Birmingham City 1-1 Reading: Almost A Perfect Start
Alfie May's late penalty cancelled out Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan's first-half goal in an entertaining season opener.
It was nearly complete, it was nearly so sweet.
Reading were so very close to starting their 2024/25 season in perfect fashion today, but were denied late on. Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan had given the Royals a deserved first-half lead which the visiting side fought doggedly to protect after the break, only for the referee (awarding a soft penalty for handball) and Alfie May (who converted the spot-kick) to have other ideas.
Reading (4-3-3): Pereira; Craig, Mbengue, Bindon, Dorsett; Elliott, Wing, Knibbs; Camara, Smith, Ehibhatiomhan
Subs: Boyce-Clarke, Kanu, Abrefa, Garcia, Osho, Savage, Wareham
Still, I'm not downhearted. I certainly would have been happy with a point before the game - this being our toughest fixture of the season on paper - and I take a lot of encouragement from how well we played.
We saw both sides of this Reading team today. Aggressive, front-footed and dangerous in the first half, resilient and mature in the second. For all the talk of how Ruben Selles has built a well-refined pressing team, which was proven in the opening 45, the second 45 demonstrated how effectively it can weather pressure in its own third.
The fact that Reading did the latter with this set of players was particularly impressive. Remember: the Royals have a young backline, don't have their captain, various players are still getting to grips with new roles (not least Michael Craig at right-back), and there's not a lot of experience to help from the bench.
In spite of that, Selles has forged a defensive unit which can grind out results. It wasn't quite sharp enough to secure a clean sheet this time, but only being breached by one spot-kick (and a questionably awarded one at that) - in an environment as pressured as this - was crucial today.
What'll get more praise however was the first half. Now that was a fun watch.
Reading came out of the traps quickly and kept their foot on the gas. The pressing system - which operated high up the pitch and was focused centrally to force Birmingham City into playing out to their full-backs - worked a treat.
The Royals frequently went at the hosts in their third, disrupting their attempts to build attacks and dictate the flow of the game. A series of overhit passes into touch, and a restless crowd, demonstrated that Reading knew what they were doing.
They knew how to hurt the hosts too. Reading had the better of the first-half chances, going close a few times through dangerous counters that should have been capitalised on. Harvey Knibbs fluffed his lines on one occasion, Mamadi Camara headed straight at the 'keeper from close range on another, while Michael Craig almost set up an opener with a dangerous low cross that Sam Smith couldn't quite convert.
Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan made no mistake though, a few minutes before the break. He was found by a through ball from Lewis Wing and slotted home in front of a delighted away end.
It was a deserved lead to match an impressive, bold first half that showed exactly what this Reading side should be this season. It didn't just come here to sit deep and defend, but to impose its own style on the game, confidently and entertainingly.
Ehibhatiomhan gives Reading the lead at Birmingham pic.twitter.com/xZuphZYZEA
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) August 10, 2024
Perhaps the best encapsulation of that, and the improvements from last season, was Ben Elliott. The youngster looked somewhat lost as a wide player last season, but has been revitalised since the spring as a central midfielder - and a more dogged one at that.
He's now much more involved, and when he's at the heart of the play he knows how to dictate it, either picking out a clever pass or bursting forward into space. Elliott is tough out of possession too, more than playing his own part in Reading's press. That often required him today to shuttle out to the right wing to cover the space there as winger Camara pressed more centrally.
It's a shame, but an understandable one, that Reading couldn't maintain their high level after the break. They were more leggy in the second half, didn't have a lot of experience on the bench to turn to in response, and were being increasingly squeezed by an improving home side.
Birmingham City didn't have a lot of cutting edge, struggling to really test Joel Pereira, but certainly had the better of the play after the break. Emil Hansson, a half-time substitute, added a level of threat out wide which the Blues had lacked beforehand.
And to be fair, they were hard done by at the hands of the referee. Amadou Mbengue did excellently to get across and deal with a long ball in behind, but passed back to Joel Pereira, while under pressure, and he foolishly picked the ball up. Only the referee missing the foul spared Reading.
Reading weren't spared in the 87th minute though. Hansson's cross hit Wing's arm in the area - an arm that looked to be in a natural position when I watched in real time - and the referee gave the penalty. May did the rest.
It was a gutting end to a game that had been going so well for Reading, but it didn't entirely spoil a day that ultimately proved how well this team is developing.
On the basis of this game, Reading will be one of League One's teams to beat this season. Now, please, just get that damn takeover sorted.