Reading reels with unwanted place in history
1 Nov 2012 6:45 AM IST
Reading now occupy the unwanted place in the record books of losing the highest scoring games in the League Cup and Premier League when they went down 7-5 to Arsenal in an extraordinary Cup clash on Tuesday.
Reading were on the wrong end of a 7-4 scoreline to Portsmouth in the Premier League in 2007 and they also suffered the FA Cup’s second heaviest defeat, losing 18-0 to Preston North End in a first round tie in 1894.
Nothing of the sort looked possible though as they flew into a 4-0 lead over Arsenal after 37 minutes at the Majedksi Stadium in the fourth round encounter to leave several away fans shaking their heads in bewilderment as they made for the exit gate.
They missed one of their club’s greatest comebacks and one of the most memorable games in the 52-year history of the League Cup. The 12 goals scored on Tuesday surpassed the record for one match, set in September 2005 when Aston Villa beat Wycombe Wanderers 8-3.
The biggest winning margins were both by 10-0 when West Ham United beat Bury by that score in 1983 and Liverpool beat Fulham by the same margin in 1986.
Liverpool’s win was in the first leg of a second round tie and Fulham famously printed a picture of the world’s then-greatest player Diego Maradona on the front cover of their programme for the return leg.
Reading were on the wrong end of a 7-4 scoreline to Portsmouth in the Premier League in 2007 and they also suffered the FA Cup’s second heaviest defeat, losing 18-0 to Preston North End in a first round tie in 1894.
Nothing of the sort looked possible though as they flew into a 4-0 lead over Arsenal after 37 minutes at the Majedksi Stadium in the fourth round encounter to leave several away fans shaking their heads in bewilderment as they made for the exit gate.
They missed one of their club’s greatest comebacks and one of the most memorable games in the 52-year history of the League Cup. The 12 goals scored on Tuesday surpassed the record for one match, set in September 2005 when Aston Villa beat Wycombe Wanderers 8-3.
The biggest winning margins were both by 10-0 when West Ham United beat Bury by that score in 1983 and Liverpool beat Fulham by the same margin in 1986.
Liverpool’s win was in the first leg of a second round tie and Fulham famously printed a picture of the world’s then-greatest player Diego Maradona on the front cover of their programme for the return leg.
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