1. Freestone
2. Phillips #
3. Howard
4. Bound
5. O'Leary
6. Cusack
7. Thomas
8. Boyd *
9. Jenkins @
10. Coates
11. Price

    ---

12. Jones J
13. Morgan #(71)
14. Jones S
15. Watkin *(51)
16. Roberts @(46)

 Reading

1. Whitehead
2. Viveash
3. Hunter
4. Caskey #
5. Butler
6. Hodges
7. Cureton @
8. Parkinson
9. Gurney
10. McIntyre *
11. Newman

    ---

12. Smith @ (68)
13. Murty # (75)
14. Mackie
15. Henderson * (79)
16. Ashdown

It was a much more even match than the scoreline suggests. It was a very open game with both sides having a lot of good goalscoring chances. Reading took theirs, we didn't - it was as simple as that.

We were extremely unlucky to be losing at half-time. Their goal was the result of a terrible refereeing decision - playing advantage after a Reading handball which resulted in the ball ending up in the Swansea net about 5 seconds later. Other than that we held our own - only two superb saves from Whitehead in the Reading goal prevented us from scoring.

All the second half goals from Reading came on the break as the Swans piled forward, putting the Reading goal under sustained pressure for long periods. I think the second half corner count was eight for the Swans to two for Reading. Unfortunately we couldn't make the pressure count - too many good chances went begging, with Martin Thomas hitting a couple of particularly wayward shots from good positions inside the area.

Reading did not make the same mistakes, and looked very dangerous going forward, making good advantage of the wide playing surface and the space being left at the back by the Swans. The third Reading goal was typical of this. A poor Coates corner went in low straight to a Reading defender at the near post, who booted in upfield towards Butler. He was able to run unchallenged towards goal and hit a powerful shot past Roger.

Giving credit to the Swans, they did not give up and this goal sparked their best period of the match. A looping header from Cusack was somehow turned over the bar by Whithead. With Stuart Roberts creating havoc down the right, sustained Swansea pressure finally resulted in a goal. A delicate lob from Watkin, on for the injured Boyd, gave the keeper no chance and the 1500+ Jacks behind the goal went wild.

A couple of minutes later, a run from deep by Coates resulted in the fierce drive which smacked back off the crossbar. If that shot had gone in I believe we could have salvaged a point as we had Reading on the rack at that point.

However, another breakaway goal shortly afterwards put paid to any thought of a comeback, and the game was over as a contest.

So, despite the scoreline, not by any means the worst performance I've seen by the Swans on their travels. If we had a striker of the calibre of Cureton on Butler the game could easily have ended four or five all.

Superb stadium, but £9.00 for two hot dogs and two cokes - what a rip-off

A sharp reminder to all concerned about the challenges we face in Division 2, as the Swans were brought firmly back to earth by a tough and clinical reading side at the Madejski Stadium this afternoon. But don't be fooled by this scoreline, which flattered the home side considerably. We should be concerned about the manner in which our makeshift defence fell apart, but we shouldn't think that there were no positives to take from this unusual clattering.

There was some good news for the excellent Swans contingent when the team ran out. Both Watkin and Jones back from injury, but both on the bench, presumably not yet fully fit. This meant that Price remained at right back, O'Leary at centre half in place of the still injured Smith, and Cusack partnered Boyd up front. Occupying Price's wide right slot was Jenkins (rather than Roberts) and in Cusack's centre midfield berth alongside Thomas, was Gareth Phillips, all in all giving an experimental and youthful look to the side

The home side were positive from the first whistle, but it was the Swans who created the first half chance, Thomas shooting wide from outside the area. Indeed, in the opening exchanges it was the Swans who played the more constructive football, whilst Reading looked at all times to feed their sharp attackers, Cureton and Butler, with early balls forward. Reading's first serious effort came on 13 minutes, when referee R Oliver made his first farcical decision of the day by awarding them a free kick after O'Leary had cleanly won the ball. Caskey's low curling shot beat everyone, and struck the foot of the post. The Swans then took a hold on the game, playing excellent passing football through the midfield, and looking genuinely dangerous. We were unfortunate not to take the lead during this spell, with Reading keeper Whitehead making two excellent saves from vicious low strikes, first from Thomas and then from Cusack. Reading responded with some decent forays which saw Cureton come close with a low strike; but at this stage the Swans were edging an evenly balanced and enterprising game, and there was no sign at all of the traumas to come. But on the half hour the game turned in a dramatic moment. Darren Caskey committed a blatant hand ball offence of Joe Jordan proportions, but the officials chose to ignore it, and from the resulting melee, an excellent through ball found Cureton, who slotted the ball past Freestone.

After this we lost our composure, and could have finished the half two down, as Howard headed a point blank header off the line in first half stoppage time. In short, a good half, wrecked by a poor decision. After the break though, worse was to come. The Swans stormed forward, chasing the game, and Roberts (on for Jenkins at half time) created the first opening of the half with a terrific run and low cross which nearly found Coates. Reading responded with a dangerous low shot from Butler which went just wide. Shortly after a great through ball from Phillips sent Thomas away but he shot wide. But it was a sucker punch again which turned the game. A long ball from the reading half was headed in-field to Butler, who in one movement swivelled and hit a terrific low drive past Freestone.

Once again we responded, roared on by the Jacks behind the goal. Price and Roberts combined well on our right side and Price hit a low shot which was well saved. Then from a Roberts cross, Cusack produced an excellent looping header which seemed bound for the top corner, until Whitehead tipped it over. And from the ensuing corner, a low shot from Bound just evaded Watkin (now on for the injured Boyd). Then suddenly, another counter attack, with a simple long ball to Butler, who waltzed past the only Swans defender before virtually walking the ball past the helpless Freestone. We were being given a lesson in clinical counter-attacking football.

Again we didn't give up. Another excellent Roberts run saw him fall in the area, but his penalty claims were denied, and he was booked for his protests. We continued to press forward and finally got our reward when the hard working Cusack set Watkin free and his neat lob found the back of the net. Then there followed yet another defining point of the game. With the Swans pouring forward, and the homs crowd silenced, Coates went on a long run and unleashed a piledriver of shot which clattered the cross-bar. Our comeback hopes seemed to die in that moment, and sure enough, we were suckered into another goal shortly after...we went to sleep at the back and O'Leary ball-watched a low cross, as Hodges struck home an easy close range goal.

This really killed us off, and the game died after this, with Reading finally taking control of the possession. We nearly grabbed one back when another terrific cross from the outstanding Roberts was nearly diverted into his own goal by a Reading defender, but for an excellent Whitehead save. But at this stage it was Reading who were more likely to score, causing our defence real problems as they scampered in retreat. In the dying minutes, they scrambled a fifth from a corner which we failed to clear, giving the scoreline a grossly flattering look. Chasing the one goal deficit had led to us conceding a hat-ful - not one to be repeated we hope.

Player ratings:

Freestone - 7 Couldn't blame him for any of the goals
Price - 6 Good going forward, but his old defensive frailties were evident today.
Howard - 6 Looked uneasy today
O'leary - 5 the most panicky in an uncumfortable defence
Bound - 7 Did OK for the most part, but looked like a one man band at times.
Jenkins - 6 Battled hard, but he is no Stu Roberts
Coates - 5 One great moment, but gave the ball away too much
Phillips - 6 Linked well in the midfield in phases, but a little lightweight
Thomas - 8 Worked very hard and was very creative
Cusack - 8 Won a lot in the air and played a great link role
Boyd - 6 Caused problems early on but then picked up a knock

Roberts (for Jenkins) 9 In one half he created four or five great chances.
Watkin (for Boyd) 7 Looked a constant threat and was rewarded with a good goal
Morgan (for Phillips) 6 Some good links with Price and Roberts

We found ourselves asking how we could possibly have lost the game, let alone be hammered. We had played well throughout and the fighting spirit of the team was admirable. But at the end of the day it showed that some of our squad are just too inexperienced and will be punished by good sides like Reading. It also showed that our defence is frail when not at full strength, and real quality stirkers, like Cureton and Butler, will expose it. And, of course, it revealed again what we already know - we had loads of possession and some of our approach play was genuinely excellent, particularly when Roberts was roasting them in the second half. But despite the excellent work of Cusack, and industry of Watkin, there was no-one like a Butler out there for us today. Of course, some will see this another opportunity to bash John Hollins. But as we admired the splendour of the Madejski Stadium today, we would do well to remember who got us there.

On the balance of play, this was by no means a 5-1 game. It was simply a below par effort by a weakened side against a team which has recently made a million pound investment in a pair of quality strikers.

Swansea had two good spells during the course of the game. The first, midway through the first half culminated in three good chances in quick succession, with Thomas, Cusack and, to a lesser extent, Boyd forcing Reading keeper Phil Whitehead into a series of good saves.

Shortly after, Reading made the initial breakthrough. Freestone had no chance with a volley from the corner of the area from one of Reading's expensive forward pair, Jamie Cureton.

At half time, I was convinced we were still in with a chance of a point, but the first 15 minutes of the second half put paid to any of that. Perversely, the second and third Reading goals came against the run of play during the second of Swansea's decent spells, both being scored on the break by Cureton's strike-partner Martin Butler.

Shortly after going three down, Steve Watkin, on as sub for Boyd, managed to lift the ball over Whitehead for what turned out to be the consolation goal. Coates could then have made it interesting if his long-range effort hadn't hit the woodwork after the Reading defence had backed off inviting him to shoot.

But it wasn't to be. Despite some decent delivery into the box by half-time sub Stuart Roberts, and point-blank save by Whitehead from Cusack, we never really looked like clawing our way back into it. In the last twenty minutes, Hodges got his name on the scoresheet, then some sloppy defending from a late corner gave Reading their fifth and Butler his hat-trick.

No doubt about it, the strikers were the difference. Posession and balance of play didn't indicate a 5-1, but Reading simply had the ability to put the ball in the net.