Villa make it 8 in a row

Reading slumped to their eighth successive defeat as they were dominated by a Villa side who barely got out of second gear.

Prior to the game, Steve Coppell had emphasised the fact the he had 27 players available to him, giving him the right to ring in the changes after a dismal run. It was therefore completely unsurprising when he named exactly the same side that lost to Everton.

The Royals looked like a side struggling for confidence and never looked like scoring. Even after Gareth Barry missed a dubious penalty, the Royals were unable to raise their game and Villa inevitably took the lead on the stroke of half time after some woeful defending presented Ashley Young with an easy finish.

Reading looked slightly better in the second half, but Villa still looked the most likely to score and did so, through Marlon Harewood.

Minutes earlier Harewood had hit a shot out for a throw-in under little pressure, but after Ibrahima Sonko allowed Ashley Young to stroll past him, Harewood was presented with the ball and surprisingly curled a sublime shot into the top corner.

Reading finally managed to break their 9 hour drought without a goal when Nicky Shorey curled an excellent free kick into the bottom corner in injury time, but it was far too little, far too late for a Reading side who looked second best in every area of the pitch.

Ashley Young.

Young and Carew looked a constant threat and Sonko and Cisse didn't even come close to dealing with them. After making such a big deal over the amount of players available, it is shocking that Steve Coppell stuck with his losing side.

Players like Leroy Lita and Liam Rosenior are desperate for a chance and unless Coppell gives these players an opportunity to prove themselevs, we are going to go down without a fight.

The current players are lacking in confidence and seem to be aware that no matter how badly they play, they are going to keep their places. Something needs to change immediately if we're going to have any chance of staying in this division.

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