Bolton`s nasty team are over physical and Reading play poetically beautiful football. It wasn`t quite like that.
The treatment room at the Reebok will be a little busier this morning thanks to Reading`s robust approach to the game and Howard Webb`s limp-wristed refereeing.
Kevin Nolan picked up an ankle injury after a reckless unpunished challenge by Michael Duberry, Nicky Hunt lasted twenty minutes before leaving the pitch with a calf strain and El Hadji Diouf finally succumbed to the hamstring problem that`s troubled him since Christmas.
Before the accusations of sour grapes arrive, let it be said that Bolton had only themselves to blame for this defeat. They missed chances, gave away a needless penalty and then defended poorly. Give Reading credit for going for the three points when it would have been easier to settle for the draw.
It has to be said though, that there are unsavoury aspects to their play, at least on this showing. Steven Hunt picked up a booking for a challenge on Bolton ‘keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen, when it was clear that there was no chance of getting the ball. You`d think he`d learn from the Petr Cech incident. And there was a whole series of cynical obstructions and body checks that Webb chose not to punish until well into the second half.
The most worrying aspect was the way Bolton caved in after the equaliser. Confidence is low a present and this can`t have helped. Finally a word for the BBC. It wasn`t Stelios who popped a balloon prior to Kevin Doyles spot kick. The “Thompson 15” on the back of the player`s shirt should have been a giveaway. Yes it was unsporting, but he`s a scouser. What do you expect?