Match Report: Reading 0-0 Blues
A hard-fought goalless draw at Reading as Lyndon Dykes can't quite fire home from close range & injuries bite.
Birmingham City’s unbeaten league run continued with a goalless draw at Reading.
This was a match-up between two sides at opposite ends of the spectrum financially but proved an even encounter with Lyndon Dykes unable to take the best chance of the game.
Davies made three changes from the side that beat Bradford City to book their place at Wembley in midweek. Ethan Laird and Keshi Anderson made immediate returns to the starting XI in place of Taylor Gardner-Hickman and Willum Willumson while Lyndon Dykes replaced the stricken Jay Stansfield up top. Emil Hansson returned to the squad for the first time in 2025.
The game started with a good intensity but it was turnover central with neither side about to get their passing game going on a cabbage patch pitch.
It took 16 minutes for the first notable effort on goal when Ben Davies nodded to Mamadi Camara under pressure, the winger shooting straight at Ryan Allsop. At the other end, a gorgeous Kieran Dowell delivery almost paid dividends when Dykes flicked it against the chest of Tyler Bindon. Bindon then gave the ball to Anderson who got down the line and Paik Seung-Ho was just denied with the delivery.
Even Paik wasn’t immune to difficulties in possession and Reading won a corner after the South Korean international was dispossessed by Harvey Knibbs. Former Blues academy lad Chem Campbell headed wide.
The best chance of the first half came when Alex Cochrane delivered low into the area with the bounce falling kindly for Willumson. The Icelandic international couldn’t keep his effort down partly owing to the bobble and surprise the ball fell his way. Another Cochrane delivery found Dowell who was wayward with the header.
The second half followed a similar pattern of minimal opportunities and lot of turnovers until the 55th minute. Lewis Wing decided to let fly and test Ryan Allsop. Blues quickly progressed up field with Dowell and Anderson playing a one-two, the former finding the target. Joel Pereira spilled and Anderson was first to the loose ball, turning Bindon and teeing up Dykes to shoot from six yards out. Man of the match Amadou Mbengue reacted sharply on the line to deny the Scotsman.
Blues were getting stronger. Anderson teed up Tomoki Iwata for a first time shot that was blocked then a near post corner was flicked on by Ben Davies with Ethan Laird just about denied by Michael Craig.
Reading weren’t out of it, however, and they had their best chance almost immediately after Jayden Wareham joined the fray, the ex-Woking youngster seeing his effort squirm just wide of the far post after good work from Craig. Blues immediately went down the other end but May blazed over.
Chaos ensued on the 80-minute mark as the game opened up. Campbell cut inside of Iwata and found Knibbs to shoot just wide. From the goal kick, Allsop sent May in behind and he beat Craig only to be denied by the full-back with the shot. The resulting corner was played short with the eventual delivery headed towards the top corner by Christoph Klarer, only for Tyler Bindon to nod over and head the crossbar. Reading went down the other end and Wing found Campbell at the back post, his header saved by Allsop.
And that was almost that. Campbell, who couldn’t test Allsop, and Gardner-Hickman, who fired over, had efforts from longer range. It wasn’t to be.
Blues remain six points clear at the top with two-games in hand.
Lineups
Reading: Pereira; Craig Mbengue Bindon Garcia; Knibbs Wing Savage; Campbell Ehibhatiomhan (Wareham 73) Camara (Bodin 90). Unused: Button; Aberfan Holzman Rushesha Akande.
Blues: Allsop; Laird Klarer Davies Cochrane; Iwata Paik; Wright (Willumson 9) Dowell (Hanley 90) Anderson (Gardner-Hickman 90); Dykes (May 61). Unused: Peacock-Farrell; Bielik Hansson.
Tactics
This was two 4-2-3-1 / 4-3-3 set-ups against each other with Kieran Dowell and Harvey Knibbs having slightly more advanced roles.
Blues tweaked here. Usually, Blues move from 4-2-3-1 to 3-2-4-1 of a slight variation where the full-back and winger on the opposite side hold width, with the other wide player tucking in. More recently, this has been Laird (RB) and Anderson (LW) holding the touchline with Cochrane (LB) and Dowell (RW) tucking in. Paik and Iwata will then join higher from midfield when the opportunity arises.
Here, Blues were a little more 4-3-3. Reading play with three players very high, so Laird sat a little deeper, helping protect his fellow defenders to the break. But also, Reading’s bravery out of possession meant there was space behind. And finally, the pitch was awful, so being able to exert the same control in possession against a high pressing side in the centre of the pitch was always going to be tough.
So for the most part, Blues played into a position where they could bait the press, find the spare man then look for Dykes, knowing he had Anderson, Wright and the midfield nearby. It allowed Blues to stretch the game, getting on seconds and having somebody to send through. And this was evident for the first few minutes.
Then Wright got injured and Blues had to change. With only Emil Hansson, who has been out for two months, on the bench, Davies chose to bring on Willumson. But Willumson’s skillset is in complete opposition to Wright so it forced Blues to rethink.
So Blues continued to stay narrow with Willumson and Dowell getting closer to Dykes with Anderson. However, Blues lacked the speed down the right high up the pitch. So it looked as if two ideas switched. The first was that once in control, Blues began to show a little more control and played from more forward positions. Two, Laird began to get higher down the right, which tended to cut Paik off as a more forward option, he instead sitting deeper to allow he and Iwata to protect the back three.
To focus on why we did this, Reading were bold from the off. They are 4-3-3 but press a little like a diamond, keeping the front five tight knit and close together with one in between the four ready to pounce the first man is beaten. It makes it difficult to get out through the thirds, particularly as the press allows the first presser to take risks by going round the other side. It forces their opposition to be sharp not just with the turn but with the next touch or two and it’s why we give up 20 turnovers across the 90 minutes.
In possession, everything about Reading is forward. Pass forward. Run forward. They wanted to try and play out from the back but always with the intention of hitting the front three as quickly as possible. And they would play into the first man knowing the second would already be running beyond him, which meant diagonal balls into the striker could be played slightly over knowing the winger was already making the move.
The injuries to Wright and Dykes, coupled with Anderson’s knock meant Blues’ late subs saw them move to a 5-4-1. Hanley stepped in at centre-back with Cochrane and Laird as wing-backs. Willumson and Gardner-Hickman flanked Iwata and Paik with May up top.
Players
One of those games where nobody really gets more than a 6.5/7 out of 10.
Allsop and the defence were fine. Laird wasn’t quite his usual attacking self, but it felt as if that was planned, as noted above. In midfield, Paik and Iwata weren’t quite at their best but equally never hid and that began to pay off later in the game.
Higher up, Dowell looks knackered and probably needs a little break. Willumson looks a little tired but I think his size leads him to being somebody that is always going to need a run of games after an injury to get fit again. Anderson looks a bit tired, albeit still had an impact. People will focus on the chance he didn’t take, but I thought Dykes a good game until his calf popped.
Reading deserve credit. I thought the centre-backs were outstanding, not just making a goal line clearance each but generally covering each other and defending their box. Craig deserves a shout for some big contributions from right-back. Wing was excellent at the base of midfield, Knibbs had an excellent first hour and Campbell felt like a threat throughout.
Conclusions
This was a good point, and a game we probably could have won.
For some reason the Willumson chance is completely removed from the highlights while Dykes had a tap-in denied on the line. Factor in Klarer’s superb header that was dropping into the top corner. Sure, Reading had a couple of moments – the Campbell header and Wareham chance spring to mind – but we probably had the better chances and on another day, we win.
I think that, coupled with the injuries we suffered in-game which required us to make changes to our shape and style of play – Willumson for Wright, May for Dykes, moving to 5-4-1 – and the pitch that affected the quality of play from both sides means this isn’t a bad point or, really, performance.
Still, we weren’t at our controlling best here. Davies spoke pre-match about “mental stamina” and the ability to go again and again and again and when you look at our season, it’s understandable why he would mention this.
If you remove the international breaks, where about a third of our squad go away anyway, we will finish the season having had four full weeks – I'm talking weekend to weekend without a match – without a game:
August. Leyton Orient (a) - Wycombe Wanderers (a)
November. Sutton United (a) - Northampton Town (h)
December. Bristol Rovers (h) - Crawley Town (a)
January. Wigan (a) - Lincoln City (h)
We are currently in the midst of a run of 14 matches in 44 days. That has included trips to Wrexham and Huddersfield Town, cup quarter-finals and semi-finals, that Newcastle United game and playing Charlton Athletic, Reading, Leyton Orient, Wycombe Wanderers and Bolton Wanderers.
It doesn’t get easier. People are saying we should go ahead and play the Stevenage game during the international break. The picture changes quickly with injuries and if we assume the usual call-ups take place, we would be entering the game as it stands with 14 fit senior players available. I would assume the bench would contain Bielik, Hansson and Jutkiewicz with four of the young lads stepping up. I can’t see us playing it.
It means that we will finish the season with 11 matches to play in five weeks, including a cup final at Wembley and six matches played in the final 15 days of the season, starting from Good Friday.
So I’m here to be an awkward sod. These final weeks are going to be a grind. We are either going to rotate and freshen up but lose the cohesion and quality of our rotations and general play. Or we are going to flog the same lads time and again and lose a bit of energy and spark, just relying on players to come in as and when we need them. It’s going to be a tough old run for Davies to manage.
And then there is Wembley. I’m a touch scared to admit this, but the schedule does worry me. Even forgetting what other sides are doing, will we be in optimum shape for it? A part of me wouldn’t be surprised if we make 8-11 changes for Peterborough United in the week just to freshen up.
As for records. It’s fun to talk about. Let’s just dim our expectations a little. There’s a long way to go, a lot of games to play in a short amount of time and... let’s just take each game as it comes for now.
Despite all that, I’m 100% happy to sing the praises of Davies and his team. I don’t care that we spent money. I don’t care that we have the best team in the league. The change in culture. The change in style. The relegation hangover. The number of later additions that didn’t get a full pre-season. The schedule. This has been a tremendous effort all round. We are probably winning the league. Everything else is a wonderful bonus and hopefully it pays off. If it doesn’t, it’s been a blast.
Looking ahead. It’s Leyton Orient in midweek.
Since the start of November, they have collected more points than any other side in the division (their PPG is slightly behind ours) with 42 points from 19 games, conceding just 12 goals. I think anybody that watched our encounter on matchday three will be understanding as to how that has happened.
They’re similar to Reading. Youthful, lively, organised, take chances out of possession and move the ball well. There is a reason they have thrown themselves into the play-off race and they will turn up at Blues fancying their chances – they have already beaten Wrexham, Stockport County, Reading and Barnsley on the road.
What kind of shape will we be in? I’m not sure. I assume Wright and Dykes will join Stansfield, Leonard and Buchanan on the sidelines. Hansson is back, but you suspect he’s unlikely to start just yet. Dowell and Willumson are a bit knackered. Anderson came off with a muscle complaint and Laird was reportedly feeling his legs.
It means we aren’t likely to be making big changes. I fully expect Allsop, Klarer, Davies, Cochrane, Paik and Iwata to start. May will lead the line. Then there is Laird, Anderson, Dowell and Willumson. To replace all four, you’re probably looking at Gardner-Hickman, Harris, Hansson and Sampsted or Bielik coming in. I just can’t see all four coming in from the cold, especially against such quality opposition.
My guess is that Dowell and Willumson go again. Gardner-Hickman comes in for one of Laird or Anderson, depending on their fitness. If we have to make another change, it’s probably Hansson or Harris, with one playing an hour and being replaced by the other. Jutkiewicz will return to the squad.
Not easy, this management stuff.
KRO.
Thanks Ryan. Tough schedule, I was critical of the lack of rotation early in the season and now, due to injuries it's difficult to rotate properly. Funny old game!