Unbelievable Turnaround: How April Saved Reading FC’s Season!

Unbelievable Turnaround: How April Saved Reading FC’s Season!

With six games in April, it proved to be another busy month, but fans relished the opportunity to concentrate solely on the game while previous CEO Nigel Howe oversaw the ongoing “exclusive negotiations” for a takeover. On Easter Monday, Bolton Wanderers humiliated Reading with a 5-2 victory, effortlessly outlasting the defenders and playing like a Championship team. After a 13-game winning streak, Lincoln City made their first visit to SCL Stadium in an attempt to close the gap on the playoffs. They were lucky to leave with a point in an outstanding Reading performance.

Freddie Draper gave the Imps the lead late in the game against the run of play, but Tyler Bindon came up with the biggest header to head an equaliser and keep the score moving in the right direction. After a thrilling 2-0 victory over Bristol Rovers under the floodlights, safety was all but guaranteed. Manager Ruben Selles even permitted a little emotion to be shown during some unforgettable post-match celebrations with the visiting supporters. Four days later, Reading held play-off-chasing Barnsley to a draw in an enthralling 2-2 draw at Oakwell, mathematically finishing the job. Through Sam Smith and Lewis Wing, the Royals led twice, but the Tykes tied the score both times.

Combined with other results, the draw made Reading unbeatable, and the team celebrated their return from South Yorkshire with beer and dancing in front of thousands of viewers on Amadou Mbengue’s social media feed. The participants failed to reach the heights they had reached a few weeks earlier in the following game, as is frequently the case whenever an achievement is attained. More goals than they had scored in more than two months came in the first half of Burton Albion’s match against Reading, when they were fighting for their lives in the relegation zone. Although Wing and Smith gave the Royals a response, the Brewers emerged victorious, and Reading fans were busier bringing in prohibited items—inflatables.

In Berkshire, celebrations were in order as survival was secured with two matches remaining. On the last day versus Blackpool, which was named “Dia Del Jefe” in homage of Selles the Spaniard, about 18,500 spectators attended. Before the game began, a crowd-funded flag was erected, and when the Tangerines took the lead in just three minutes, paella was still being ordered. But Reading wasn’t going into summer vacation without a fight, as Smith’s goal in first-half stoppage time brought the score back to even. The hosts dominated the second half, as Harvey Knibbs and Femi Azeez did the damage to secure a victory to end the season.

As Wing was named Player of the Season, thousands of fans stayed in their seats to sing along with the players during their “Lap of Appreciation.” Long into the night, this serenading went on in town centre pubs and bars all across the town, with the squad’s arrival in Purple Turtle causing the most noise.