3s win at Home

After an overnight bout of sickness the Men's 3s managed to get out a full squad for the local derby against the Uni, bringing veteran striker Merlin Smethurst out of early retirement and getting Nat Majakas to bunk off Saturday school.
Despite the numbers Reading didn't turn up for the first 10 minutes of the game and but for a series of good saves by Henry Saxby and some profligate forward play from the Uni the game could have been up early on. Once Reading settled down they started to play some good hockey with Tino and Oscar Gaff taking control of the midfield and Tom Wright shredding the opposition Left Back at will. Wright jr had the first meaningful chance for Reading but the Uni keeper smothered the 'shot' well after some superb approach play. It was the Uni that took the lead after some soft defending in the D but Reading responded almost immediately, winning a Penalty Corner which a Uni defender deflected into his own net after an improvised shot from Toby Pratt. When Nat Majakas was adjudged to have deliberately pushed a Uni forward in the 23 the opposition were able to restore the lead from the resulting PC. However the home team were able to finish the first half level when a Reading PC was fired home by Toby Pratt without the need for a deflection.
In the second half Reading were able to make their increasing dominance count, taking the lead for the first time when a sublime piece of passing hockey, started on the right by Ollie Sandell and finished when Wright jr finished a shot from Wright sr. The lead was doubled by Rob Kearney before the Uni were able to pull a goal back. With time running out Majakas was able to pass the ball into an empty net to guarantee the home team all three points.
It was a good all round team performance, despite the slow start, with some great passing play orchestrated through the midfield and a good spread of scorers to take Reading up to fourth place in the division.