Reading vs Harborough Town: Match Preview
Can the Royals make it through to the third round of the FA Cup?
There are four tiers between these two sides and Harborough Town are the lowest-ranked team left in the tournament.
This game starts four matches in 10 days for the Royals, with this one on Sunday followed by Cambridge United on Tuesday, Wycombe Wanderers on Saturday and then Walsall on the following Tuesday.
Harborough have already made it the furthest they have ever got in the FA Cup and are looking to take down a Reading side that have started pretty well, most recently getting a draw at Barnsley. They currently sit 15th in the Southern Premier Central, having most recently beaten Banbury United 4-1.
In this preview I will talk about Harborough’s new signing Sandro and how influential he could be in this match, how fixture congestion between Reading’s first team and the under-21s side could cause a mixed lineup for the next few league games, and then my prediction for this game including score and lineups!
What? FA Cup round two
Season? 2024/25
Who? Harborough Town
Where? Select Car Leasing Stadium
When? Sunday December 1
Time? 14:00
Opposition manager? Mitch Austin
Sandro
Harborough Town’s latest signing is ex-Tottenham Hotspur, Queens Park Rangers and West Bromwich Albion player Sandro. He’s a defensive midfielder who featured most prominently for Spurs, playing 81 games between 2010 and 2014, managing three goals.
The Brazilian was an interception master and wasn’t afraid to get stuck in with a tackle either. He formed one of the greatest partnerships the Premier League has seen alongside Dembele and became a top-flight great in his time at Tottenham.
However, after a bad knee injury in January that kept him out for the rest of the season, performances then started to drop. Before this injury he was nicknamed “beast” by Tottenham fans.
He scored his first goal for the club with a 35-yard volley in a 2-1 loss to Chelsea and then went on to score a 25-yard wonder strike against Manchester United in December 2013.
Sandro signed for QPR in 2014 where he made his debut against Manchester United, but came off injured later in that game. He scored his first goal for the club against his former club Tottenham in 2015.
In January 2016 he then moved on loan to West Brom, where he made his debut against Swansea City. Before initially retiring in 2023, Sandro also played for, Antalyspor, Genoa, Udinese and Goias.
However, it was confirmed by Harborough on November 5 that the midfielder had signed a contract with the club. Although he has not yet played a game for the club, I expect him to have an impact against Reading.
Fixture congestion
I know I go on about this again and again but the first team have four games in 10 days, and the under-21s also have matches on Saturday November 30 and Wednesday December 4. This means there are six games within 10 days for both Royals teams.
Usually this heavy load of fixtures would mean some of the games including youth players, but seeing as they have a game themselves the day before, it could mean some of the first team having to play against Harborough and then a mix-and-match lineup against Cambridge on Tuesday. Having three games within four days is a struggle for most teams, but with such a small squad, if nobody gets injured or too fatigued it would be a miracle.
It is likely that we’ll see players such as Shay Spencer, Basil Tuma and Michael Stickland playing at least two of the five games to give rest to other players. It is also likely that players such as Lewis Wing, Tyler Bindon and Sam Smith will be rested.
This makes predicting lineups difficult as you don’t know which player is going to play which game.
My lineup
In goal I think Coniah Boyce-Clarke will get a chance in this game as I suspect David Button will be played in the game against Walsall. This could be a big game for the youngster to show his true potential.
At the back I expect Louis Holzman to stay in the lineup alongside Ashqar Ahmed, Abraham Kanu and Andre Garcia. That’s a young backline, and all could be big first-team players in the future.
The midfield three I think will consist of Charlie Savage, Shay Spencer and Tivonge Rushesha. It’ll be a good opportunity for Savage to get some more minutes under his belt, and I expect him to lead the side out as captain for this game.
It should be a front three of Basil Tuma, Jayden Wareham and Adrian Akande.
Score prediction: 2-0 Royals!
This is the biggest game in Harborough history, and they are bringing a lot of fans down to support them. Make sure to support our lads and make some noise.
Come on you Royals!