Report and highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash between Hull City and Reading at the MKM Stadium as the Royals secured their Championship status despite a comprehensive defeat on Saturday afternoon.
Saturday 23 April 2022 18:33, UK
Reading were assured of Sky Bet Championship football for next season despite suffering a comprehensive 3-0 defeat at Hull.
With Peterborough losing at home to Nottingham Forest, Paul Ince's side are now guaranteed second-tier football for another campaign.
Celebrations from Royals fans were tempered, though, as two goals from Keane Lewis-Potter and an Alfie Jones tap-in consigned the visitors to a humbling defeat.
Reading have had an awful season, with a six-point reduction not helping their cause.
But this performance at the MKM Stadium, against a club with nothing to play for and marking time ahead of a reported big summer spending splurge, further highlighted the demanding job of rebuilding an ineffectual squad.
In keeping with the rest of the game, the hosts had a lot more of the football early on, but they created very few chances during a pedestrian start from both sides.
Richie Smallwood's header over the crossbar off George Honeyman's free-kick was as good as it got before the half-hour mark.
Honeyman's reliable set-pieces, this time from a corner, also partially threatened Reading's defence, but Hull centre-back Jacob Greaves misjudged the flight of the ball with a wayward header.
Reading had their moments, especially on Hull's right flank, but they lacked the nous to give goalkeeper Nathan Baxter any semblance of a fright.
That was evidenced after 35 minutes when Josh Laurent, afforded too much space off Junior Hoilett's smart cross, tamely headed into Baxter's hands from the edge of the six-yard box.
Just when Ince might have expected his players to have gained motivation from that neat piece of play, Hull scored five minutes later.
Honeyman nicked the ball off Tom Dele-Bashiru in a central area, yet his pass towards Lewis-Potter on the left should, at the very least, have been intercepted.
An unmarked Lewis-Potter instead charged into the penalty area and smashed into the roof of the net with his left foot from a difficult angle.
Perhaps distracted by the news Peterborough were losing at half-time, Reading conceded again after 53 minutes.
Honeyman was again the provider with a searching free-kick into the middle of the penalty box.
The visitors made an awful mess of the set-piece, with the scruffy rebound offering Jones an unmissable chance from six yards.
Reading at least responded, and nearly equalised on the hour when former Hull midfielder Tom Ince sent over a teasing ball from the left side.
Lucas Joao did well to latch on to the chance, but Baxter stood tall and strong to palm away for a corner.
Hull defended too deeply thereafter, but they were a continual threat on the break and scored a third when Lewis-Potter coolly slotted home a long ball in injury time.
Reading will, however, be back in the Championship next season - but a big summer of change will be needed to prevent another campaign of struggle on this evidence.
Hull's Shota Arveladze: "We have done both sides (to the game) and it's good credit to the defensive team, and it's good credit to the offensive team. It was a good mix of great supporters, good goals and a good result - you could not wish any more. Generally, we have done OK and had the game under control. We scored goals and didn't give too much away. They had half-chances, but we had half-chances as well. We were looking to win and we did that, which is good.
"Their target was to stay in the league and they did not risk much - it is difficult to play in these type of games. We now have more time to give the players a rest, to concentrate for the next two games and look forward to them."
Reading's Paul Ince: "It's a big one for me - especially the time I've been out (of management). There were a few eyebrows raised when I came to Reading. Getting what I've got out of the players, I'm proud of that. I didn't think we'd be able to turn it around that quickly. From day one, the atmosphere has been great. There have been no bad eggs since I came here. They're all fighting together and you can sense that around the building.
"I'm proud that the supporters can now look forward to another season in the Championship. I'm proud of the staff who would have been worrying about their jobs as there would have been redundancies if we'd gone down to League One. I'm proud what we've achieved for their sake. The common goal was to stay in the Championship - we've done that."
