With Paul Ince having been in the role for just two weeks, Millwall were the first opponents of a four-game March- the day after veteran central-defender Scott Dann penned a new one-year contract with the club.
In a game with very few chances for either side, it was a former Royal who came back to haunt Reading in the form of Academy graduate Jake Cooper. The Bracknell-born defender made more than 50 appearances for the club until departing in 2017, scoring four times. He notched one quarter of his Royals total in the 90 minutes for the Lions, unsurprisingly powering a header beyond Karl Hein to make it successive match-winning goals for the match captain. In another surprising turn of events, it was interim first-team coach, and iconic Reading legend, Michael Gilkes who took the post-match press conference ahead of Ince- to everyone’s befuddlement.
In the week that followed, loan signing Hein broke his finger and was replaced by Norway international Orjan Nyland as first choice for the remainder of the season. In more positive news, fan favourite Lucas Joao won the EFL Championship Player of the Month for February with four goals to his name- the first Royal to win a Player of the Month award since April 2017.
Unfortunately, the good news did not stretch to the following weekend as an upwardly mobile tore Reading to shreds at the City Ground. Falling behind within one minute, a second half capitulation saw another four goals shipped on their travels- the second in succession.
Just three days later the side faced another daunting task, travelling to second-place Bournemouth. The game went to plan early on, with Dominic Solanke giving the Cherries another early lead, but Ince’s men rallied and were much the better side in the second period. Huffing and puffing, there appeared no way of beating Mark Travers in the south-coast side’s net, that was until 10 minutes from time when Tom Ince thundered home a strike from the edge of the box after a corner was only half cleared to notch his first goal for the club and ensure the team took home a well-deserved point and the near-sell-out away contingent headed home content. Despite the positive result, a win for Barnsley cut the gap to the bottom three to just two points, piling the pressure back onto Ince and Co. ahead of the visit of play-off chasing Blackburn Rovers.
On poor form themselves, Tony Mowbray’s side sat in the top-six despite failing to win, or even score in, any of their last six away matches. The game certainly didn’t go the way the league table would suggest, with the hosts dominating the Lancashire-based side at the SCL Stadium. Andy Yiadom, Lucas Joao, Ince and Josh Laurent all had brilliant openings to take the lead but were denied by some impressive goalkeeping from Thomas Kaminski. The visitors best chance came moments before Reading took the lead when substitute Bradley Dack’s shot was saved from point-blank range and Sam Gallagher slipped before making contact with the what was certain to be a match-winning shot. Laurent bend a superb strike past a helpless Kaminski with just 10 minutes left to secure a first win in five and make it an unbeaten week against two promotion-challenging sides.
Not without tinges of disappointment, key midfielder Andy Rinomhota was declared out for the season with an injury sustained in the first half, while much-loved Yakou Meite pulled up at the end and missed the majority of the season. After four matches, and four points, the Royals ended the month in 21st place five points clear of Barnsley, with a trip to the Tykes next on the agenda after the international break.
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