The Tilehurst End - Reading FC 0-0 Bolton Wanderers: Full CoverageReading FC blog run by fans, for fans.https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/52568/tte_fav.png2014-12-09T19:45:02+00:00http://thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/rss/stream/70959302014-12-09T19:45:02+00:002014-12-09T19:45:02+00:00Reading 0-0 Bolton: A Statistical Review
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<figcaption>Michael Steele/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>A dull draw against fellow league stragglers Bolton Wanderers saw the Royals only gain a point. Hoops provides some statistical analysis of the bore draw.</p> <p>Well, would you look at that? Nigel Adkins' men have managed two clean sheets in a row for the first time since September, though that came at a cost of entertainment as t<span>he Trotters </span>left the Madejski Stadium with a point.</p>
<h4>Williams' forward momentum</h4>
<p>Danny Williams has been a player many fans had hoped would be important to any success Reading would have this season. Thus far, it hasn't transpired that way but against Bolton he was at least trying to get the team moving. He attempted five take-ons during the game, the most of any Reading player; unfortunately, none of those came off.</p>
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<p>Despite arriving at the club as a player seen mostly as a defensive player, it looks like he has been tasked with the unenviable chore of providing box-to-box support, with his attacking contributions more notable than his defensive. No aerial duels won, no interceptions, one block and two tackles. The majority of his passing also came on the right side of the field, with his passing in the centre midfield area totalling only five.</p>
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<p>Clearly not up to speed, but with such a vital role to play in the forward momentum of the team, Adkins (and the fans) will be hoping he kicks on soon.</p>
<p>Intriguingly, Simon Cox (a substitute) was the Royals' best dribbler, completing three once he had been thrown on in an attempt to swing the game our way.</p>
<h4>Defenders most threatening?</h4>
<p>It says it all when Reading's two most threatening players were their centre backs. Jake Cooper and <span>Michael Hector</span> completed a monumental seven shots between them, an extraordinarily high amount for a team that finished the game with 18 shots. You won't be surprised to hear that despite the number of shots, only two of them were on target from the big men at the back—that's two fifths of the team's total.</p>
<p>Jake Cooper alone completed nine aerial duels, three of which in the attacking area of the pitch.</p>
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<p>Nigel Adkins clearly saw Cooper and Hector as a secret weapon in his (fairly insignificant) attacking arsenal, but on the day it wasn't enough against a Bolton side featuring the notoriously strong in the air <span>Matt Mills</span>.</p>
<h4>Poor crossing</h4>
<p>Adkins has a habit of mentioning the number of crosses his side attempts per game, but on this occasion despite attempting 27 crosses, only three made it to their intended target. The Royals are struggling to score goals at the moment, and with shambolic crossing stats like that it's easy to see why.</p>
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<p>Of course, with only Glenn Murray up top to aim the crosses at, it's understandable that the crosses won't make their target—so why does Adkins persist with this tactic?</p>
<h4>Erratic shooting</h4>
<p>Reading attempted 18 shots against Bolton, but only five of those were on target. For those in attendance I'm sure that won't come as a shock, but when your main striker Glenn Murray doesn't make one of those it's a sign of poor chances created or an out of form striker with very little competition. Either way, it's disappointing and means there was very little to get excited about.</p>
<h4>Easy to defend against</h4>
<p>Bolton's 25 interceptions are the most done by an opposition team against us this season (average 12) and only five were in our half. It's clear for anyone that's seen even one game of the Royals' that there's an easy way of stopping them: sit deep.</p>
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<p>Bolton did this marvellously, waiting for an opportunity to sniff out a loose pass and pouncing, which is easy when you have a team whose pass accuracy was a lowly 65%.</p>
<p>Once Bolton had recovered the ball, they passed it better than we did, as they ended the game with more possession (54.3%), more passes (414), and a higher completion rate (73%).</p>
<p>All in all, there's not much in the stats that we didn't know already: Reading FC are currently very boring and very predictable.</p>
<p><i>All stats courtesy of WhoScored and Squawka.</i></p>
https://thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/2014/12/9/7355043/reading-fc-0-0-bolton-wanderers-a-statistical-reviewRoyal Hoops2014-12-09T10:57:22+00:002014-12-09T10:57:22+00:005 Things: Reading 0-0 Bolton
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<p>So what did we learn from Reading's instantly forgettable encounter with the Trotters? @WilliamOwain provides his analysis on the goalless draw at the weekend.</p> <h4>1) At least the defence is improving</h4>
<p>In the nine games from Millwall at home to Blackburn away, Reading conceded 18 goals, got just two clean sheets, and conceded seven goals from set pieces. We all knew where the team needed to improve: defence!</p>
<p>Since that unfruitful trip to Ewood Park, the Royals have only conceded four times in five games, and Alex Pearce's own goal against Cardiff is the only one conceded from a set play. Reading were also the first team to stop Bolton scoring under Neil Lennon.</p>
<p>The defence still looks a little shaky, but that is to be expected with the "league's youngest centre back partnership". But credit where credit's due, Reading are looking better defensively. That is something to build on.</p>
<h4>2) Was Robson-Kanu really that bad?</h4>
<p>There's no doubt which Royal received the most criticism on Saturday. The substitution of <span>Hal Robson-Kanu</span> was met by a few boos and a loud cheer for the oncoming Simon Cox. Now I'm not going to try and claim that Robson-Kanu has been anything but disappointing since we were relegated from the Premier League, especially when you consider his excellent performances for Wales (keep up the good work on that front Hal!).</p>
<p>But he was far from our worst player against Bolton. He had more touches per minute than Glenn Murray, took more players on than <span>Garath McCleary</span>, forced <span>Andy Lonergan</span> into a fine save, and had a header cleared off the line. He also put in one of our better crosses from open play in the first half.</p>
<p>His record of no assists and goals this season isn't good enough, and is the main reason why he came under criticism. However, in the context of this game, he was possibly the best of a bad bunch of attacking players.</p>
<h4>3) Kelly's experience could be vital</h4>
<p>I've never really rated Stephen Kelly. He's a decent defender but no more, and for a player who's played so much of his career in the Premier League, his attacking play is disappointing. For the first hour he did little to prove me wrong, including one embarrassing moment in the first half when he miscontrolled the ball to end a promising attack.</p>
<p>But in the final half hour he was our best player. He twice brilliantly saved Michael Hector's over-exuberance with superb defensive work. This seemed to give him confidence and he finished the game being uncharacteristically positive.</p>
<p>If he can play more like he did in the final third of the match, then Kelly could become a key player for Nigel Adkins. His experience can only help Hector and Jake Cooper, and there's no doubt that defensively he's the best full back at the club.</p>
<h4>4) Another disappointing FA Cup draw</h4>
<p>The FA Cup third round draw is one of the most highly anticipated events in the football calendar. Yesterday's draw was also possibly the most important one for Reading in a long time. In a season going nowhere, a decent FA Cup campaign would provide much needed momentum, purpose, and most importantly, some excitement for fans.</p>
<p>What we ended up with summed up the season so far: boring mid-table Championship football. The only positive is that drawing Huddersfield does give the Royals a chance of progression. But the Terriers will be saying the same about us. You might want to take the FA Cup seriously this year Nigel!</p>
<h4>5) Clutching at straws</h4>
<p>The last time there were so many boring games in a Reading season was 2004/2005. The <a href="http://www.getreading.co.uk/sport/seven-reading-fc-bore-draws-8246152">Reading Post even believe</a> that three of them were worse than this weekend's bore fest. At the end of that season eight players were let go and ten players came in. We all know what happened next.</p>
<p>This coming summer could see the highest turnover of players at the club since that history changing summer. That's something to put hopes on. There's also the improving defence and the numerous promising players coming through from the academy. Still don't think there's something to look forward to? Well Christmas is just round the corner.</p>
https://thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/2014/12/9/7359045/5-things-reading-fc-0-0-bolton-wanderersWilliamOwain2014-12-08T20:06:38+00:002014-12-08T20:06:38+00:00Media Roundup: Reading 0-0 Bolton
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<p><strong>A loss, a win and now what many are regarding as a dull and tepid draw, so what did the papers say?</strong><em></em></p> <p>Ok, so I did try to find lots of positive stories regarding the game, just to pick up everyone's spirits, but...</p>
<p>So I will start with <a href="http://www1.skysports.com/football/live/match/314004/report" target="_blank">Sky Sports</a> who basically come across in 4 points: the first being the difference in form between a Bolton team who have found some, and the Royals, who being inconsistent is being nice. The second point is the fact that Eidur Gudjohnsen couldn't play, the third is a stunning strike by Danny Williams with the final one being the heroic keeping by Lonergan in the Bolton goal.</p>
<p>An interesting article from our fellow SB Nation site is the <a href="http://lionofviennasuite.sbnation.com/2014/12/6/7344739/Immediate-Reaction-Reading-v-Bolton-Wanderers" target="_blank">Lion of Vienna</a> blog, who seem incredibly happy with the point and feel that they should have won it. Perspective is a wonderful thing...</p>
<p>The BBC actually give us more than 2 paragraphs for once (shudder), and a fairly good <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30256845" target="_blank">report</a>. They also mention how good Lonergan was and the fact that we seem more adept at missing good chances than scoring them.</p>
<p>The main <a href="https://thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Reading FC</a> site's report was a great one for those of you who play Adkins Bingo. If you haven't seen their account of the match, here <a href="http://www.readingfc.co.uk/news/article/nigel-adkins-reading-0-0-bolton-2127529.aspx?" target="_blank">you go.</a>..</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/sport/wanderers/11651507.Pratley_stars_for_Wanderers_as_Lennon___s_men_make_their_point_at_the_Madejski/">Bolton Evening News</a> focused a bit on <span>Matt Mills</span>' return and the fact that he silenced the crowd, but I think that had more to do with the poor play from Reading than his performance! They also, as per a few reports, seem to go down the route of 'Bolton had their chances', whereas we just spurned ours. Once more they focused on Longeran's heroics (anyone else spotting a trend here?)</p>
<p><a href="http://www.sportsmole.co.uk/football/reading/result/result-no-goals-between-reading-bolton_192114.html" target="_blank">Sportsmole</a> seem to have a favourite in Jake Cooper, as most of the report is on his missed attempts, and again Lon......(no not repeating that again!) and is probably the shortest report of the lot, which will speak volumes about the game.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2863567/Reading-0-0-Bolton-Eider-Gudjohnsen-watches-stands-Neil-Lennon-s-extend-unbeaten-Championship-run-five.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490" target="_blank">Daily Mail</a> get the award for longest write-up of the day, but again focuses on the fact that Eidur has signed rather than the game itself. However, they actually do give us a good report, but it seems to be very similar to other articles.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.getreading.co.uk/sport/football/match-reports/reading-fc-0-bolton-wanderers-8240410" target="_blank">Get Reading</a> again do their sterling write-ups, and as always are the longest! Once again the main points being HRK being ineffective, Williams' strike and Longeran's keeping. Hector and Cooper also are given a good report - at the moment they seem to be our biggest goal threat!</p>
<p>All in all it's fairly poor reporting this week, which probably has something to do with a 0-0 bore-draw. Hopefully the Birmingham game will actually give me some decent media write-ups to comment on and pass on to you all!</p>
https://thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/2014/12/8/7354389/royals-v-trotters-media-round-updavemc_exile2014-12-07T15:46:50+00:002014-12-07T15:46:50+00:00Reading 0-0 Bolton: Video Highlights<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/hhPDIhfIUcQ?list=UU2q3yt0x2irVXrLfeGPv-IA" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe>
<div class="source source-img"><p><p>Official highlights of Reading's 0-0 draw with Bolton Wanderers.</p></p></div>
https://thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/2014/12/7/7347917/reading-0-0-bolton-video-highlightsBucksRoyal2014-12-07T07:00:02+00:002014-12-07T07:00:02+00:00Reading 0-0 Bolton: Player Ratings
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<figcaption>Michael Steele/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Reading played out a lifeless 0-0 draw with Bolton Wanderers on Saturday afternoon, but how did each of the players perform? Bucks Royal gives us his player ratings from the match.</p> <h4>
<span>Adam Federici</span> - 7</h4>
<p>Only had one save to make, but what a save it was. 7/10 may seem a generous mark on that basis, but nonetheless it could have been the difference between one point and none. Still to find any evidence at all that Federici won't be the first name on the team-sheet every week.</p>
<h4>
<span>Stephen Kelly</span> - 6</h4>
<p>In a word, solid. At first glance, he doesn't look like a massive improvement on Gunter, but his experience and composure have quietly crept into our defending in recent weeks and were on show yesterday. Not one to make lung-busting runs down the right wing, but looked after his patch well enough.</p>
<h4>
<span>Michael Hector</span> - 6</h4>
<p>Was confident in defence and composed on the ball, bar a few shaky moments towards the end. Having a partner who is also accustomed to keeping the ball on the deck seems to help, and it was clear that's how he likes to play. Perhaps should have done better with some chances from set pieces in the second half, but went close nonetheless.</p>
<h4>Jake Cooper - 7 (My Man of the Match)</h4>
<p>Following on from his man of the match performance against Norwich, Jake Cooper takes the gong for the second week in a row. Could have scored in the first half were it not for <span>Garath McCleary</span> getting in the way of his shot, but looked solid at the back throughout. The calmness he shows in tricky situations isn't one that you'd expect to see in a 19-year old, and suggests that he could go on to become a very good centre half.</p>
<h4>
<span>Chris Gunter</span> - 6</h4>
<p>Similar to Kelly in that he was solid but didn't excel. Doesn't get the chance to attack when playing on his weaker side.</p>
<h4>Oliver Norwood - 6</h4>
<p>Kept hold of the ball pretty well in his role just in front of the back four. Limited in effectiveness from open play, but some cleverly taken set pieces in the second half where the ball was played short to him from a corner, before he delivered a cross, threatened to undo Bolton. Not one of his more influential games, but the fact that he can still play well in dull games goes to show why he's deserving of the <a style="background-color: #ffffff;" href="http://thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/2014/12/5/7339271/reading-player-of-the-month-november-2014-results">highly coveted Tilehurst End Player of the Month Award for November</a>.</p>
<h4>Garath McCleary - 5</h4>
<p>There's a difference between being at full match fitness and being at full match speed. Garath McCleary yesterday looked like he was fully fit, but hasn't had a long enough run of games to get into form. Didn't get into the game enough, couldn't create much for Glenn Murray to feed off, and was subbed for <span>Nick Blackman</span> on 78 minutes.</p>
<h4>Danny Williams - 5</h4>
<p>See above - Williams is another who has come back to fitness after a long spell out, and is taking time to get back into the form we now he can put on. It's hard to tell what his best role in the midfield is - box-to-box, holding midfielder or playing further forward. Seemed to be confused between the three against Bolton, and wasn't influential enough throughout the game. Subbed off for <span>Jake Taylor</span> on 85 minutes.</p>
<h4>
<span>Jordan Obita</span> - 6</h4>
<p>Flexibility is one of Obita's biggest strengths, but it's also one of his major weaknesses. We're accustomed to him playing at left back, but he's played in midfield in recent weeks. Against Bolton, he seemed to play all across the midfield throughout the match. Starting in the middle, as the game went on he was bizarrely deployed out on the right wing; correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think he's played there at all, and he's not effective there. Nonetheless, he kept the ball pretty well, and was one of Reading's main threats with his deliveries from set pieces.</p>
<h4>
<span>Hal Robson-Kanu</span> - 5</h4>
<p>I've seen far worse performances from far better players, so (having not heard it on the day), I was surprised to hear that he was booed when taken off. Didn't create enough and was pretty anonymous. A clever bit of play down the left wing in the first half where he beat two players before whipping in a tantalising cross is the Robson-Kanu we all know is out there somewhere, but just haven't seen often enough.</p>
<h4>Glenn Murray - 5</h4>
<p>A harsh mark perhaps, but I can't give him any more than that based on what I saw. <a style="background-color: #ffffff;" href="http://thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/2014/12/6/7345331/reading-0-0-bolton-sleep-inducing">As I mentioned in my match report</a>, Murray had scraps to feed off against Bolton. He did quite well with the frequent long balls down the pitch from the back, but simply did not have anything like enough support. Simon Cox has been one of our best players this season, and some of his link-up play with Glenn Murray earlier in the season was delightful. Dropping him against Norwich proved to be justified, but keeping him out of the side <i>made no sense</i>: Murray needs supply and support if he's to play like the striker we know he is.</p>
<h4>Subs</h4>
<p><a style="background-color: #ffffff;" href="http://thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/2014/12/6/7345331/reading-0-0-bolton-sleep-inducing"></a></p>
<h4>Simon Cox - 5</h4>
<p>Ineffective, didn't make much of an impact. A clever turn and run at the end of the game that came to nothing was his biggest contribution. Needs to start home games - the match was drab and lifeless by the time he came on in the 68th minute.</p>
<h4>Nick Blackman - 5</h4>
<p>22 minutes wasn't enough for Simon Cox, and 12 wasn't enough for Nick Blackman. Came on for McCleary and played on the right, although I can barely remember him doing anything.</p>
<h4>Jake Taylor - N/A</h4>
<p>Subbed on for Williams in the 85th minute so not long enough to give a mark.</p>
https://thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/2014/12/7/7346075/reading-v-bolton-player-ratingsBucksRoyal2014-12-06T20:38:05+00:002014-12-06T20:38:05+00:00Reading 0-0 Bolton: Sleep Inducing
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<figcaption>Michael Steele/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Reading returned to Berkshire for their first game at home in almost a month, playing out a dull 0-0 draw with Bolton Wanderers. Bucks Royal rounds up the action from an uneventful day at the Madejski. </p> <p>If you're in a hurry, the best summary of the match was 'nothing really happened'. Throughout the years I've been watching Reading at the Madejski, something vaguely interesting has gone on in about 98% of those games. Nigel Adkins and Neil Lennon may both be able to console themselves with a point and a clean sheet to take home, but the 15,421 fans sat freezing in the stands weren't so lucky - today's affair (it'd probably go down as false advertising to call it a game of football) can be categorised in that last 2%. With all of that in mind, here's my report on the few examples of the football being kicked meaningfully by either team.</p>
<p>Nigel Adkins kept the same starting XI for today's game against Bolton, with <span>Alex Pearce</span> replacing <span>Anton Ferdinand</span> on the bench the only change to the match-day squad. Reading appeared to line up in the same 4-1-4-1 that reared its head at Carrow Road a week earlier, with Oliver Norwood shielding the back four, <span>Jordan Obita</span> and Danny Williams playing just ahead of him, and Messrs McCleary and Robson-Kanu providing the width.</p>
<h5>First Half</h5>
<p>The first half saw few chances for either side, but Bolton started the better of the two - Max Clayton's pass across the Reading goal not quite picking any of the visiting players out. If the home side looked like scoring at all, it was from a set piece. An inswinging Jordan Obita corner was flicked on on the edge of the six-yard box, finding Murray who could only send his a header just over the bar at the far post. 30 minutes into the game, an Oliver Norwood free kick (central, 25 yards out) arced harmlessly over Andy Lonergan's bar.</p>
<p>Perhaps the best passage of play for the Royals came at the end of the first 45, <span>Hal Robson-Kanu</span> finding space on the left well before whipping in a dangerous cross that was cleared for a corner. From the resulting set-piece, <span>Garath McCleary</span> proved his inadvertent defensive qualities, skillfully blocking a Jake Cooper effort that seemed destined for the bottom corner.</p>
<h5>Second Half</h5>
<p>At the beginning of the second half, Reading finally put the ball in the net through Glenn Murray, but his strike was ruled out for offside. Not long after, Bolton had their best chance of the game - a <span>Tim Ream</span> header from a Bolton corner looked to have Federici beaten, the Aussie pulled of a fantastic save to keep the scores level.</p>
<p>Reading were looking better in the second half, and had two more chances through <span>Michael Hector</span>. The young centre back was unlucky to see his header go narrowly over the bar from a Jordan Obita (headers from corners going close being the theme of the day), and fired just wide from the edge of the box soon after. The home side tried to mix it up with their set pieces from then on - two successive corners were played short to Oliver Norwood, the Northern Irish international feeding Cooper and then Robson-Kanu.</p>
<p>The match became more open in the last section, Bolton threatening on the counter-attack several times - Pratley and Wilkinson both having efforts on goal. Although Williams forced a smart save out of Lonergan, the game fizzled out in much the same way as it had started.</p>
<p>It's hard to tell if either manager will be much pleased with today's result. Although both sides had odd chances, neither really did much to deserve taking all three points.</p>
<h5>Positives</h5>
<p>* It's the first clean-sheet for the new centre-back pairing of Michael Hector and Jake Cooper, who both excelled in last weekend's 2-1 win at Norwich. Despite the odd shaky moment from Hector towards the end of the game, the duo looked solid and comfortable on the ball. Today will be a real confidence booster going forwards.</p>
<p>* Today's point means this is the first time since the beginning of October that Reading have gone unbeaten two games in a row. To call this a positive is stretching it a little, but this is the kind of game that we would have lost a month or two ago. Onwards and upwards and all that...</p>
<h5>Negatives</h5>
<p>* When you have a striker with the goal-scoring record of Glenn Murray in the side, you need to give him better supply that what he had today. With the exception of the odd header from a corner, he was pretty anonymous throughout - through no fault of his own. The lack of spark was worrying, and resulted in us barely looking like scoring.</p>
<p>* Linking into <a href="http://thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/2014-15-analysis-opinion/2014/11/11/7190765/reading-fc-til-i-die">Jon Keen's excellent piece on dwindling attendance figures last month</a>, the turnout of 15,421 was pretty depressing. That's a figure we've seen on a regular basis this season, and must be a concern for the club. In the last 10-odd seasons, almost all of them have been exciting - either Premiership football or a promotion charge has been the order of business. This year has been a dull season and turnout has suffered as a result. Today's match sums that all up nicely.</p>
https://thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/2014/12/6/7345331/reading-0-0-bolton-sleep-inducingBucksRoyal2014-12-06T17:02:10+00:002014-12-06T17:02:10+00:00Reading 0-0 Bolton: Instant Reaction
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<p>A chilly afternoon in Berkshire ended 0-0 after the two mid-table Championship outfits played out a thoroughly mid-table draw.</p> <p>Reading were unchanged in their starting XI, with The Trotters unable to play Eidur Gudjohnsen- the veteran striker without international clearance despite travelling with his new side.</p>
<p>The first half struggled to kick into gear for both teams- the returning Matt Mills playing a good game for the visitors. The Royals had a vibrant final few minutes, with the best chance coming as Jake Cooper's header was blocked by Glenn Murray, and then fired over by the loanee-forward.</p>
<p>The second-half began in the same mode, with Reading squandering chances through Michael Hector. Tim Ream had Bolton's best chance saved by Adam Federici from a narrow angle, but in truth The Royals never looked bad enough to lose this.</p>
<p>A score-less draw fizzled out and a point will be divvied out to both sides, with Reading staying 14th in the Championship- Botlon rise to 17th.</p>
<p>We'll have full report'n'ratings ASAP here on The Tilehurst End.</p>
https://thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/2014/12/6/7344687/reading-fc-0-0-bolton-wanderers-instant-reactionThe Tilehurst End News Desk2014-12-06T10:00:02+00:002014-12-06T10:00:02+00:00Ref-Watch: Bolton (H)
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<figcaption>Nigel Roddis/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Reading have a veteran ref in charge against Bolton this weekend. The_Biscuitman gives us the lowdown on Hertfordshire official Keith Hill - no, not the Rochdale boss.</p> <p>I'll start off this week's RefWatch with what is a history lesson for me and probably a sign of getting old for you.</p>
<p><span>This weekend's ref is Keith Hill, who first refereed a Royals game 16 years ago this month - a 1-1 draw against Oldham in the old Division Two. This was a time when Cher topped the charts, Jack Frost was the most popular film in cinemas, and I was getting ready to be born. (That last bit probably won't make you feel old)</span></p>
<p><span>So it appears we've got a bit of a veteran official on our hands this week, so I've climbed (incredibly bad reference to Hill) through over a decade's worth of records to gather information on Keith.</span></p>
<p><span>Including that Division Two clash, he has been in charge of 15 Reading games, but I'm afraid it doesn't look good. We've only won three under his control, losing eight times and drawing on four occasions. Cards have been handed out aplenty in that time, with five reds and 73 yellows - averaging 5.2 per game. </span></p>
<p><span>That's been the general trend with Hill this season as well, as the Hertfordshire official has given 59 yellows and 3 reds in 17 games so far in 2014-15 (five in the Championship) - an average of 3.65 per game.</span></p>
<p><span>Tomorrow won't be the first time he has visited the Madjeski Stadium this season, as he was in charge for our 3-2 win over Millwall in September.</span></p>
<p><span>I'm not expecting a bucket full of goals tomorrow afternoon, but there may be reason to - not just because Bolton are back in Berkshire. Hill has refereed a few goal-fests already this campaign, a 6-6 draw between Dagenham & Redbridge and Brentford in the League Cup and Bournemouth's 8-0 thrashing of Birmingham back in October.</span></p>
<p><span>Whilst goals and cards have followed Hill everywhere this season, penalties are less hard to come by. He's given just five spot-kicks this season, but only two have been scored, including Nick Blackman's effort from 12 yards against Millwall. </span></p>
<p><span>So it doesn't seem this ref gets more lenient with age - could he cut the figure of an old, strict headmaster by the end of Saturday?</span></p>
https://thetilehurstend.sbnation.com/2014/12/6/7340105/ref-watch-bolton-wanderers-hOlly_Allen