The Tilehurst End - TTE Advent Calendar: The Full CollectionReading FC blog run by fans, for fans.https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/52568/tte_fav.png2017-12-24T14:03:50+00:00http://thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/rss/stream/164856132017-12-24T14:03:50+00:002017-12-24T14:03:50+00:00The Tilehurst End Advent Calendar: December 24
<figure>
<img alt="FA Cup: West Bromwich Albion v Reading" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/KbRL3xrFobgsjfaEzwo8cE8TV_Q=/0x0:1799x1199/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/58099963/56543719.jpg.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>On a glorious April day at the Mad Stad, a young Irishman came of age. </p> <h2 id="1x5Xlo"><strong>Shane Long</strong></h2>
<p id="uFdgRj"><strong>Position</strong>: Striker</p>
<p id="ybFYIK"><strong>Nationality</strong>: Irish</p>
<p id="a1H0kx"><strong>Total Reading FC Appearances</strong>: 197</p>
<p id="Gbu7gG"><strong>Total Reading FC Goals</strong>: 53</p>
<h3 id="z3ztjT"><strong>Memorable Moment</strong></h3>
<p id="TOHuFh">Brought in as part of a bargain deal from Cork City that also involved Kevin Doyle, Long was always meant to be one for the future. First team strikers Dave Kitson and Doyle hit the most goals that season - each getting 18 in the league - whilst then-record signing Leroy Lita notched 11 in the Championship after costing an eye-watering ONE MILLION POUNDS from Bristol City. </p>
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<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/UAAj0Z3e6E8TRHc6suLV57TOkpw=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/9924759/giphy__24_.gif">
<cite>Giphy</cite>
<figcaption> </figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="1qWnjk">The red-hot form of those three meant that poor old Shane managed just one start in the league all season, although he did come off the bench 10 times. It was on one of those occasions, a home match against Derby County, when Long picked his time to shine.</p>
<p id="2jXmj2">Goals from James Harper, Doyle and John Oster had the Royals 3-0 up by the 70th minute - with Sheffield United dropping points against Stoke City at the same time, Steve Coppell’s team were well on their way to sealing the Championship title. They’d already got promotion a week earlier, drawing 1-1 at Leicester City. </p>
<p id="kj2ZW7">With 72 minutes on the clock, on came Long for compatriot Doyle. Just two minutes later, it was 4-0 - clever interplay between Oster and Graeme Murty before the latter whipped in a cross to the near post; Long steering in a header at the near post. </p>
<p id="3SjdIw">Seven minutes to go, and Long had his first ever brace in a Reading shirt, slotting home past Lee Camp from the inside right channel before wheeling away towards the East Stand to celebrate. </p>
<div id="rBiS5q"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.2493%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BLg8ytUENaE?rel=0&" style="border: 0; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="mwKKoB">Although it would be years before Long eventually achieved his full potential for Reading, Long’s part in that glorious day against Derby showed two things. Firstly, it was a huge endorsement of the scouting at the time, with Reading picking up a big talent for peanuts from the Irish league. </p>
<p id="D1yC5R">Secondly, it demonstrated the sheer quality that was available to Steve Coppell. Whereas Reading now struggle to find one good goalscorer, back then the manager could call on four. Even when the incredible Doyle, Kitson and Lita weren’t firing, on came Long to score a goal or two. </p>
https://thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/2017/12/24/16815820/advent-calendar-december-24-reading-fc-royals-shane-longBucksRoyal2017-12-23T10:30:41+00:002017-12-23T10:30:41+00:00The Tilehurst End Advent Calendar: December 23
<figure>
<img alt="Aston Villa v Reading - Premier League" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ZCrC6aSLJPYBouEstqR6vTUKlZE=/0x350:2670x2130/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/58093775/78912985.jpg.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>What a guy.</p> <h2 id="1x5Xlo">Ulises de la Cruz</h2>
<p id="vEoe38"><strong>Position</strong>: Full-back</p>
<p id="ybFYIK"><strong>Nationality</strong>: Ecuadorian</p>
<p id="a1H0kx"><strong>Total Reading FC Appearances</strong>: 15</p>
<p id="Gbu7gG"><strong>Total Reading FC Goals</strong>: 1</p>
<h3 id="BHe8iH">Memorable Moment</h3>
<p id="2ZRr8D">Signed up as an experienced back-up for Graeme Murty in Reading’s maiden Premier League run, de la Cruz was a big hit at the Mad Stad for his off-the-field charitableness and on-the-field technique and class.</p>
<p id="l2qPAZ">Possessing the ability to beat a man and get himself out of a tight spot with ease, it was clear to see why he’d been at that level for the past few years as part of a very decent Aston Villa side. His crowning moment came with a stonking run and finish at home to Sheffield United.</p>
<div id="6fi577"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.2493%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CDojavqxIW4?rel=0&amp;start=126" style="border: 0; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no"></iframe></div></div>
https://thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/2017/12/23/16813832/the-tilehurst-end-advent-calendar-december-23Marc Mayo2017-12-22T15:49:42+00:002017-12-22T15:49:42+00:00The Tilehurst End Advent Calendar: December 22
<figure>
<img alt="Bristol City v Reading - npower Championship" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/39RofNMKwN7pb7-1cFBN0dbqfuc=/0x0:4896x3264/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/58083817/127314345.jpg.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>August 2011, when Manset’s terrific double snatched a point against Millwall.</p> <h2 id="UAQ0yq">Mathieu Manset</h2>
<ul>
<li id="QYOFKU">Position: Striker</li>
<li id="Vzqkyv">Nationality: French </li>
<li id="RMdU3z">Total appearances: 31</li>
<li id="ElBGGD">Reading goals: 5</li>
</ul>
<p id="KJK2FD">I maintain to this day that Mathieu ‘BEAST’ Manset could have been a decent player for Reading had he been granted more time to develop. Ultimately, the arrival mid-way through the 2011/12 season of Anton Zingarevich, Jason Roberts and eventually Premier League football put an end to his chances in Berkshire. However, for a brief, shining moment, the towering Frenchman looked like becoming the Royals’ new attacking talisman. </p>
<p id="t5FW6v">First, let’s have a quick recap. The Metz-born frontman signed from the now-non-existent Hereford United in January 2011, scoring his first goal in a 2-2 draw at Cardiff City, and pulling off some “unbelievable tekkers” against QPR as this dodgy YouTube video handily demonstrates. </p>
<div id="SRBPjX"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 75.0019%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wRPsp3fxPGQ?rel=0&" style="border: 0; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="ASRJ90">Reading of course didn’t go up that season (damn you, Swansea City), and leading frontman Shane Long was about to depart for pastures new. In fact, the Manset memory below coincided with the Irishman’s only game for the Royals in the 2011/12 season, and his last in the blue and white hoops.</p>
<h3 id="cLiR4K"><strong>Memorable moment</strong></h3>
<p id="OWYl0i">In short, one of the greatest braces we’ve seen ever at the Madejski Stadium. The team’s first competitive match after the play-off defeat to Swansea saw a side Millwall side containing James Henry and Darius Henderson come to town. Typically, Henry set Henderson up to score against Reading - something he’d done twice for Sheffield United in a 3-2 win for the Blades the previous season. </p>
<p id="N33nHB">John Marquis’ goal to make it 2-0 meant that Reading had a mountain to climb but, in Mathieu Manset, they had a mountain of their own. </p>
<aside id="eWWRIh"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"TTE Advent Calendar: The Full Collection","url":"https://thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/2017/11/30/16721572/tte-advent-calendar-the-full-collection"}]}'></div></aside><p id="zAP3xF">On the 86th minute, the Frenchman brushed off a defender near the halfway line, charged down the right wing, cut inside onto his left foot and let off a rocket of a shot that flew into the top corner. </p>
<p id="OpsnpB">A few minutes later, it was 2-2. Again on the right wing, Andy Griffin laid the ball off for Jimmy Kebe who whipped a cross into the six yard area - Manset found space and headed home with ease, a beautifully simple goal. </p>
<div id="XEhN6x"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.2493%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Jmwzn2CZlMM?rel=0&" style="border: 0; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no"></iframe></div></div>
<h3 id="uoN1Mn"><strong>What’s happened since?</strong></h3>
<p id="hzfW8o">Those two goals would prove to be 40% of his entire return for Reading - his only other contribution in 2011/12 being a late winner at Bristol City that is worth a ‘memorable moment’ article in its own right.</p>
<p id="F30wlE">With game time hard to come by, he ended up on loan at Shanghai Shenhua when he scored one goal. As it happens, that came against Guizhou Renhe, a team that would later be owned by one Dai Yongge. It’s a small world. </p>
<p id="wUhIlU">He quit Reading permanently at the end of that same season, moving to Sion in Switzerland before turning out for Carlisle United, Coventry City, Royal Antwerp, Walsall, Cheltenham Town, Slavia Sofia, Consolat Marseille, Hamrun Spartans (Malta) and current club SC Bastia (Corsica). </p>
<p id="iscTlt">To this day, the ~£500,000 that Reading paid Hereford is the only transfer fee that has ever been exchanged between clubs for Manset. He’s also yet to beat his Reading five goal haul at any subsequent club. </p>
https://thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/2017/12/22/16810132/the-tilehurst-end-advent-calendar-december-22-reading-fc-royals-millwallBucksRoyal2017-12-21T07:35:01+00:002017-12-21T07:35:01+00:00The Tilehurst End Advent Calendar: December 21
<figure>
<img alt="Liverpool v Reading - Premier League" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/0IYdpJjqLTqlsztQdOVUQ4KSFUg=/303x0:3000x1798/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/58061641/154443699.jpg.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Remember the day Alex McCarthy shut out Liverpool on his own?</p> <h2 id="UAQ0yq"><strong>Alex McCarthy</strong></h2>
<ul>
<li id="0ZQ1X8">Position: Goalkeeper</li>
<li id="Vzqkyv">Nationality: English</li>
<li id="uPtFnT">Total appearances: 75</li>
</ul>
<p id="b9NSJ7">Lurking in today’s advent calendar window is another player ‘who got away’ - goalkeeper Alex McCarthy. A fine prospect from a young age, McCarthy joined the Reading academy at the age of 16 in 2006, and signed professional terms for the club in 2008.</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="Reading v Derby County - Sky Bet Championship" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/cGfA_4r3U5PYlW60wF1xjezmM6w=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/9907277/478921127.jpg.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images</cite>
</figure>
<p id="HPpaJg">He went on to refine his skills with loan spells at a series of clubs, as varied as Woking, Cambridge United, Team Bath, Aldershot Town, Yeovil Town and Brentford, and eventually broke into the Royals’ first team in February 2011 as Adam Federici was injured late in a match at home to Watford.</p>
<p id="jMaVIq">Featuring prominently as Reading made their late charge to the Championship play-off final, his 15 matches for Reading that season included just two defeats – one of them a narrow 1-0 loss at Man City in the FA Cup. On the plus side, there were 10 victories, including eight in a row as well as the memorable FA Cup triumph over Everton at Goodison Park. But despite this and rave reviews, once Federici was fit again at the end of April, McCarthy was again relegated to the bench for the rest of the season, which ended with Federici shipping four goals at Wembley.</p>
<p id="hkoXgR">Much of the following season was spent on-loan at Leeds and Ipswich as Reading clinched the Championship title, and it was the following season that McCarthy came of age, and which included his memorable moment, as, at the age of 22, McCarthy became the youngest player to have played in the top six levels of English football. </p>
<aside id="F4ng3W"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"TTE Advent Calendar: The Full Collection","url":"https://thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/2017/11/30/16721572/tte-advent-calendar-the-full-collection"}]}'></div></aside><p id="AhJD4c">He replaced Federici for the third Premier League match of the season when Federici was injured – although doubt was cast over whether this was a genuine injury or was actually a “dropping” by the <a href="https://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/article/2012/09/19/federici-girlfriend-twitter-row">Twitter outrage of Federici’s girlfriend</a>. McCarthy was outstanding as Reading drew four out of six Premier League matches – including a 2-2 draw at Swansea for which he received rave reviews, but then he incurred a shoulder injury in November when he collided with the post in another drawn match at QPR. </p>
<h3 id="niwuZ8"><strong>Memorable Moment</strong></h3>
<p id="M38NPJ">It looked like McCarthy would be out for the rest of the season as this injury required surgery, but he returned to the first team much sooner than expected, turning out in April to face Liverpool at the MadStad, and if a whole 90-minute match can be called a “memorable moment”, this was undoubtedly his. Imperious throughout the match, he commanded his area from the start and kept out everything that Liverpool threw at him – making 10 top-class saves in this match against the likes of Suarez, Gerrard and Coutinho. </p>
<p id="PBga4n">Liverpool, who had 14 shots on target but scored zero goals, failed to score away from home for the first time in nearly six months – and this was Reading’s first ever clean sheet against them. </p>
<p id="UflDuj">Anyone who saw that goalkeeping performance that day will never forget it – and today I still wonder how he made some of those saves! It was, quite simply, a masterclass in goalkeeping. Royals manager Nigel Adkins called it “a fantastic display”, whilst Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers was, for once, not speaking in hyperbole when he described it as “<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/22139618">absolutely staggering</a>.”</p>
<h3 id="hh8yRD"><strong>What happened next?</strong></h3>
<p id="wzoKG8">It looked like McCarthy’s future was secure as he kept the first-team spot for the rest of the season and for all but two matches of the next, back in the Championship, with a call-up to join England’s May 2013 tour to Brazil in the break between these two seasons. </p>
<p id="Efhr6v">But it was not to be. The financial crisis faced by Anton Zingarevich’s empty promises was really biting in 2014, and a massive tax bill which threatened the club’s very existence that summer meant they were forced to cash in on their most saleable asset. With two talented ‘keepers in the squad – and rumours of a refusal from Federici to quietly stay second fiddle - the sale of McCarthy was the most expedient and lucrative option for the club, and he departed to QPR that August. </p>
<p id="p4kVye">As I think of yet another player nurtured by the Reading Academy who now plies their trade in another club’s colours it makes me both sad and angry – and even more so in the case of McCarthy, who I felt had the greatest potential of any of the Reading youngsters to reach the very highest level. Because a player with so much potential, and one capable of performing to such a high standard as he showed by keeping Liverpool’s best at bay in April 2013, is now warming a bench for Southampton and so far this season has played just three matches – as an over-age player for Southampton’s Under-21 team.</p>
<p id="NKwiE9">What a pity – and what a crying shame we couldn’t see him come to fruition in a Reading shirt. </p>
<p id="3nX8Uc"><em>Now you’ve read this, take a look back through MadStad memory lane with some other times academy players grabbed the headlines...</em></p>
<aside id="dtvwEK"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"10 Times Academy Graduates Made The Headlines At The Madejski Stadium","url":"https://thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/2017/12/19/16786756/reading-fc-academy-madejski-stadium-history"}]}'></div></aside>
https://thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/2017/12/21/16803270/the-tilehurst-end-advent-calendar-december-21-reading-fc-royalsurzz18712017-12-20T12:13:04+00:002017-12-20T12:13:04+00:00The Tilehurst End Advent Calendar: December 20
<figure>
<img alt="Reading v Leeds United - Sky Bet Championship" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/zEv0XAMr84POC5lvxw7RUNHzP9U=/0x82:4314x2958/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/58050543/463138806.jpg.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Ben Hoskins/Getty Images</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Big up Big Yak.</p> <h2 id="3KeLjZ">Yakubu Aiyegbeni</h2>
<p id="KtvrCP"><strong>Position</strong>: Striker</p>
<p id="THwEKM"><strong>Nationality</strong>: Nigerian</p>
<p id="tL1LGV"><strong>Total Reading FC Appearances</strong>: 7</p>
<p id="rsVMTq"><strong>Total Reading FC Goals:</strong> 1</p>
<h3 id="Rc1WG0">Memorable Moment</h3>
<p id="4OxCFD">Has there ever been a player so renowned who has arrived at the club to produce literally one recognisable moment and nowt else?</p>
<p id="vnDZUx">Signed on a free transfer, Yakubu rocked up to show very little in the way of running, let alone goal nous, for the Royals. That was until the last-16 FA Cup tie away to Derby. Then this happened.</p>
<div id="aehZgY"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.2493%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/m-ZB0U001qE?rel=0&amp;start=266" style="border: 0; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no"></iframe></div></div>
https://thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/2017/12/20/16800150/reading-fc-yakubu-advent-calendarMarc Mayo2017-12-19T13:00:11+00:002017-12-19T13:00:11+00:00The Tilehurst End Advent Calendar: December 19
<figure>
<img alt="Reading v Everton" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/O1-L8B2p98QRuusZtVvpHH1jA8M=/0x1058:1879x2311/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/58034985/76181050.jpg.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Phil Cole/Getty Images</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Anyone for a worldie?</p> <h2 id="3KeLjZ">Seol Ki-Hyeon</h2>
<p id="KtvrCP"><strong>Position</strong>: Winger</p>
<p id="THwEKM"><strong>Nationality</strong>: South Korean</p>
<p id="tL1LGV"><strong>Total Reading FC Appearances</strong>: 30</p>
<p id="rsVMTq"><strong>Total Reading FC Goals:</strong> 4</p>
<h3 id="IA5R9p">Memorable Moment</h3>
<p id="HhREHF">Few players embody the sheer, rollocking fun of 2006/07 like Seol does. Wearing the No. 19 for two seasons at the club, he only really made an impression as the Royals romped to eighth as he provided competition to Little and Oster down the right flank.</p>
<p id="ztzF6p">Generally, a player with four goals for the club wouldn’t go down in history but Seol does because they were mostly wordlies. Which was the best? The long-range drive past Sheffield United? The perfectly placed header at home to Charlton? Getting in on the act at Blackburn on the last day?</p>
<p id="FiwcGM">It was probably the 30-yard rocket at Upton Park. (It’s really good with Asian commentary, like below).</p>
<div id="lUH2QN"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 75.0019%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oWlasg3U_mQ?rel=0&" style="border: 0; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no"></iframe></div></div>
https://thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/2017/12/19/16794716/the-tilehurst-end-advent-calendar-december-19Marc Mayo2017-12-18T12:51:14+00:002017-12-18T12:51:14+00:00The Tilehurst End Advent Calendar: December 18
<figure>
<img alt="Reading v West Ham United - npower Championship" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/budPvjNFXAOHswPptEaUR0j1ua8=/154x0:3000x1897/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/58020197/135453318.jpg.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Ben Hoskins/Getty Images</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Two goals from Simon Church felled West Ham just over six years ago. </p> <h2 id="77Z9RP"><strong>Simon Church</strong></h2>
<p id="KtvrCP"><strong>Position</strong>: Striker</p>
<p id="THwEKM"><strong>Nationality</strong>: Welsh (bizarrely, he even appeared for them in the semi-finals of the Euros)</p>
<p id="tL1LGV"><strong>Total Reading FC Appearances</strong>: 122</p>
<p id="VF4UYU"><strong>Total Reading FC Goals:</strong> 23</p>
<h3 id="xg38Sp"><strong>Memorable moment</strong></h3>
<p id="7PjqGJ">There are a good number of ‘memorable moments’ from Reading’s most recent number 18, Yann Kermorgant, but I’ve deliberately ignored them for being too recent. After all, fond memories of goals against Fulham, Leeds United and others have come inside the last 12 months or so. Instead, let’s rewind a few years. </p>
<p id="PTna6r">Simon Richard Church, born in the mighty county of Buckinghamshire, was the epitome of an academy graduate who ran his socks off. After bursting onto the scene in Steve Coppell’s final game as Reading manager, he had a decent return of 12 goals in 2009/10 before fading in the following campaign. </p>
<p id="EFpdYA">However, the departure of Shane Long after 2011’s play-off final loss to Swansea gave Church another chance in the first team, and the first half of the 2011/12 season saw him competing for game time with Noel Hunt and Adam Le Fondre - albeit often as an impact sub. </p>
<aside id="bdiqVL"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"TTE Advent Calendar: The Full Collection","url":"https://thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/2017/11/30/16721572/tte-advent-calendar-the-full-collection"}]}'></div></aside><p id="yWwCr6">It was one such appearance from the bench that gave Church his high point in a Reading shirt: the visit of West Ham United on December 10, which happened to be Church’s 23rd birthday. The match is better known for Jimmy Kebe’s sock-related antics on the touchline by Y22, but our academy forward shone that day too. </p>
<p id="Iiytmx">Around 24,000 fans squeezed into a packed Madejski Stadium to watch a hard-working Reading, that was beginning to rediscover its stride under Brian McDermott, give the recently-relegated Hammers a tonking by three goals to nil. </p>
<p id="n43fPW">Alex Pearce opened the scoring after Joey O’Brien got himself sent off, before Church grabbed himself a birthday brace to turn the 1-0 lead into a comfortable win. The first was a simple tap-in from an Alfie chip, and the second a well-guided header from Ian Harte’s free-kick (the free-kick that was won from Jack Collison crashing into Kebe). </p>
<p id="c1oGNV">We typically look back on the results in the second half of that season as the stand-outs, but the 3-0 win over West Ham in December - of which Church was a key part - really showed the whole division what Reading were capable of. </p>
<div id="Q2NsBH"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.2493%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1FRj8ei1JkY?rel=0&amp;start=436" style="border: 0; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no"></iframe></div></div>
https://thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/2017/12/18/16787918/the-tilehurst-end-advent-calendar-december-18-reading-fc-royalsBucksRoyal2017-12-17T08:25:02+00:002017-12-17T08:25:02+00:00The Tilehurst End Advent Calendar: December 17
<figure>
<img alt="AFC Wimbledon v Reading - Pre Season Friendly" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/MRO3qS8hiXXQQNUVUhGw3yQGRWE=/0x0:3112x2075/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/58006189/148328871.jpg.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Ben Hoskins/Getty Images</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The one that got away or a cruel twise of fate?</p> <h2 id="77Z9RP">Michail Antonio</h2>
<p id="hm790G"><strong>Position</strong>: Winger</p>
<p id="THwEKM"><strong>Nationality</strong>: English</p>
<p id="tL1LGV"><strong>Total Reading FC Appearances</strong>: 28</p>
<p id="bZyC09"><strong>Total Reading FC Goals:</strong> 1</p>
<h3 id="Bk7a3K">Memorable Moment</h3>
<p id="0dTSuX">Where do we begin with this one? The debate around Michail Antonio has sparked up every now and then as the former Tooting & Mitcham man continues to perform in the Premier League for West Ham after sterling spells at Sheffield Wednesday and Nottingham Forest. But, in reality, the winger left the club during the 2011/12 season in which the Royals won the league. There was no space for him. </p>
<p id="8hJk38">That year, he was back in League One and made enough friends in Yorkshire to opt for a permanent switch with just 12 months left on his contract. He learned his trade with first-team football for a middling Championship side while Reading were fighting to stay in the top-flight. The rest is history.</p>
<p id="JWRVhb">But what was the most memorable moment of Antonio’s stay in Berkshire? The No. 17 made most of his appearances in 2010/11, in which he set up Simon Church for a dramatic comeback winner at home to Doncaster Rovers, and notched the third in a 4-0 win away to Burnley.</p>
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https://thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/2017/12/17/16784592/the-tilehurst-end-advent-calendar-december-17Marc Mayo