Coventry 0
Reading 0
Reading were held 0-0 away to Coventry City in a game of very few chances at the Ricoh Arena.
The Royals were without Kevin Doyle after his international exertions, and Steve Coppell made five changes to the starting XI in reverting to a 4-4-2 formation, but it was a game in which defences were very much on top.
There was barely a shot of note until the 77th minute when former Sky Blue midfielder Jay Tabb fizzed a cracking volley a foot wide, then soon afterwards Guillaume Beuzelin could have scored on the break for City but stabbed it wide.
Coppell used all three attacking subs late on and we looked the most likely in the final stages but City stood firm.
We have traditionally struggled in games after international breaks, especially away from home, and although the point takes us closer to the automatic promotion places, if we had started exerting pressure perhaps ten minutes earlier then we may have come away with a victory.
Coventry: Westwood; Wright, Fox, Dann (c), Turner; Beuzelin, Gunnarsson, Henderson (Osbourne 60), Eastwood (Hall 85); Best (Simpson HT), Morrison
Subs: Marshall, Ward
Booked: Turner (foul 38), Wright (foul 49), Fox (foul 51), Morrison (foul 54)
Reading: Hahnemann; Kelly, Armstrong, Bikey, Duberry; Cisse, Harper (S Hunt 69), Little (Matejovsky 69), Tabb (N Hunt 82); Kitson, Long
Subs: Federici, Pearce
Booked: Harper (foul 47), Bikey (foul 56), Tabb (foul 67)
Attendance: 17,218 (1,801 away fans)
First half
The opening 45 minutes barely contained a genuine chance inside the penalty area as neither side could get on top for anything more than a couple of minutes.
Coventry's best efforts were a couple of headers that Marcus Hahnemann was more than equal to, while down the other end Dave Kitson hit a couple of long range efforts but both were blocked outside the perimeter of the 18-yard box.
On 33, Leon Best burst into the box. Hahnemann came out and went to ground at his feet - but crucially got a major touch on the ball and no spot kick was given.
Second half
Referee Trevor Kettle was heavily involved at the start of the second half, and incredibly booked five players inside the first nine minutes - two for Reading and three for City.
It had not been a great game to watch by any stretch of the imagination, and the seemingly constant stoppages & cautions did nothing for the spectacle.
There continued to be few clear chances, Cliton Morrison looking to get in on a deep cross but being flagged offside.
Jay Tabb, who was warmly received on his return to the Ricoh Arena, then came very close with 13 minutes to go, firing a 20-yard volley inches wide of the upright.
There was finally some excitement for the supporters, and Guillaume Beuzelin could have done better on the break but stabbed wide after a poor lay-off into his feet.
Inside the final five minutes or so it was Reading doing all the pushing. Noel Hunt and Marek Matejovsky had come off the bench to good effect, linking up nicely with Julian Kelly, who put in a good display at right back.
In those last moments we had some good low crosses into the box and a couple of corners that were well defended.
