The Tilehurst End - Queens Park Rangers 1-1 Reading FC: Full CoverageReading FC blog run by fans, for fans.https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/52568/tte_fav.png2016-04-26T13:45:13+01:00http://thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/rss/stream/112552532016-04-26T13:45:13+01:002016-04-26T13:45:13+01:00In-Depth Analysis Of The QPR Game
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<figcaption>Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Bucks takes a closer look at the 1-1 draw on Saturday at Loftus Road. </p> <h3>A promising partnership</h3>
<p>January signing Dennis Rakels played his second full 90 minute game for the Royals on Saturday, putting in what I thought was a man of the match performance. To my mind, he put in an energetic, lively display that gave Reading a dangerous presence up top.</p>
<p>As his heatmap (Reading shooting right to left) from the game shows, he moved around the pitch a fair amount, spending a fair amount of time in the channels, and got into the box on a number of occasions. That might seem like an obvious thing, but all too often this season Reading's strikers have been so starved of the ball that they've had to drop deep to get involved in the game.</p>
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<p>What allowed Rakels to get forward so much? In short, the hard work of Yann Kermorgant - who took up a much deeper position than Rakels did, as his heatmap shows (again, Reading are playing from right to left).</p>
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<p>Impressively, Kermorgant took part in the most aerial duels of any player on Saturday, with 11 - almost all of which were just beyond the halfway line. As it happens, the runner-up in this category was Jake Cooper with 10, so you can see how aerially dominant the Royals were at the weekend. In contrast, Rakels did not contest any aerial duels at all - evidently, this wasn't his job.</p>
<p>However, there are two little stats that do stand out in Rakels' favour. The first, naturally, is shooting - he had three shots on Saturday (the joint highest in Reading's team), all of which were from inside the area. Added to that, he was judged offside twice - there was only one other of those decisions in the whole game. That may sound like a bad thing rather than a good one, but it does indicate Rakels' desire to play on the last defender.</p>
<p>So, in summary, as many fans noted after the game, the Kermorgant/Rakels partnership is one with a lot of potential, because the duo compliment each other so well.</p>
<p><i>You can find all of the quoted stats at WhoScored.com, where the heatmaps are also taken from.</i></p>
<h3>A clever move to get the Royals level</h3>
<p>Reading got back into the game on Saturday via an excellent goal from Deniss Rakels, the Latvian racking up his third of the campaign since arriving in January. For me, the goal showed off several promising signs from a Reading point of view.</p>
<p>First of all, Taylor plays his part in the 4-4-2 diamond well, providing the all-important width. The Wigan loanee gets forward well on the left wing, swinging in an accurate cross to find Yann Kermorgant.</p>
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<p>Next, the Frenchman, acting as Reading's target man, passes straight to Rakels with his first and only touch. His strike partner has intelligently found the perfect bit of space in the box.</p>
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<p>Finally, it's an instinctive finish from Rakels, who hardly catches the ball sweetly, but does more than enough to lash home pass Ingram.</p>
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<p>It looks like such a simple goal, but that's what made Reading's equaliser so good. The Taylor-Kermorgant-Rakels move was well-executed, doing the basics to perfection. The way in which that trio linked up to get the Royals level will please McDermott no end. Furthermore, it shows that Kermorgant and Rakels are striking up (pun intended) a great understanding already.</p>
<p><i>The gifs were made, with the help of Giphy, from the official highlights, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhGNCpuCD0k">which you can find here</a>. </i></p>
<h3>The difficulties of preparing for next season</h3>
<p>With Reading destined for a mid-table finish this season, Brian McDermott has recently been playing teams that we're actually likely to see at the Mad Stad next season. Indeed, <a href="http://thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/2016/4/24/11497080/mcdermott-i-want-to-try-and-build-something-again-here">he confirmed as much in his post-match comments, saying that...</a></p>
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<p>"It's common sense to select the players who are going to be with us next season, it has to be that way - and it's what I tried to do today."</p>
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<p>However, with a whole host of Reading's players currently being on loan, or out of contract in the summer, that's a very hard thing to do. The team that Brian put out on Saturday was as follows...</p>
<p><i>Al-Habsi; McCleary, Ferdinand, Cooper, Taylor; Norwood, Evans, Quinn, Cox; Rakels, Kermorgant. </i></p>
<p><i>Subs: Bond, Gunter, Hector, Barrett, Piazon, John, Vydra. </i></p>
<p>Looking at those 18 players, only 11 of them are currently contracted to be plying their trade in Berkshire in 2016/17. Ferdinand's and Cox's deals run out in the summer, whereas Taylor, Hector, Piazon, John and Vydra are all only here on a temporary basis. With that in mind, you have to sympathise with the manager, as his hands are pretty tightly tied by the situation he finds himself in.</p>
<p>So, although the set-up against QPR gives us some clues about how Brian sees the team shaping up in August, a lot will definitely change. The likes of <span>Chris Gunter</span>, Paul McShane, <span>Jordan Obita</span> and Danny Williams are all set to return, whereas Jake Cooper and George Evans may be seen as future prospects rather than regular starters. And, naturally, there's always the risk that some of these players could be sold. Wouldn't that be unlike Reading...</p>
https://thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/2016/4/26/11508680/further-reading-qpr-1-1-reading-fcBucksRoyal2016-04-26T07:00:03+01:002016-04-26T07:00:03+01:00QPR 1-1 Reading FC : The Alternative View
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<figcaption>Mike Hewitt/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>A round up of the social and media views of Reading's 1-1 draw at QPR.</p> <p>We are coming to the end of a season which in reality finished on a Friday night in March when we were dumped out of the FA Cup by one of this year’s finalist in controversial style. To say that since that game Reading's players have "been on the beach" probably isn’t far from the truth.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">After sitting pretty much on the <strike>beach </strike>bench since he joined, Deniss Rakels has been unleashed in the last few games and is showing signs of potentially being a good option for Reading - he already is starting to get a bit of a cult following.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Given this is an end of season game between two teams whose form has been patchy and the only thing really to play for is bragging rights, then the media and social coverage is as you would expect pretty light. As usual I followed up all the hashtags, but for some reason there wasn’t a lot on #FakeHoops...</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So dominating the social scene was the love for Rakels, the management at #<strike>Fakehoops</strike> QPR and Reading's tribute to the Prince of Pop who died the previous Thursday.</p>
<h3>Social</h3>
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<h4>The love for Deniss extends to the Opposition</h4>
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<p lang="und" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/love?src=hash">#love</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/QPR?src=hash">#QPR</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/readingfc?src=hash">#readingfc</a> <a href="https://t.co/W7jAHLoln2">pic.twitter.com/W7jAHLoln2</a></p>
— DJ Seward (@darrenjseward) <a href="https://twitter.com/darrenjseward/status/723972308562530306">April 23, 2016</a>
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<h4>This guy could have a point - the MadStad hardly rocks these days..</h4>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Not a terrible game today, 1-1 was a fair result, a bit rich of reading fans to chant 'is this a library' tho <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/QPRvREA?src=hash">#QPRvREA</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/QPR?src=hash">#QPR</a></p>
— Gabzy (@gabzy22qpr) <a href="https://twitter.com/gabzy22qpr/status/723916119417995265">April 23, 2016</a>
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<h4>Yep about right</h4>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Well that was average... onwards and upwards next season <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/QPR?src=hash">#QPR</a></p>
— Michael Josh (@MichaelJosh9) <a href="https://twitter.com/MichaelJosh9/status/723914111382360065">April 23, 2016</a>
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<h4>And you think you’re the only teams that suffer from this…</h4>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Fed up of draws away defeats lucky last minute winners. Need more attacking intent. Big job this summer it's seems. <a href="https://twitter.com/jf9hasselbaink">@jf9hasselbaink</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/qpr?src=hash">#qpr</a></p>
— Ben Platt_qpr (@bplatt23) <a href="https://twitter.com/bplatt23/status/723903412400721920">April 23, 2016</a>
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<h4>It’s not only Reading's managers that have divided the fanbase</h4>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">JFH 6 wins in 24, relegation form. Watch out nx season! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/QPR?src=hash">#QPR</a></p>
— Kevin Gibbs (@g_erb) <a href="https://twitter.com/g_erb/status/723978260015620096">April 23, 2016</a>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Big fan of JFH but he has a lot to learn, doesn't help himself by bringing players on too late. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/QPR?src=hash">#QPR</a></p>
— Sebbie (BFG) Polter (@JoshyNewcombe) <a href="https://twitter.com/JoshyNewcombe/status/723903150948790272">April 23, 2016</a>
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<h4>There’s only one Rudolf Nureyev...</h4>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">We're playing ballerinas today, judging by that kit <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/QPR?src=hash">#QPR</a></p>
— Amy (@qprfox10) <a href="https://twitter.com/qprfox10/status/723875467502166016">April 23, 2016</a>
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<h4>Purple Rain, Purple Rain…</h4>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">I hope Reading are wearing lilac in honour of Prince, as there can be no other excuse for that strip <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/QPR?src=hash">#QPR</a> <a href="https://t.co/RIp0FCCcca">pic.twitter.com/RIp0FCCcca</a></p>
— Marz (@mmccrohan) <a href="https://twitter.com/mmccrohan/status/723874131532484608">April 23, 2016</a>
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<h3>Media</h3>
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<p>A mid table clash that has little impact on the league or any of the battles for promotion and relegation obviously didn’t get a lot of coverage this weekend.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">As usual the video package from <a target="_blank" href="http://www.skysports.com/football/qpr-vs-reading/report/340057?">SkySports </a>is worth a watch and you could ask the question how this was only 1-1, with some inspired goal keeping and shocking misses. As with what will become a theme throughout the reports, Deniss Rakels gets a favourable mention. Sky focus on the misses and say both teams missed opportunities to win the game.</p>
<p> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Down at the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/36060636">BBC, </a>they call it an open game and quote McDermott, saying that Reading wanted to come away with a positive result, which probably explains some conservative substitutions.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Rakels also makes headlines on the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.theguardian.com/football/picture/2016/apr/24/sport-picture-of-the-day-qprs-nedum-onuoha-faces-readings-deniss-rakels?">Guardians </a>Sports Photo of the Day, whilst the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/football/510353/Championship-match-reports-news-round-up-Leeds-Brighton-Hull-Middlesbrough">Daily Star</a> win the award for rubbish write up of the season by just having the score for us. (boo hiss boo)</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><a target="_blank" href="https://www.clubcall.com/reading/qpr-boss-jimmy-floyd-hasselbaink-defends-sebastian-polters-m-1808001.html?">Clubcall</a> major on Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink's interview where he defended Seb Polter’s miss, saying that it wasn’t the easiest of chances. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.espnfc.co.uk/english-league-championship/match/422986/queens-park-rangers-reading/report">ESPN FC</a> carry a mix of all the reports mentioning misses from Rakels, Chery and Polter, and also that the keepers were busy.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><a target="_blank" href="http://www.westlondonsport.com/qpr/hall-scores-as-qpr-draw-with-reading">West London Sport</a> say that Grant Hall continued his outstanding run for QPR this season, Rakels' finish was emphatic, and that it was a fairly even game. Their ratings are interesting with most of the team getting "average" apart from Matt Ingram who gets an 8, and Philips who gets a 5 with the phrase "low on confidence and created nothing". Ring any bells with a certain Reading player?</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Charles Watts' video report at <a target="_blank" href="http://www.getreading.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/reading-fc-reaction-rakelskermorgant-partnership-11232756">GetReading </a>from the game is fairly positive, again highlighting Rakels and his embryonic partnership with Kermorgant which is showing signs of developing quite nicely. As he states the most important thing from this game was to come away with at least a point.</p>
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<h3>Summary</h3>
<p class="MsoNormal">And that’s pretty much it, with two games to go in the season, finishing on a high is important and we have two winnable games left with Preston visiting the MadStad and the last game of the season away at Blackburn. Getting a point probably was the most important factor out of this game, and the big question now is will Rakels be next season’s Shane Long or <span>Royston Drenthe</span>?!</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">I will be back after the Preston game and with two games left it’s more than ever important that we go into the summer break on a high!</p>
https://thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/2016/4/26/11503680/queens-park-rangers-1-1-reading-fc-the-alternative-view-sky-bet-championshipdavemc_exile2016-04-24T22:54:09+01:002016-04-24T22:54:09+01:00Away Days: Queen's Park Rangers
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<figcaption>Harry Engels/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>James and Adam tick off another away ground this season with Loftus Road on Saturday. Here's their Away Days video from the 1-1 draw. </p> <p>I feel like this Reading side has found a tiny bit of identity again.</p>
<p>Hi, and welcome back to another Away Days and today we will be showing you guys our experience of the game here at QPR. It was an interesting game to say the least, Reading didn't play amazing but we played well enough for which we deserved the three points.</p>
<p>Deniss Rakels has become almost a cult hero type of player here at Reading now and I don't think there is one fan out there who doesn't like that man. He scored another goal for Reading and always seems to give 1000% when he puts the Royals colours on. The man is a great poacher and remind me a lot of Alfie. He plays off the big man well and seems to have formed a beautiful partnership with Yann Kermogant.</p>
<p>Another player who played fantastically was Ali Al-Habsi and it seems like every time we write up an Away Days report it seems like Ali Al-Habsi is at the head of praise. The man seems to improve every week and is looking even better and better in the Reading shirt after such a shaky start. Next year may be a problem though as it'll be his last year at the club and I don't want to see another first team goalkeeper who we probably won't have (see the Federici story last year).</p>
<p>No one is really being criticised today but Matej Vydra... and I don't want to throw even more petrol onto that fire. Let's face it though, the man has no confidence and without a doubt he'll go and score 29 odd goals next year knowing our luck.</p>
<p>So it was a great game and we enjoyed it. We'll be off to Blackburn for the last game of the season so we hope to see you all there! We hope you all enjoyed the video. Thanks again and bye!</p>
<p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/A2oX6a3BAcE" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
https://thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/2016/4/24/11495372/away-days-qprHiggy162016-04-24T16:41:01+01:002016-04-24T16:41:01+01:00QPR Ratings: Rakels The Star In An Average Display
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<figcaption>Dave Thompson/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Here's how Becka rated the players from Saturday's draw with QPR.
</p> <h4>Ali Al-Habsi: 6</h4>
<p>Made some good saves throughout the game and gave a performance Reading fans have got comfortable with seeing.</p>
<h4>Garath McCleary: 6</h4>
<p>He looks okay at right-back. He got forward when he could and linked up well with George Evans.</p>
<h4>Anton Ferdinand: 6</h4>
<p>Another quiet and uneventful performance, who worked well with Jake Cooper in central defence.</p>
<h4>Jake Cooper: 6</h4>
<p>A good afternoon for Cooper, making some decent blocks and was unlucky not to score with his head in the second half.</p>
<h4>Andrew Taylor: 5</h4>
<p>Put a decent ball into the box which led up to Rakels' goal. Had a reasonably quiet afternoon apart from that, and could have probably done better defending Grant Hall's header.</p>
<h4>Oliver Norwood: 5</h4>
<p>Just a pretty non-existent performance from Norwood. He was unlucky to see his free kick saved in the second half but I can't really remember him doing much more than that.</p>
<h4>George Evans: 6</h4>
<p>A good performance from the young midfielder. He looked calm on the ball and showed a lot of promise for next season.</p>
<h4>Stephen Quinn: 5</h4>
<p>A more quiet game to what we're used to seeing from the Irish midfielder. He tried to make things happen but it just didn't really work for him. Still an impressive work rate.</p>
<h4>Simon Cox: 6</h4>
<p>Looked lively when playing with Kermorgant, I was reasonably impressed with him yesterday and his work rate couldn't be faulted.</p>
<h4>Yann Kermorgant: 6</h4>
<p>Definitely one of his better performances in a Reading shirt, Kermorgant looked strong coming back into the side and is seemingly creating a partnership with Rakels. Good assist for Reading's goal.</p>
<h4>Deniss Rakels: 7</h4>
<p>Looked like the most threatening going forward for Reading. Rakels looked strong and brought energy to the team. Good finish for the goal and should have had another one but fired over the bar from close range.</p>
<h3><u>Substitutes</u></h3>
<h4>Michael Hector: 5</h4>
<p>Didn't really have much to do when he came on, but didn't do much wrong either.</p>
<h4>Chris Gunter: N/A</h4>
<h4>Matěj Vydra: N/A</h4>
<p><b><i>Who was YOUR man of the match? Vote in our poll at the bottom of the page, and leave your thoughts in the comments section.</i></b></p>
<h4><u>Season's Ratings (click for a larger version):</u></h4>
<p><a href="http://i.imgur.com/itFFCmg.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/itFFCmg.png"></a></p>
https://thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/2016/4/24/11497382/qpr-v-reading-player-ratingsBecka_Ellen2016-04-24T16:14:51+01:002016-04-24T16:14:51+01:00QPR 1-1 Reading: Match Report
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<figcaption>Ben Hoskins/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Reading's recent poor form came to somewhat of an end this weekend, with a 1-1 draw against QPR. Becka rounds up all the action from Saturday's match at Loftus Road.</p> <p>On paper, this all hoops game should have been the actual battle of the airlines; Air Asia (budget airline) vs Thai Airways (premium airline). Don't worry, I won't bore you with another airline analogy but I think I said in my last match report against Birmingham that I was looking forward to one day being able to write a match report that was all lovely, nice and wonderful.</p>
<p>Okay so a 1-1 draw against a side who are in the same position as us in regards to having nothing to play for wasn't the best result, but I'm content knowing that I don't have to write about a loss and seeing a performance that was marginally better than budget.</p>
<p><span>1633 Royals fans made the trip to QPR yesterday which was impressive considering the disappointing nature of the last few weeks and the season in general. There has been so much negativity during the past week regarding the low attendance against Hull. It's obvious that there are going to be people who are the so called 'fair weather' fans; coming and go from the club as and when it suits them when we've got a decent opportunity of winning something.</span></p>
<p><span>Reading aren't in the minority having a section of supporters like this, look at Cardiff. When we went to South Wales in November they had an attendance of just over 13,000 people but now they're on the edge of the play offs I have no doubt that their average crowds are closer to capacity. But there are various other reasons why people can't attend games all the time which are more often than not overlooked.</span></p>
<p><span>I'm quite happy to say that the QPR game was my first attendance since the home match against Birmingham. Its not because I've not lost interest in the team (Reading FC are my bit on the side which I just cannot bear to break ties with regardless of how one sided the relationship is), but I work shifts.</span></p>
<p><span>A lot of my annual leave (stupidly) goes on following Reading round the country, and yesterday was no exception. But for a home game, I don't really fancy doing the 140 mile round trip to and from West Sussex on a Tuesday evening, deal with the M25 car park for my alarm to be going off at 3am on Wednesday morning.</span></p>
<p><span>To top it all off I'd be sat on my own as my mum travels a 310 mile round trip from Shropshire and even though we're season ticket holders, midweek games have to be selected carefully as it's just not viable to be travelling those distances with work commitments.</span></p>
<p><span>Walking down South Africa Road and seeing imaginatively named Springbok pub, I was dreaming about my impending trip of a lifetime to Cape Town, the Winelands and Kurger Park in five weeks time. Alas I was walking alongside the now very sad looking BBC Television Centre in White City rather than next to Table Mountain, but it was really rather pleasant to watch a team of players on the pitch that actually looked like they wanted to be there rather than on the beach.</span></p>
<p><span>There were a lot of positives to take from yesterday's game. The starting formation looked a lot stronger and Reading didn't start like a side that had just lost four games on the bounce. Even though we went behind to a header from Grant Hall in the 35th minute, the body language didn't change and we still stayed focussed, and we were rewarded with our efforts just six minutes afterwards with a goal from Deniss Rakels after good play between Andrew Taylor and Yann Kermorgant. Reading could have gone on to win it, but QPR 'keeper Matt Ingram made a great save from an Oliver Norwood free kick which was heading for the top corner.</span></p>
<p><span>It was really pleasing to see Rakels and Kermorgant striking up a partnership and hopefully this is a sign of things to look forward to going into next season. It sounds all cliché saying that we can build towards the 2016/17 season but it's true, and the players that were on display yesterday really showed some signs of promise.</span></p>
<p><span>George Evans looked confident in his role in the team yesterday and linked up well with the make shift (but decent looking) right-back Garath McCleary. Ali Al-Habsi made some cracking saves in the first half and early in the second half, and Jake Cooper continued to perform well after a slight wobble last month. Every good performance from him is a step in the right direction to the great player he clearly has the capability to be.</span></p>
<p><span>Considering it was an end of season nothing kind of game, it wasn't all bad, although with a combined total of 38 shots all game from both teams we probably should have seen more than two goals. McDermott's comments after the game suggested that we can take a rough idea of who's still going to be about at the start of next season (minus those who were ruled out due to injury/suspension).</span></p>
<p><span>It certainly wasn't a performance that was going to blow anyone away, but it was definitely a baby step improvement and it stopped the losing streak, which is exactly what we need. Hopefully we can get to the end of this drab season with a couple more of those basic performances and we'll have just about survived the storm.</span></p>
<p><b>Reading: </b>Al-Habsi, Taylor (Gunter), Cooper, Ferdinand, McCleary, Evans, Norwood, Quinn (Hector), Cox, Kermorgant (Vydra), Rakels</p>
https://thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/2016/4/24/11497376/qpr-1-1-reading-match-reportBecka_Ellen2016-04-24T12:46:30+01:002016-04-24T12:46:30+01:00Brian: "I Want To Try And Build Something Again"
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<figcaption>Ben Hoskins/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Reading picked up their first point in five games yesterday - here's what Brian thought of the match. </p> <p>Brian McDermott was pleased with the positive signs that the Royals showed yesterday in a good away performance against QPR at Loftus Road. 1,633 fans witnessed a 1-1 draw in which the Royals went behind and Deniss Rakels scored to earn a important point. McDermott told the <a href="http://www.readingfc.co.uk" target="_blank" style="background-color: #ffffff;">official club website</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>"Look at those fans today, they were top drawer, they out-sung Rangers today and that's what I'm here for... those people, nothing else.</p>
<p>"I want to try and build something again here, so next season has to be in my mind. It's common sense to select the players who are going to be with us next season, it has to be that way - and it's what I tried to do today.</p>
<p>"George Evans played the full game, Deniss scored again, Yann looked like he was striking up a good partnership with Deniss - they will all be a big part of next season.</p>
<p>"And I'm really looking forward to getting going in pre-season, getting a group of players together who are going to do us proud next season."</p>
</blockquote>
<p>McDermott was pleased to see the end of our recent poor results, he added:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>"The last few weeks hurt. So we needed that result. It was crazy that we hadn't got anything from the last four games, but we came here today knowing we had to get something. And I thought we were going to win it at the end.</p>
<p>"We were getting the details of Championship football right - tracking runners, second balls, stopping crosses, all the things we know we have to do to be successful in this division, all the things we're looking forward to doing next season.</p>
<p>"I watched Burnley play last night and they were doing everything right. Why have we had two seasons like we've had, because we haven't got it right. But that's what we're trying to work towards - getting a group of guys together and have a right go.</p>
<p>"And at the end there today, Deniss feels he should have scored from Garath McCleary's cross. He's a great lad - everyone loves him in that dressing room and the fans will love him too.</p>
<p>"He's a finisher, he can score, you put that ball in the box and it'll drop for him - it was a terrific finish for his goal and he's going to score important goals for us going forward."</p>
</blockquote>
https://thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/2016/4/24/11497080/mcdermott-i-want-to-try-and-build-something-again-heresophierfc102016-04-24T12:19:38+01:002016-04-24T12:19:38+01:00WATCH: Queens Park Rangers 1-1 Reading FC<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VSFYaS0CCH8" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe>
<div class="source source-img"><p><p>Check out the main action from Loftus Road as Deniss Rakels equalises Grant Hall's opener in the epic mid-table Championship encounter.</p></p></div>
https://thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/2016/4/24/11497082/video-highlights-queens-park-rangers-1-1-reading-fcMarc Mayo2016-04-22T23:00:24+01:002016-04-22T23:00:24+01:00QPR Match Preview: Clash Of The Hoops
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<figcaption>Phil Cole/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Reading travel down the M4 to face Queens Park Rangers looking to avoid a fifth consecutive defeat; Phil Owtram provides a preview of the match at Loftus Road.</p> <h4>Queens Park Rangers FC</h4>
<p><span><b>Form (all comps): LDWDL</b></span></p>
<p>QPR striker Jamie Mackie is out for the season with a torn hamstring so Conor Washington could lead the line. Manager Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink must choose between keepers Mike Ingram and Alex Smithies.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>QPR have only won two of their past ten home matches with Reading, drawing five and losing three. QPR’s league home record of late has been impressive winning five of their last seven. Tjaronn Chery could be the danger man for QPR as he has scored in five of his last six appearances at Loftus Road. To back up Chery’s scoring exploits QPR have also been tight at the back in recent home matches keeping clean sheets in three of their last five.</p>
<div class="pullquote">Queens Park Rangers FC vs. <a href="https://thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Reading FC</a>:<span>23 April 2016</span> <span>15:00 KO</span> <span>Loftus Road Stadium, London</span><span>Referee: Keith Hill</span>
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<h4>Reading FC</h4>
<p><span><b>Form (all comps): LLLLW</b></span></p>
<p>Manager Brian McDermott expects defender <span>Chris Gunter</span> (groin) to be available, but forward <span>Hal Robson-Kanu</span> (thigh) is out. Defender Paul McShane and midfielder Danny Williams remain unavailable as they serve bans for violent conduct against each other.</p>
<p>Reading have lost 12 of their last 15 away games, winning on just two occasions so not only will they have to overcome their away day hoodoo they will also have to tighten up at the back after conceding five goals in their last two games away from the Madejski.</p>
<p><i>QPR (v Brighton): A. Smithies, N. Onuoha, C. Hill (T. Chery 60), J. Perch, G. Hall, K. Henry, A. Faurlin, M. Phillips, M. Luongo, J. Hoilett (S. Polter 54), C. Washington (A. El Khayati 70).</i></p>
<p><i>Reading (v Hull City): <span>Ali Al Habsi</span>, A. Ferdinand, A. Taylor, M. Hector, J. Cooper, S. Quinn, G. McCleary, O. Norwood, S. Cox, (O. John 72), M. Vydra (Y. Kermorgant 54), D. Rakels.</i></p>
<p> </p>
<h4><b>Last Five Meetings</b></h4>
<p><b> </b></p>
<p>03 Dec 2015: Reading 0-1 QPR (League Championship)</p>
<p>16 Feb 2014: QPR 1-3 Reading (League Championship)</p>
<p>09 Nov 2013: Reading 1-1 QPR (League Championship)</p>
<p>28 Apr 2013: Reading 0-0 QPR (Premier League)</p>
<p>04 Nov 2012: QPR 1-1 Reading (Premier League)</p>
<h4>Head To Head</h4>
<p>Reading v QPR: W:39 D:20 L:28</p>
<h4>YouTube History</h4>
<p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tkYJtzc6H3U" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h4>Prediction</h4>
<p>QPR FC 1-1 Reading FC</p>
https://thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/2016/4/22/11489146/queens-park-rangers-fc-v-reading-fc-match-previewPhil90