Away Day Tales: Episode 4 - Upton Park (31st March 2012)

In trying to think of where to go next, I was desperate to write about a Reading win and whilst looking through some photos, this felt like the perfect option.

☝ My Photo

For those that don't know, Upton Park (The Boleyn Ground) is the previous home to West Ham United, currently flying high in the Premier League playing at their new home, The London (Olympic) Stadium.

In 2012, they were also flying high, but in the Championship in what was also a good season for Reading. This was a top of the table clash towards the end of the season - if memory serves me correctly (which the highlights at the end of this post says they do), we were 2nd and they were 3rd, behind Southampton (who we would visit soon after).

👇 (I found this, it's amazing how much is on the Internet.)

Source

So it was a big game. West Ham were unbeaten in 11 (7 of which were draws!) and we were on a good run, having won 12 of our previous 14 matches. With all of their draws, the focus was very much on West Ham and if they could reignite their promotion bid, their fans demanding a win and their expectation that this would come against us.

It was allocated seating and if you've ever been to Upton Park, the front rows are slightly lower than the pitch and we were seated right at the front. It was a very strange view and not one that I'm used to. Some people like being this close, I'm not one of those people (unless I'm directly behind the goal and have a goalkeeper to shout at).

West Ham started well, much better than us and Carlton Cole (1 goal in his previous 16 games) scored in the first 10 minutes to put them 1-0 up. The ground erupted and the bubbles started blowing - a very impressive sight. It was pretty much one-way traffic all half, we were certainly 2nd best but we had a ruthless, clinical streak in us at that time, especially with Jason Roberts and Noel Hunt up front.

And just before half time, against the run of play, we scored from a corner. Ian Harte took it from right in front of where we were (you can see us in the highlights but you'll have to guess who I am) and it was a player I'd totally forgotten exists (Kaspers Gorkss), who headed home. We were jubilant and relieved.

"Having been 2nd best throughought the 1st half, Reading are gonna go in at half time 1-1." - The commentator said.

Wrong!

We weren't done. We were ruthless remember. Just 2 minutes later, we scored again - if you thought we were jubilant before... well. Having been completely outplayed for 40 minutes, we were going in 2-1 up. Ha ha ha ha ha. Unlucky West Ham. It can be brutal when things aren't going your way.

Having been 2nd best in the 1st half, things were more evenly matched in the 2nd and after 15 minutes, Faye fouled Noel Hunt and we had a penalty. Ian Harte's good at them, and he scored. 3-1 up and we were looking confident and comfortable so for West Ham to pull one back was inconvenient. Another corner right in front of us and it'd be a nervy final 10 minutes. The West Ham fans had a sense of optimism about them with scumbag Nolan rushing to restart the match, it made for a lively atmosphere. Unfortunately for them, one of my favourite sayings (especially as a Reading fan) springs to mind:

It's the hope that gets you in the end.

With 5 minutes to go and all of the West Ham's players stopping to appeal for offside, Leigertwood didn't mess about and scored a 4th from outside the box. 4-2 in such a crucial match, West Ham brutally punished for some poor defending and a lack of character once things started to go against them (which pretty much summed up that team and their season). We scored again but that one was ruled out.

☝ My Photo

With 6 games to go, we'd opened up a 4 point gap ahead of them in 3rd. We still had to travel to table topping Southampton though (a game I'll write about another day). Shall I ruin the suspense? Yeah. We beat them comfortably and went on to win the league.

Brief Highlights

☝ From Reading FC's YouTube Channel

Long Highlights

☝ From RFCHighlights YouTube Channel

CHAMPIONS!

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As usual, if there are any teams or grounds you'd be interested in hearing my story from, then please let me know in the comments. Thank you for reading.

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Previous Away Day Tales

Episode 1 - Anfield (20th October 2012)
Episode 2 - The Manor Ground (17th March 1998)
Episode 3 - Griffin Park (20th April 2002)