Hull City Fans Verdict: Royals Labour To Draw

Harry rounds up the reaction of the Royals after a game where refereeing decisions proved decisive.

We all know by now that the life of being a supporter of Reading Football Club is one full of ups and downs, and then some. A week ago we endured one of those highs in South Wales with a wonderful 3-2 win against Swansea, however on Saturday we experienced a bit of a low.

Don’t get me wrong, we’ve had much worse lows than a 1-1 draw at home to Hull, but it’s frustrating that we failed to properly build on a good result.

The performance wasn’t that bad: we created some good moments and, of course, should’ve had at least two stonewall penalties (more on that later on). But, as Pauno mentioned in his post-match media duties, you have to focus on your “controllable”.

We certainly didn't do that on Saturday. We had the chances to come away with all three points and I'm sure Luke Southwood doesn’t need telling twice that he should be doing better with Hull’s equaliser. He may have slipped, but a pot-luck shot from that far out shouldn’t going in.

Here’s how the fans reacted to some of the key talking points...

Tom Holmes

Before we get on to the not so good, let’s talk about Tom Holmes. It is very, very hard not to love this guy. He must’ve thought that his Reading career was somewhat over before Pauno arrived, but since the Serb’s arrival Holmes has made himself a key part of the squad.

One thing that had eluded Holmes though was his first goal for the club. Well, that was until he decided to embrace his inner Leroy Lita a plant a wonderful bicycle kick into the back of the net.

You could tell by the celebrations that it was more than just a goal. It was a season-ticket holder scoring his first goal for his boyhood club. It’s what dreams are made of, and the fans couldn't be happier for him...

Luke Southwood

From one academy product to another. However, this time it won’t make so good reading. Look, I'm not here to throw shade at Southwood, that is the last thing he deserves. He has been nothing short of superb since coming into he team, which makes me feel slightly guilty writing this.

It’s a frustrating mistake from Southwood. He may have slipped and lost his footing, but he’ll be annoyed that it’s found it’s way into the back of the net.

Like I said though, there is no reason to get on Southwood’s back. The fans still look to be in his corner whilst still acknowledging the error...

The referee

I said it after that game against Sheffield Wednesday last season: the standard of officiating in this country and particularly in the EFL, needs a proper review.

We say we don't like talking about referees and blaming them, but it’s a fact that bad officiating can and does affect results of football games. I mean, no one knows if we score those penalties that we clearly should’ve got, but getting either of them gives us a better chance of winning.

The Swift one was bad enough, but the handball decision. Wow, how that isn’t a penalty I will never know. And the rest of the fanbase weren’t happy about the officiating either...

Conclusion

Just another really frustrating afternoon really. We have to build consistency from somewhere and need to start doing it quickly because of where we now sit in the league.

Yes, decisions went against us, of course they did. But I still don't think it was good enough, we have to be better. The lack of consistency in this team is so frustrating, it really is.

URZ