The return of fans is a major boost for Reading
THE worry was after 280 days of waiting, fans would be treated to a 0-0 bore draw.
The 2,000 who had secured tickets for the freezing cold Madejski Stadium on Saturday deserved to be entertained.
As it turned out, Reading were at their electrifying best, seeing off Nottingham Forest with only a minor scare very early in the game.
The lucky 2,000 made a decent racket at the start, politely applauded every positive contribution from a Reading player, and left the ground afterwards with a spring in their step.
It was never going to be a raucous atmosphere, but cardboard clappers issued to all fans raised the decibel level. Think more open air theatre than typical football stadium noise. Inevitably, most will have left cooing over Reading’s front four. Michael Olise was dazzling with his skill and
trickery, pinging unlikely passes in all angles.
Ovie Ejaria, Yakou Meite and Lucas Joao were the beneficiaries and they did not disappoint, either.
When you have such eye-catching players on the roster fans will always be kept entertained and engaged. What most fans may have forgotten was the remarkable save at 0-0 made by goalkeeper Rafael. He has an uncanny knack of producing saves at 0-0, thereby setting up wins.
This season we have seen once Reading have their noses in front they are usually okay, with the exception of the game down in Bournemouth when they had their whole head in front at half time, but lost the game. Rafael has pulled off some remarkable flying stops this season, often at very important stages of games. On Saturday he prevents Forest taking the lead, Reading go up the other end and score, at the same time Forest are reduced to 10 men and it’s a straightforward afternoon. Without Rafael’s brilliance it is a completely different afternoon out.
2,000 fans were back for the game against Birmingham City on Wednesday night. There is no doubt no away fans is a significant advantage to the home team.
Reading will experience the flip side to this when they are at Loftus Road to play QPR this Saturday.
The truth is, an area staying in Tier 1 or 2 increases the chance of their local football team enjoying success on the pitch. Presumably the vaccine will have taken grip and by the end of the season fans will be welcomed to grounds as they were pre-pandemic. It could be a new Government slogan. “Want your team to win on Saturday – wash your hands and wear a mask all week.” It needs a bit of finessing, but you get the idea.
Those of us lucky enough to have attended games throughout the lockdown were all in agreement the return of fans is most definitely a good thing.
I watched 30 games since March without fans in the grounds. Like the players and coaching staff, I now appreciate exactly how important the atmosphere fans generate on match days is to the occasion.