Cardiff City 0 - 3 Reading: Match Report

Reading spoilt the Welsh Wembley party and secured a shot at a return to the Premier League with a 3-0 win over Cardiff in the playoff semi final second leg on Tuesday.

As he has been so often this season, Irishman Shane Long was the Royals’ hero with two first half goals after glaring errors in the Cardiff back line. Long’s double and a clinical third goal from Jobi McAnuff towards the end set up a match up with Swansea City on May 30.

The club’s top goal scorer cleverly chipped into an open goal after Stephen Bywater’s scuffed clearance before scoring a second from the penalty spot after Dekel Keinan brought down Matt Mills. McAnuff skipped past the defence to finish past Bywater with seven minutes left to seal it.

Meanwhile the Bluebirds, who had their own hero Craig Bellamy on the sidelines through injury, face another season in England’s second tier after capitulating at the end of the league season and then in front of their own fans in this match. Despite enjoying the majority of the possession and having contentious penalty shouts turned down by England’s top referee Howard Webb, Dave Jones’ team knew that they failed to test Adam Federici in the Reading goal and costly errors in defence led to the defeat.

Cardiff had their first penalty shout after four minutes. Michael Chopra was brought down in the box by Andy Griffin but Webb, whose appointment signified the importance of the occasion, waved it away.

Chopra was in the spotlight again when he claimed to be brought down in the box and later a left footed effort from the edge of the box shaved wide. The Cardiff front man would have scored seconds afterwards when he latched onto a through ball from Jay Bothroyd but Mills’ decisive block in one of a handful of half chances.

Despite all this pressure it was Reading who got the first goal after 28 minutes. Long was lurking as Bywater misjudged the bounce of a long ball forward and kicked the ball straight into him so he could lift it into the empty net.

The goal came against the run of play and Cardiff responded well with more. Webb turned down another penalty claim when Olofinjana appeared to be pushed over by Mikele Leigertwood.

Leigertwood nearly allowed Cardiff back in five minutes before the break when his pass back was too short for Federici, but the Reading goalkeeper read the situation and cleared his lines with Bothroyd breathing down his neck, reacting slightly better than his opposite 20 minutes earlier.

For the contentious decisions in the Reading area, their penalty shout was a no brainer. Keinan constantly tugged on Mills’ shirt before finally bringing him down in front of the referee’s eyes. Webb pointed to the spot and Long converted.

Cardiff came out of the blocks fighting and had the first good chance after the break after Jay Emmanuel-Thomas put a ball across goal but no team mates were there to latch onto it. Olofinjana then latched on to another cross but headed straight at Federici again.

With 13 minutes left, Federici, who had made simple saves from a string of close range efforts, came flying out of his area to dispossess Jay Bothroyd and clear any danger for a second time of the evening. Replays suggested he handled the ball to control the long pass outside his area and was lucky to stay on the pitch.

Noel Hunt hit the post and flashed across goal for Reading in two good chances to kill the tie, but McAnuff finally clinched it with seven minutes left when he twisted past the Cardiff defence and slotted a fierce right-footed shot home.