View From The Dolan: Hammering West Ham

Ben talks us through Reading’s 3-1 EFL Trophy win over West Ham United at the SCL.

Full disclosure: I had actually forgotten about this competition. In my head (and I feel this is perfectly reasonable), I assumed it was one of those where we’d just have one season in it. The kind of “oh look, you’ve been relegated, but fear not because you are going into a brand new trophy thing and you could get to Wembley”-type conversation that I assumed (again, reasonably) the club had with the EFL last season.

I was only reminded of this on Saturday when I went to check my Royalty Points (still got loads) and stumbled across the fixture nestled in between the league home games. Sending off 11 notes digitally seemed good value and I’m a big fan of the LDV Vans Trophy anyway, so it was a good fit all round.

Housing everyone in the Lower West was, to be blunt, complete bonkers. Having arrived at around 6.45pm, it was clear that there was going to be a bulging crowd for this one.

Was it because it was Premier League opposition, where fans hadn’t read the small print that it was their youngsters? The fact it was cheap perhaps? Warm weather maybe? Either way, seated in the north west corner, it soon transpired that the Dolan needed to be opened up for the latecomers. Unless there was a very specific reason to have the West Stand used, surely moving forward it will be back to the SJM for these type of games.

The team selection raised my eyebrows. Far too many key first-team players were starting which panicked me like a middle-aged person accidentally liking a Facebook post and then scrambling to find the unlike button.

I fully appreciate we need a balance of youth and youth but with experience but, with the games coming thick and fast so early in the season, you just felt we were asking for trouble injury-wise.

And then of course, I read about the rules and, if I’ve got this right, we had to start four of a selection of outfield players from this list of criteria below:

• Any player who started the previous or following first-team fixture
• Any player who is in the top 10 players at the club who has made the most starting appearances in league and domestic cup competitions this season
• Any player with 40 or more first-team starting appearances in their career, including international matches
• Any player on loan from a Premier League club or any EFL Category 1 academy club
• Any player out on a long-loan term at a National League, National League North or National League South team can play as long as the loaning team agree to allow the player to return for the match

Got all that? Fantastic!

Photo by Bradley Collyer/PA Images via Getty Images

Around 15 minutes in, I realised I hadn’t eaten since luncheon, so headed down to an unfamiliar concourse to buy something. I settled on the hotdog - it’s been a long time since I last had one of those at a game. And listen: it was good. Big sausage-type product, soft brioche roll, nice big portion size and not bad value at £5.50. 7/10 - would recommend.

Shortly after my arrival back into my seat, Jayden Wareham slotted home his first of the season and our first of the night, clinically finishing off a Ben Elliott pass like a toddler dispatching a chocolate mousse. It got even better soon after with a well taken Kelvin Abrefa goal that was lashed home and past the visiting net tender.

We did allow them to get back into the game with a deflected shot that nudged past Coniah Boyce-Clarke and, frankly, half-time came at the right time to settle things down.

My son, who was with me, talked about the possibility of him now having a hotdog. I reminded him that he’d already had dinner and pudding, plus a bag of crisps I’d bought him at the same time as my own hot dog and that hot dogs themselves didn’t grow on trees.

I also explained that I wasn’t prepared to queue at the busiest time on the concourse because queuing is irritating and time-consuming and that if he was still hungry six minutes into the second half (no idea why I said six minutes), I’d “see what I could do”. Of course, an internal stopwatch was set by him and, after the six minutes had lapsed, he assured me he was still hungry and that yes, he would like a hotdog.

I went down to the food desk and got him some more crisps. Admittedly, I committed “parent fraud” by telling him they’d “sold out” and that the crisps “were the only things left”, which he did actually believe. He doesn’t read this column so it doesn’t matter - and also, I’d have spent £11 on hotdogs, which was the same price as the tickets and I just thought that was crazy.

Photo by Cameron Howard/Getty Images

Game-wise, we’d lost a little of the composure we enjoyed in the final third in the opening 46 minutes. There was endeavour, but not much end product.

Adrian Akande looked good, getting to the byline and looking to invent something. Wareham showed some nice bits and Shay Spencer had had a fairly accomplished game up to this point.

The best part of the night came when Tyler Sackey lashed home his effort for his first senior goal. The joy in his face, the celebration with the other players and his overall glee at netting his first goal were a sight to behold and further epitomised the work ethic these players have for each other.

I was incredibly pleased for him to be able to do it front of a larger-than-expected crowd and the attitude of these players is improving game by game - as is the expectation on them to perform each and every time they step onto the field under Ruben Selles and his staff.

An enjoyable night then that will do these younger players no harm at all. With two more group games to come, you’d expect them to be vying for a place in the starting 11 moving forward and, from there, who knows?

Until next time.