A lovely late summer's day, with a warm sun shining to brighten everywhere up, greeted the Rovers team and their travelling fans this afternoon at the Madejski Stadium for the match against Reading.

Of course we were all looking forward to seeing Matthew Mills playing against his old teammates but he was listed on the substitutes' bench. The fans would, perhaps, also be a mite disappointed to see Billy Sharp also listed on the bench for the Rovers. The Rovers defended the South Stand end in the first half where their supporters were seated. So, a bright sunny afternoon, a well grassed pitch and the battle between the blue and white hoops and the red and white hoops commenced at the allotted time.

The home team set the game in motion but the early minutes saw the Rovers have a majority of the ball possession without making a breakthrough. The Royals hit back in the 7thminute and forced a corner off Chambers, who stuck a leg out to block a shot. The Reading players claimed a penalty for hand ball but the referee, well placed, would have none of it. Ten minutes in and Woods, for the Rovers, had a crack from 30yards but put wide. Minutes later, a good run by Oster looked as though he would break thourgh for a strike at goal but the Reading backline closed him down and were able to clear. Another corner to the home team a couple of minutes later was followed by a good break by the Rovers to clear their lines. Then a good build-up down the right initiated by Chambers was ended by the linesman's flag for offside on Woods, although the ball had run away from him and out for a goalkick. Back came the home team and Sullivan was forced to go full length after 24 minutes to push away a shot that was cleared by a defender to Cummings whose shot was deflected for a corner. Minutes later the Royals won successive corners but they were well defended. Past the half hour mark and on 35minutes Woods was cautioned for taking a free kick before the referee said so or possibly for the player backchatting him. However, Woods placed the kick into the home six yard box where the goalkeeper, seemingly deceived by the flight, let the ball hit him and go out for a corner. A second corner followed which eventually came out to Spicer, who fired over from 20yards. Time ran down to the break with the home team having a shot go well wide before the Rovers gained successive corners without any tangible reward. An even if sometimes scrappy half.

Half-time - Reading 0 Doncaster Rovers 0

The Rovers started the second half and were first to have a sight of goal after five minutes but Woods fluffed his shot from 25yards and put wide. Two minutes later and Howard wasted a free kick from a good position on the right by tamely firing wide. The home team gradually pushed on and put pressure on the Rovers defence. A corner to Reading brought a header from Hunt that Sullivan pushed out and was cleared. Another corner minutes later was headed wide of the far post. Continuing to press the home team had another good chance on 62 minutes when Rasiak ran clear down the home left and hit a good shot from the left angle of the area that had Sullivan diving to his left to push round the post. Shortly after the Rovers raised the siege and Oster had a cracking effort blocked. Team changes were made by both sides by now but the home side continued with the majority of possession. Good defending and good goalkeeping kept the Reading team at bay as the home crowd urged their men on. The final whistle went on a hard fought game bringing a good point for the Rovers.

Teams - Reading - Adam Federici; Ryan Bertrand, Darren O'Dea, Alex Pearce, Shaun Cummings; Jem Karacan, Brynjar Gunnarsson, Brian Howard, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Jimmy Kebe, Noel Hunt

Subs used - Marek Matyejovski for Sigurdsson 59mins; Grzegorz Rasiak for Karacan 59mins; Kalifa Cisse for Gunnarsson 69mins;

Subs not used - Matthew Mills, Jay Tabb, Simon Church, Ben Hamer,

ROVERS - Neil Sullivan; James Chambers, Adam Lockwood, Jason Shackell, Gareth Roberts; John Spicer, Brian Stock, John Oster, Martin Woods; James Coppinger, James Hayter

Subs used - Sam Hird for Spicer 64mins; Lewis Guy for Hayter 76mins; Billy Sharp for Coppinger 76mins;

Subs not used - Mark Wilson, Quinton Fortune, , Dean Shiels, Ben Smith GK
Cautions - Woods, Stock, Chambers