Pavel Pogrebnyak reached the byline, he looked up and dinked a cross towards the back post.

Garath McCleary met it on the volley, not the sweetest of connections, before it was caught by Wojciech Szczęsny.

But this was different, the winger ran off celebrating and the fans were jumping for joy, willing for the referee to blow his whistle.

The Polish keeper tried to play it down, but the goal-line technology had buzzed and the celebrations could really begin.

Just nine minutes into the second half, in a scorching early evening, McCleary had equalised for Reading in the FA Cup semi-final.

On this day in 2015, hearts were broken but memories were made as the Royals made their first appearance in a semi-final since 1927.

An uneventful run had seen Steve Clarke's side knock out Huddersfield Town, Cardiff City and Derby County before a highly-anticipated clash with Reading legend Phil Parkinson and his Bradford City side.

Having knocked out Chelsea in the previous round, and just two years on from the Bantams League Cup heroics, the Royals were almost the underdogs heading to Valley Parade.

Let's face it, the tie was awful.

A poor pitch certainly did not help, but neither side warranted a place in the final four off of that showing.

So, back to the Madejski.

Almost 23,000 crammed in on a Monday night, just two days after losing 4-0 to Watford with a very under-strength side, and put on a show for those watching around the world.

Hal Robson-Kanu and McCleary killed the tie inside 10 minutes with a goal apiece, and Felipe Morias' red card did not help the Yorkshire outfit.

Jamie Mackie made sure of the win in the second half and the banana skin tie was comfortably naviagted...OFF TO WEMBLEY!

Over 30,000 snapped up tickets and half of Wembley turned blue and white as the club distributed commemorative t-shirts for supporters.

Arsene Wenger's team bossed most of the early proceedings and took the lead before half-time through superstar Alexis Sanchez.

Just after half-time, IT HAPPENED. McCleary took the roof off of one half of the national stadium and supporters dreamed.

Adam Federici almost single-handedly kept his side in the tie with some fantastic saves before Reading were denied TWO strong penalty claims.

As afternoon became evening, another 30 minutes of extra time was needed.

Reading more than held their own and looked to be making it to the min-break unscathed.

That was until the cruel hand of fate struck, tarnishing an otherwise perfect display with a mistake from Federici, allowing Sanchez's shot to squirm through his body and into the net.

The final 15 minutes was straightfoward for the reigning champions, with the wind being well and truly taken out of Reading's sails.

Defeat was not an uncommon feeling that season, finishing 19th in the Championship, but a concoction of deflation and pride emerged from those in attendance- Reading had taken the Arsenal all the way.

It looked like it could have happened again 12 months later, Brian McDermott taking the club to his third quarter-final, but Alan Pardew and Crystal Palace put rest to those hopes.

Ultimiately it was another 'what could have been' moment for Reading supporters- but memories were made that will last a lifetime.