HOILETT HAUNTS BLUEBIRDS
Cardiff City 0 Reading 1
JUNIOR HOILETT returned to haunt his former club as he netted the only goal of the match to help Reading earn three points in an away win at Cardiff City.
It was a backs-to-the-wall performance for the Royals, who managed just one shot on target in the entire match, but that proved to be enough as they shut the Bluebirds out with their first away clean sheet of the season.
Hoilett proved to be the scourge of his former employers as his 38thminute strike pushed Reading up to 10th in the Championship table.
Cardiff dominated in terms of chances on goal as Luke Southwood produced an impressive stop to keep out a header from Mark McGuinness as he met a floated cross and directed an effort on goal.
But despite the home team’s seemingly strong control of the match, they fell behind just before halftime as the Royals mustered their only shot on target.
A long ball into the box was cushioned down by Andy Yiadom to the feet of Hoilett, who set himself before he struck a low drive into the bottom corner past Alex Smithies from just inside the area.
There was a muted celebration from Hoilett, who made 173 league appearances for the
Bluebirds before he moved to Reading in the summer on a free transfer.
Cardiff searched hard to find an equaliser after the break as Marlon Pack tried his luck from distance, and despite his shot beating Southwood, it also flew past the far post.
The attacks continued to come from the hosts as Kieffer Moore felt he was upended in the box, going down under a challenge from Yiadom, but the referee waved play on.
The Bluebirds kept the ball alive and the pressure on the Royals defence, but Southwood came to his team’s rescue once again as he flew to his right to keep out a testing strike.
Cardiff came agonisingly close to a leveller when a cross from Ryan Giles was tipped onto the post from Southwood, with the ricochet off the frame of the goal falling dangerously close to a Cardiff body, but Reading managed to clear.
There was plenty of defending for Reading to do as the game entered 10 minutes of added time due to two long stoppages in the second-half.
But despite a barrage of chances, which saw Cardiff have 27 attempts in total, the Royals managed to claw onto their one-goal lead and take the points.
CARDIFF CITY: Smithies, McGuinness, Flint, Nelson, Brown, Pack, Ralls, Giles, Bowen, Bacuna, Moore Subs:Phillips, Bagan, Vaulks, Collins,
Colwill, Harris, Ng
READING: Southwood, Rahman, Moore (c), Laurent, Yiadom, DeleBashiru, Drinkwater, Hoilett, Swift, Ejaria, Puscas
Subs: Dann, Rafael, Ehibhationham,
Osorio, Stickland, Clarke, Bristow Goals: Hoilett 38’