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Brentford 3-1 Reading - Instant Reaction

Join us for live discussion before, during and after Reading's trip to Griffin Park to face Brentford.

By The Tilehurst End News Desk
Ben Hoskins

Brentford 3-1 Reading.

And that's full time at Griffin Park, making it 5 games without a win. The first half was a disappointing one and, although things improved at half time with the introduction of Cox and Mackie, poor defending and, arguably, poor team selection, costed us dearly this afternoon.

You can relive the full 90 minutes of the game below...

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For the stat-fanatics amongst you, Reading have dominated the game in possession terms with more than 60% of the ball, and have had 18 shots to Brentford's 10, but to no avail.

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Reading have been a threat going forward this half, but haven't been able to make enough of their attacks count. They've had 15 corners so far, but none have led to anything. Set pieces are key at any level, so it's definitely something to work on in training.

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CHANCE! Cox drives past several Brentford players before whipping a cross in that goes out for a corner... which leads to Obita firing over.

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Time quickly running out for Nigel Adkins' men as they chase an unlikely equaliser.

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CLOSE!  Norwood fires just over the bar from 20 yards.

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Reading will feel aggrieved by Brentford's third goal, with accusations that Douglas illegally climbed above a Reading defender before heading home. Reading still look a threat going forwards though.

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Brentford make their final sub of the afternoon as goalscorer Pritchard comes off for Toral.

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Handbags between Diagouraga and Mackie as Reading win a free-kick. Both of whom earn a yellow card for their trouble.

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GOAL! Brentford wrap up the game to make it 3-1. Douglas heads home from a corner with his strike going in off the bar.

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Reading make their final sub as Pavel Pogrebnyak replaces Aaron Kuhl; this is a very attacking lineup for the Royals now.

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SAVE! Mackie forces a reaction from Button but the rebound falls to a Brentford defender who can clear the danger.

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Reading followed that attempt up with a Blackman-led counter attack, but he couldn't capitalise.

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SAVE! Pritchard receives a kick from the Brentford goalie expertly before seeing his shot deflected narrowly wide.

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Aaron Kuhl picks up a yellow card for his challenge on Odubajo.

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Reading have so far had a whopping 10 corners (to Brentford's 2) - the Royals need to start making them count if they want to get back into this game.

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Today's attendance is 10,776, and the score remains 2-1 to Brentford. Reading in the ascendancy but they need a goal.

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Another substitution for Brentford as goalscorer Jota is replaced by Diagouraga, not the easiest of names to spell in a hurry...

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Tim Dellor's pronunciation on the radio is a bit odd this afternoon, hard to tell if we're playing Kuhl or Kewell in midfield...

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Reading now back in the ascendancy with the Royals switching to what looks like a 4-4-2 formation, and Murray heads over the bar.

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First change of the afternoon for Brentford as Nick Proschwitz replaces Andre Gray.

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OFF THE LINE! Corner sent in from Brentford, but Jamie Mackie is there to clear the danger from his goal-line.

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Nigel's half-time changes paying off with Mackie and Cox well involved - Murray has just headed narrowly wide.

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GOAL! Cox fires past the goalkeeper to drag Reading back into the game.

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The second half is underway at Griffin Park, with two changes for the Royals. Simon Cox and Jamie Mackie are on for Ryan Edwards and Hal Robson-Kanu.

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Here are some of your thoughts on Twitter about the first half. Well, the clean ones at least...

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It's half-time at Griffin Park, and Brentford lead Reading 2-0. The hosts have 'completely outplayed' Reading in the first half according to BBC Radio Berkshire, and the Royals' defending looks very poor indeed.

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It's sounding a lot like the Bournemouth game at the end of last season. I wonder what the odds are on Hal Robson-Kanu to score another consolation goal?

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SHOT! Kuhl fires wides of Button's goal.

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Brentford in the ascendancy as the sun comes out in West London.

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A first half of poor, poor defending from the Royals, but on the plus side things do look better at the other end of the pitch.

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The side is naturally lacking a ball-winner in the middle of the park with Akpan, Williams and Karacan all injured at the moment.

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Reading now down to 12th as it stands, and things don't look good for us.

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GOAL! Scrappy defending from Reading and Pritchard makes it 2-0 to the hosts, with a series of Reading defenders left lying on the ground. The move started with Kuhl giving the ball away in midfield.

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CLOSE! Interplay between Robson-Kanu and Blackman combine before the latter fires narrowly wide of the post.

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Hector sends the ball over to Obita, whose cross is headed over by Nick Blackman.

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Reading currently sitting in 11th place in the table. Leeds and Sheffield Wednesday played out a 1-1 draw earlier this afternoon.

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Nick Blackman sends a series of corners into the box for Reading from the right hand side, but they all come to nothing and it remains 1-0 to Brentford.

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BBC Berkshire currently trying to calculate the dimensions of the pitch at Griffin Park, thrilling stuff from Dellor and Gooding as always...

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SAVE! Jota forces another reaction from Federici who deals with the threat.

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SAVE! Edwards shoots from 20 yards but it's well saved by Button.

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GOAL! Brentford take the lead through Jota who fires past Federici following what appears to be slack defending from Jordan Obita.

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SAVE! Robson-Kanu feeds Blackman whose shot is saved by Button in the Brentford goal.

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Tim Dellor and Mick Gooding over at BBC Radio Berkshire seem to think that Reading are lining up in an attacking formation, with Robson-Kanu, Blackman and Edwards all in advanced positions behind Murray. Possibly a 4-3-3 with Robson-Kanu left, Blackman right, and Edwards just ahead of Norwood and Kuhl.

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POST! Pritchard hits the woodwork for Brentford but it's out for a goal kick.

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A well-observed minute's silence for Alice Gross who tragically passed away earlier this week, and we're underway at Griffin Park.

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It'll be interesting to see how this team actually lines up. With Edwards, Blackman and Robson-Kanu all in the side, the formation could quite easily go one of several ways.

The obvious one is a 4-2-3-1 with those three playing behind Murray, but as fellow Assistant Editor Marc Mayo noted, Nigel Adkins went for a 4-4-2 diamond away at Derby, with Robson-Kanu behind two strikers. We'll just have to see...

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And here's the view of the 1800-odd Royals who made the journey over to West London.

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Meanwhile, team news for our hosts today is now in also...

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Some last minute match-preview reading for you ahead of the game with Jacob's Ref-Watch.

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And here's the full teamsheet for today's clash at Griffin Park.

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With regards to Akpan and Guthrie, it appears that the midfield duo are, surprise surprise, both injured. Get Reading's Charles Watts reports that Akpan is still sidelined with an injury picked up midweek at Leeds.

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Team news is in, and there are two changes for the Royals, with Aaron Kuhl, Ryan Edwards and Hal Robson-Kanu all starting. Simon Cox and Jake Taylor both drop to the bench, with Danny Guthrie and Hope Akpan both missing out completely.

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You can read a full match preview right here.

While for those who enjoy your stats, here's our stats based breakdown on today's action.

To get the Brentford view, why not check out our latest View From The Town End.

While if you're stuck for something to listen to, why not listen to either the main version recorded on Tuesday or the Extra edition recorded yesterday, of our Tilehurst End Podcast. The player below will let you listen to the Extra version.

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Team news will appear here as we get it.

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