Just as the West Ham fans began to believe that they were a certainty for promotion they were brought back down to earth at the Madejski Stadium with a terrible final twenty five minutes that saw two red cards and three goals conceded.
Joey O’Brien and Jack Collison were both shown red as Alex Pearce and a Simon Church double saw off a dismal away performance from the Hammers. Much will be made of the fact that West Ham had just nine men when the game finished but the inconsistent Reading side deserved their win in a heated game.
O’Brien was shown two yellow cards in the space of two minutes for needless fouls and confrontations just seconds before the Royals took the lead in the 66th minutes through centre back Pearce who got on the end of a Jobi McAnuff cross. With ten minutes to go Church got his first after a smart ball from Adam Le Fondre left him with a comfortable header as the West Ham defence went missing again.
A late Church header sealed the game after Collison was sent off for kicking out at Jimmy Kebe after he was showboating on the wing. Two suspensions and an injury to Guy Demel will be challenging for Sam Allardyce to deal with as his squad is once again weakened.
With Southampton and Cardiff drawing it would have been the perfect opportunity for the Hammers to take top spot and pull away from the play-off places but a bad week was concluded with a poor away performance.
West Ham’s away form has been impressive this season but it may be time for Allardyce to change his system in order to see off teams that the Irons should really be beating. The West Ham boss has insisted in strengthening his small squad in January and it was clear to see why yesterday.
The loud travelling support went home disappointed but they leant a lot about certain players and their commitment to the club that was regrettably shown in Collison’s sending off. A must win game at home to Barnsley next Saturday could relieve some of the pressure on the players and still take the Hammers top of the table before the busy Christmas period.
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