Puscas pounces as Royals roll on
THE last time Reading won their first four league games they were promoted. It is early days but things are certainly heading in the right direction under Veljko Paunovic.
Yes there was a touch of fortune to the win here but the Serbian, 43, could not have wished for a better start to life in English management.
Watford have ambitions of bouncing straight back to the Premier League but Reading signalled their own i nt enti ons t hi s s eason by consigning the Hornets to their first Championship defeat of the season. But manager Paunovic is not getting carried away with the 100 per cent start. He said: ‘We are happy with our performance so far, we’re happy how the team are bonding but we know we haven’t done anything yet.
‘It’s just a good beginning and we still have a long way to go but definitely all this helps.’
Reading had to play large parts of the game without the ball but were organised, well-drilled and showed grit and togetherness.
George Puscas, replacing Lucas Joao in attack, struck in the 41st minute, courtesy of a huge deflection off Watford’s Craig Cathcart. It was a
man who has been linked with a move to the English top flight who showed the most threat early on.
Ismaila Sarr found himself in behind the Reading defence within a few minutes of the first whistle.
Chances came and went for Tom Dele- Bashiru, who looked lively before being forced off through injury, and for marauding full back Jeremy Ngakia.
Watford deployed a high press and it almost made dividends when Sarr won the ball in the final third. But, after racing into the box, he could only find the side netting. However, there comes a risk with a high press and Reading nearly made them pay moments later. With acres of space, Yakou Meite fed Michael Olise but he fired the ball over.
Watford almost made their dominance count, only to be denied by the woodwork. Joe Garner saw his sensational curling free- kick crash against the crossbar.
Watford boss Vladimir Ivic was left to rue missed chances. He said: ‘We created three to four very good chances to score and the score could have been 2-0, 3-0 to us after 25 to 30 minutes.’ His side had been warned shortly before what turned out to be t he winner with Meite calling Ben Foster into action.
But there was nothing the veteran Watford keeper could do following Puscas’ sharp touch, turn and shot.
Experienced Premier League campaigners Tom Cleverley and Glenn Murray were introduced in the second half, illustrating the strength in depth of Watford’s squad, but the Royals stood firm.
Reading have been away from the Premier League for seven years but, on this evidence, they might not be too far away from a return.