Reading vs Swansea City. Sky Bet Championship.
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Report and highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash at the Madejski Stadium
Thursday 23 July 2020 09:19, UK
Swansea won 4-1 at Reading to secure the final play-off spot in miraculous fashion by leapfrogging Nottingham Forest on goal difference during a frenetic final few minutes of the Championship season.
Steve Cooper's side looked down and out at the Madejski Stadium with the scores locked at 1-1 going into the second half after George Puscas had cancelled out Rhian Brewster's stunning opener from the penalty spot.
But the hosts were up against it themselves after being reduced to 10 men following Yakou Melle's dismissal for violent conduct just before the break.
Knowing a play-off place was up for grabs, the Swans looked to capitalise on their numerical advantage and Wayne Routlege did exactly that by lobbing the visitors ahead in the 66th minute.
As Stoke reduced the goal difference with play-off rivals Nottingham Forest, Swansea pulled within touching distance of sixth spot after substitute Liam Cullen scored his side's third, before Routledge guaranteed the unthinkable to overcome the five-goal swing in stoppage time.
Liverpool loanee Brewster provided a sign of what was to come when he scored a goal-of-the-season contender from midway instead Reading's half, firing past Rafael Cabral with pure power.
A moment of madness saw Reading winger Meite see red for pushing Mike van der Hoorn in the face with both hands. But Jake Bidwell conceded a penalty just two minutes later with a reckless challenge on Andy Rinomhota - duly converted by Puscas - to level the sides going into the break.
With the one-man advantage, Swansea took full control in the second half and Routledge pulled the visitors ahead with a delightful take from Matt Grimes' long ball - and the comeback began.
Substitute Cullen made it 3-1 with six minutes left on the clock as news filtered onto the pitch that play-off rivals Nottingham Forest were trailing 3-1 to Stoke.
Swansea needed just one more goal to leapfrog Forest and Routledge completed the remarkable feat with his second goal of the game with a header from close range in stoppage time.
As it turned out, Forest then conceded another at Reading to lose by the same scoreline, and so Swansea shored up the final play-off spot with one goal to spare and will host Brentford in the first leg this Sunday.
Reading's Mark Bowen: "We got a foothold in the game and then the first shot that they had flies in the back of the net.
"Then Yakou [Meite] loses his head. Their fella [Mike van der Hoorn] went down as if he'd been shot but he's entitled to do that if someone raises their hands to him.
"Down to 10 men but we showed a bit of character to get back into the game.
"But from then on in, we had to make sure that we were defensively sound and could still play counter-attacking football.
"We did that OK to a degree but then we came to the back end of the game and maybe a bit of tiredness crept in."
Swansea's Steve Cooper: "We got over the line. We're calm now and refocused. It's a pat on the back at the moment but still not a time for congratulations.
"We're there already, back down to earth. We've still got two or maybe three games to go.
"What an eventful night it was. We've got the job done in the end, we achieved our objective, but no one thought that it was going to be in that way.
"It was, though, going to take something extraordinary for it to happen. And it has done."
