a lot better than they did in Wigan, but it was enough to give them hope. They are now 10th, six points below the top six, and with still 16 games remaining.

The romance of following a mid table league one club up to the North West on a wet February Tuesday night doesn’t end there. On Valentine’s Day it’s a lunchtime kick off at home to local rivals Wycombe. They’re on the same number of points as Reading, so presumably have similar ambitions for May. It may well be another slug out, with the team that makes the fewest mistakes, as opposed to the one that produces the most sublime moments of magic, that prevail.

Manager Leam Richardson is busy managing expectations. He is a man who knows it’s all about the three points. “The only thing I need on Valentine’s Day is a win,” he told me. His wife was in the adjoining room, overhearing this, so he may live to rue his narrow minded focus come Saturday. If anything he’s downplaying Reading’s chances of sneaking into the top six by May. A few more wins in the next couple of weeks though and he may find it more difficult to keep fans grounded.

The Reading v Wycombe derby is the most strange local rivalry. The current Reading owner and several of the club staff were at Wycombe a couple of years ago. Reading fans look down their noses at the footballing backwater that is High Wycombe. Wycombe fans never seem that bothered with Reading. It’s hardly The Old Firm Derby, and it’s not likely to be El Classico.