Reading U21s 2-0 Middlesbrough U21s: Akande Attitude

An Adrian Akande brace put Reading through to the quarter-finals of the Premier League 2 playoffs.

Strictly speaking Reading’s season is done, and although we’re waiting for a takeover-themed epilogue to be written, there’s still some actual football to be played. The Royals’ under-21 side is in competitive action on two fronts: a Premier League 2 playoff campaign and the Berks & Bucks Cup final.

While the latter is set to take place on May 14, an evening kick-off at Sandhurst Town against Marlow, the former kicked off today. So, in a fairly late decision, one heavily influenced by the anticipated withdrawal effects of having no actual senior-level Reading football to watch, I thought I’d pop along.

As a side note, it meant an opportunity to pop into the Megastore to get my first proper, in-person look at the new home kit. It looked great, one of Reading’s snazzier efforts in recent years, and hopefully this photo does it some justice.

The game itself, a midday kick-off against Middlesbrough, was no mere formality. Having finished a hugely impressive sixth in the regular league season, this season’s format meant the Royals are still in with a shot at silverware. Should Reading win the playoffs (today’s game was the round of 16), they’ll be champions - not Tottenham Hotspur, who finished first. It’s unorthodox, but welcome, jeopardy.

Pleasingly the mixture of high-stakes football, free entry and a Saturday afternoon’s entertainment meant a fair few turned out. The official attendance went down as 841, with the home crowd including Ruben Selles, up in a West Stand box, as well as Michael Craig, who broke into the first team after impressing at under-21 level himself.

Noel Hunt opted for a 4-2-3-1, fairly similar overall to the kind of setup his senior counterpart would use. It consisted of a flat back four, a double pivot with one midfielder higher than the other, and three pretty quick attackers behind a lone centre-forward.

Reading (4-2-3-1): Coniah Boyce-Clarke; John Ryan, Michael Stickland, Louie Holzman, Matty Carson; Charlie Wellens (higher), Jacob Hammond-Chambers-Borgnis (deeper); Adrian Akande, Jeremiah Okine-Peters, Basil Tuma; Jayden Wareham

Subs: Harvey Collins, Sam Paul, John Clarke, Billy Clark, Billy Heaps (triallist), David Kawa (apparently he was included as another triallist, but if he was, he didn’t play)

Reading started brightly, as did Carson in particular. The left-back has long since proven himself an excellent deliverer of the ball, and that continued in the opening stages of this game. Although he didn’t create a goal, he consistently put in quality, dangerous set pieces, such as an out-swinging corner to the near post - headed over - in the first opportunity of the afternoon.

Although Middlesbrough grew into the game a little later, and continued to carry a threat on the counter before the break, Reading were certainly the stronger side in the first half. The Royals weren’t dominant and didn’t really have comfortable control of the game, but did have the better of the opportunities.

Generally speaking those came from further out, with Carson, Akande and Okine-Peters putting attempts off target from the edge of the area or beyond. But Reading also fashioned higher-quality chances. Wareham had one shot cleared on the line, while Okine-Peters poked the ball agonisingly wide when it seemed he had to score.

So a good first half overall, but one that wasn’t clinical enough.

Reading started the second brightly, with right-back Ryan and right-winger Akande putting in some dangerous crosses. Their flank would be where much of the rest of the action in the game came from.

First, if you had any doubt over how hotly contested this game was, a scrap around a quarter of an hour into the second half put paid to that notion. Akande got into some handbags with Boro’s number 11, prompting a mass coming-together of players, and each were booked for their trouble - the classic “I’m unimpressed with both of you” response most refs come out with in such cases. Minutes later, another Boro player flew in on Tuma with a particularly heavy (but legal) challenge on the other side of the pitch.

However, in the space of around six minutes, Akande turned match-winner and match-securer. For the opener, the ball was played out to him on the right side of the box, he cut inside onto his left foot and slammed home. A fairly straightforward goal, but still one taken ruthlessly. Then, soon after, he made it 2-0. This time he got onto the end of a long ball downfield and cutely guided past the onrushing ‘keeper.

Around 10 minutes later, Reading pretty much shut up shop. Off went Okine-Peters and Tuma, replaced by Clark and Clarke (I know). Billy Clark, an attacking midfielder, went out to the left wing while John Clarke, a left-sided defender, slotted in as an additional centre half. That meant Reading were now in a 5-4-1, as opposed to 4-2-3-1.

The rest of the game was pleasingly stress-free for Reading. Middlesbrough had it all to do, 2-0 down and having shown little beforehand, and accordingly did nothing. Boyce-Clarke had some routine saves to make but could probably have brought a book to read (I’ve just finished The Darkening Age by Catherine Nixey and would recommend it to anyone interested in the Later Roman Empire).

There was however time for a few more developments. Paul got a run-out at right-wing-back, replacing Carson, with Ryan going out to that flank. Ryan being able to play on both sides will surely appeal to Selles who, after all, named the young Irishman on the bench when Reading went to Barnsley last month.

Otherwise, Boro went down to 10 men late on, although I wasn’t sure if that was for a straight red or a second yellow. The visitors did seem generally quite petulant in the closing stages, which was understandable to a degree, given the frustration of being on the verge of defeat.

And finally, triallist Billy Heaps got a runout when he was brought on for Akande, but he only had about 30 seconds of game time. However, Akande being subbed off did mean he got his own, richly deserved, standing ovation from the home crowd.

So, onto the quarter-finals we go, where we’ll face either Fulham (away) or Nottingham Forest (at home). They meet at 7pm on Monday, so look out for the result there.

My main takeaway from this performance is that it wasn’t about standout individuals, so it’s tricky to confidently pick any one player and say they should definitely be in contention for the first team next season. That isn’t to say Reading didn’t play well individually - they did - but that’s not the most important point.

It was pleasing and noticeable just how maturely the team performed collectively. Reading had to be patient today, creating numerous chances in the first half but not capitalising on them, and a lot of teams (at any age level) have a tendency get frustrated as a result. That issue can compound itself and turn the game in the opposition’s favour.

Instead, Reading kept their heads and kept plugging away. Eventually they got their reward through Akande’s brace, with some fitting composure on show each time.

Maturity didn’t stop there though. A two-goal deficit invited Boro to throw everything at Reading... but it yielded nothing. Reading knew how to see the game out and knew how to protect Boyce-Clarke.

If I did have to pick out an individual, Akande is the obvious one to go with, given his goals. But I was also pleased with the passing range of Jacob Hammond-Chambers-Borgnis at the base of midfield, the all-round play of Wareham (he holds it up nicely) and how generally tidy Ryan was at right-back.