Reading 2-2 Huddersfield: A metaphor for the Royals’ season as they concede late on

An entertaining first-half was cancelled out by a classic ‘nothing to play for’ second 45 minutes until Rarmani Edmonds-Green earned Huddersfield a point with virtually the last kick of the game.

‘Paradise’ by Coldplay was on the pre-match playlist at the Madejski, as it has been for most of the season. It was for most of the season that Reading found themselves in the paradise of the play-off spots. On what was a windy, gloomy, grey day in RG2, ‘paradise’ was anything but apt.

To be fair to both sides, however, the game sprung into life fairly early on when Josh Koroma curled a stunning free-kick past Reading’s league debutant, Luke Southwood. Within three minutes, the Royals had scored from a set play of their own – Michael Olise smashing home a penalty won by loanee Alfa Semedo, on what may be both players’ last appearance for the club.

Huddersfield’s opener had fired Reading up, and Olise dictated the show. The winger’s silky movement and sublime technical ability, which had a few weeks ago earned him the EFL Young Player of the Year award, was a joy to watch in the opening half an hour.

Whether Olise was taking full advantage of one last attempt to get in the shop window is up for debate, but his contributions only became more valuable when his deep cross found the head of Yakou Meite. The target man, characteristically powerful in the air, thundered a looping header over Huddersfield’s Ryan Schofield and into the Terriers’ net.

The second-half was a more dreary affair, with either side sharing only a handful of chances – Keiran Phillips’ effort from the top of the box flashed past Southwood’s far post around the 80th minute. Reading looked like they were going to hold out to finish the season on the high, but with literally seconds remaining on the clock, Edmonds-Green fired under Southwood from a tight angle, taking a point back to Yorkshire for Huddersfield.

In a season that has been so, so strange, Reading ultimately came up short – both on the final day and throughout the season as a whole.

So, what now?

The immediate aftermath of the final game of the season always feels unsettlingly empty. Whether it’s the realisation that there will be no more football until August, or that, in the case of Reading and Huddersfield, there’s not been a discernible ‘achievement’ that fans can treasure over the barren non-footballing months.

But, for both sides, the pressure is on.

The off-season and pre-season are times of both change and consolidation at football clubs. Faces come and go, and strategies are defined for the new campaign. In Reading’s case, they must get both aspects right. Squad depth has been a huge issue this season, and one that, Veljko Paunovic explained to Prost International’s Sam Hudspith when asked about what prevented Reading from making the top six.

“The injuries are what went wrong. They were the only consistent thing this season. They kept coming and we have to look at how to minimise them in the future”.

As detailed in a recent piece on what Reading must avoid heading into next season, the Royals need to do their utmost best to keep the core of the squad together whilst reinforcing the attacking areas. Upfront, Reading have suffered when Lucas Joao has been injured or has underperformed.

With Sam Baldock likely on his way out and the future of George Puscas unknown, the Berkshire side needs to invest in another target man, finances permitting.

On the field, things also need to improve. Since the end of February, Reading have won only three games. Paunovic has come under criticism for his substitution choices, and this was exemplified on the final afternoon when centre back Liam Moore was brought on for magic man Michael Olise.

The Royals needed an insurance goal, and Huddersfield were more or less there for the taking. Yet, Reading sat back and attempted to absorb pressure – something they are most definitely not very good at.

Speaking to the Reading Chronicle, Paunovic did admit that this season has been both a success and a failure.

“We didn’t finish in the best possible way. I wouldn’t say it (the season) has been a success but I would characterise it as a huge improvement. It’s hard for us for the whole season other than the last few games in the play-offs to not see it as a disappointment”.

It’s hard to disagree with that sentiment. It’s similarly hard to ‘coach’ mentality, but Reading simply must come back with a little more fight in them next season. Paunovic has often spoken of treating each game exactly the same, but there have been occasions where the pressure arguably needed to be made a little more clear.

For too much of this season, Reading played like underdogs – despite being a fairly comfortable play-off side for most of it. Next year, this can’t happen.

And for Huddersfield?

The Terriers looked like a very average team at the Madejski, which in reality, is what they currently are. Stray passes, players getting frustrated at each other and a clear lack of ‘wow’ stood out. Individually, Huddersfield do have some good players – opening goal scorer Josh Koroma amongst them. Throughout this fixture, Town didn’t seem to have a clear identity.

This summer will be a time of change at Huddersfield. It will mark the beginning of a new era, and with the board signalling that Carlos Corberan will still be in charge in August, a sense of unity that was perhaps ruined upon the embarkment of Town’s second season in the Premier League will hopefully reinstate itself at the John Smith’s Stadium.

“As a club we want to grow, we want to improve the squad and we want to learn from our mistakes. I am the first one that made many mistakes and I have to improve. I want to see a better profile of the team, I want to see better performances and results because that’s the most important thing. I have enough support from inside the club and we are focused on improving the squad” – Corberan on next season via Huddersfield Town AFC. 

On the pitch, Huddersfield must improve. Their squad, being frank, requires improvement, and a woeful defensive record of 71 goals conceded is the highest in the Championship, and the fourth highest in the entire football league.

The Terriers have to strengthen, but also mentally. The return of fans should provide a little more of an incentive to push on next year, and perhaps, with the departure of several Premier League signings imminent, a ‘non-Premier League’ mentality can develop for the Yorkshire outfit.

Whilst that might seem like a strange statement to make, it has arguably been the ‘Premier League cloud’ – both on and off the pitch – that has done more damage to Huddersfield than it has done good.

As for Reading, Veljko Paunovic deserves another season at the helm in Berkshire. Some fans have already begun calling for his head due to the end of season collapse, but stability is not something that has been commonplace at the Madejski for some time. As such, Reading fans must remember that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side…

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