A BK Double

Two goals from Andre Bikey gave Reading a vital victory against Birmingham City at the Madejski Stadium. The Cameroon centre half weighed in on two occasions to head past Maik Taylor in the Birmingham City goal and leave the Midlanders in deep relegation trouble. Bikey may have been seen as something of a surprise scorer when he gave Reading the lead, but his second goal proved that the first was no fluke.

The Easter Weekend brought a mixed bag of weather to Berkshire. Snow, hail, rain and intermittent sunshine all made an appearance on a day that was supposed to be the second of spring. Reading’s match against Birmingham City would carry the billing of six-pointer in these late season days. The two teams met at St Andrews in mid December and Reading left the West Midlands that day with only their second away point of the season following a 1-1 draw between the two teams.

Reading showed further purpose following their narrow defeat at Anfield last weekend. Indeed, Stephen Hunt could have given the home side an early lead following a neat run that evaded the Birmingham defence and saw the midfield man hit the cross bar from the edge of the penalty box. Reading’s lead was gained in the 31st minute when Bikey headed in a free kick that was delivered into the box from the boot of the consistent Nicky Shorey. The home crowd breathed a huge sigh of relief because Gary McSheffery could have put the visitors ahead moments before Bikey’s opener, but pulled his shot just wide after finding himself free in the Reading penalty box.

Perhaps it was inevitable that one goal would not be enough. The atmosphere early in the second half certainly helped to promote that feeling. John Oster fired a close range shot over the bar and looked suitably annoyed with himself as a result. Reading was dominating possession but could not add to Bikey’s opener.

Birmingham was growing in confidence as Reading failed to press home their advantage. In the 64th minute the away side took full advantage of Reading’s failure to kill off the match. Strong running by Mikael Forsell down the left flank was not dealt with properly by the Reading defence. The Finn was able to pull the ball back for Mauro Zarate who did not miss from close range to equalise.

Reading rued their missed efforts, but showed the strength of character that will become vital in their battle to survive in the top flight. Once again a free kick from Nicky Shorey found its way onto the head of Andre Bikey and then into the net. Dave Kitson may have got to it had it not found the giant centre back. In truth Kitson had no complaints whatsoever and neither did the majority of spectators in the Madejski Stadium.

Reading’s victory was deserved and there were enough individual performances to suggest that players who possess the courage and conviction to carry the fight through to a satisfactory conclusion will take on the battle for survival. It’s a shame that David Kitson will not be involved in England’s trip to Paris this week. The Reading striker was superb. Working hard at both ends of the pitch, Kitson showed enough desire and quality to suggest that he remains England class. The same can be said of Nicky Shorey, especially from set pieces and overlapping forward runs. Although I say this with a hint of disappointment, let us hope that England’s loss is Reading’s game. With a tricky game against Blackburn Rovers next Saturday, the absence of Shorey and Kitson in France will be one less worry for Steve Coppell to contend with.

By Stuart Croucher.