Well it looked as though we had made the wrong decision to head to Mitcham for this pre-season friendly, with the majority of the first team off to Kettering and only one or two established players lining up alongside the kids for this game, but it looks like it may have turned out to be the right choice. We may not have had the opportunity to see how Brendan Rodger’s team would operate, but at least we witnessed a win. Plus, it was pretty handy for me to be able to get the tube to the match for a change.
With much of the outward conversation dominated by the ticket prices and how strange it was to be paying £2 more to see the reserves than the first team, it was a nice surprise to find the admission slashed to £8 as we went through the turnstiles. The ground is a nice one, bigger than I expected it to be with the stands as well-maintained as the pitch which, despite the grass being quite long, looked like a nice playing surface. As is often the case with pre-season friendlies, it was also good to be able to stand up and walk around during the game, something sadly missed since the days of Elm Park.
The buzz was all about Michail Antonio, whose transfer to Reading back in October last year was the reason that this friendly had come about and the youngster did not disappoint. He looked lively down the right wing and caused numerous problems before heading home from a Sigurdsson corner for Reading’s second. This assist added to the impressive performance of the Icelandic U21 international who had opened the scoring, following up after David Mooney’s effort had been parried out by the goalkeeper.
Despite being, arguably, the best player on paper, Andre Bikey had one of his more nightmarish games, consistently giving the ball away and gifting chances to the Tooting & Mitchum attack. Bikey usually treads a fine line between the talented and the casual, but today he only managed to pack the latter and was, for the most part, something of a liability at the back. He did provide two of the games most interesting moments though, thumping a free-kick against the post and being the butt of the crowds best joke. As the physio ran on to attend to a fallen player, a wag in the stand shouted: “Bikey, no! It’s only a physio!
Alex McCarthy put in an impressive performance inbetween the sticks after coming on at half-time to keep the team’s clean sheet. Also standing out were David Mooney, who was lively but wasteful, Scott Davies, who looked comfortable on the ball and did well. An honourable mention to for Tooting and Mitcham’s captain in central defence who made some fantastic last ditch challenges and the goalkeeper, who made some decent stops. From somebody who knows all about scoring own goals, I’d also say hard luck to the unfortunate defender who headed into his own net to inflate the scoreline.
If anybody that went to Kettering would like to write a couple of hundred words on the game, please leave your email or HobNob username in the comments and I’ll get in touch.
