Robbie Keane's first-half strike booked Tottenham's place in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
Irishman sets up clash against Manchester United
Robbie Keane's first-half strike booked Tottenham Hotspur's place in the fourth round of the FA Cup as they picked up a 1-0 win at the Madejski Stadium.
Reading and Spurs were forced to replay their third round encounter after the two sides shared four goals at White Hart Lane earlier this month.
But there was little attacking quality on show on Tuesday evening, with both sides lacking tempo and rhythm when going forward.
It was Keane that took the initiative, though, as he tapped home from close- range on 15 minutes to secure Juande Ramos' side a trip to Old Trafford on 27th January.
Burst
Jermaine Jenas carved out the first opportunity of the game after an early burst, but his cross was just ahead of Keane.
Chris Gunter, making his Spurs debut, also had a dangerous cross cleared and Jermain Defoe headed over from the resulting corner after Younes Kaboul flicked on to him.
Keane grabbed the opener in the 15th minute, stabbing home from close range after Kaboul met Jenas' corner and Adam Federici tipped onto the bar.
Reading had their moments going forward, with Leroy Lita at the heart of their attacks.
He had a glimpse of goal early on but his finish looped to safety - and he was also booked for diving, although it looked harsh as he merely fell as he attempted to get his shot away.
Paul Robinson's replacement, Radek Cerny, did not get the right contact on a punch seven minutes before the break - but Lita blazed over the crossbar. He also glanced a header wide from Shane Long's cross.
Smartly
At the other end, Keane had a tame penalty appeal turned down by referee Mike Riley when Ulises de la Cruz blocked his cross, straight after the full-back had gifted the promising opportunity with a mess of a clearance.
Pascal Chimbonda then had Federici backtracking with a sliced cross - but there was no repeat of the type of blunder which put Robinson in the spotlight during the drawn match at White Hart Lane.
Federici was also down smartly to save at his near post just before the break when Defoe met Kevin-Prince Boateng's cross with a first-time volley.
Trying his utmost to impress, Defoe also wriggled through the Reading defence on the stroke of half-time but could not get a shot away.
Coppell tried to get back in the game by bringing on Simon Cox for Alex Pearce, with Shorey moving into central midfield and looking to spread the play to Long in attack.
Woodwork
Shorey shot wide after 56 minutes when Long controlled a cross from Rosenior and laid the ball back.
At the other end, Defoe was off target with an impish chip from the edge of the area - it was his last action as he was taken off just after the hour mark for Aaron Lennon.
Stephen Hunt - on as a substitute - was then teed up for a volley by Ivar Ingimarsson with seven minutes remaining but the Sunderland target's effort crashed off the crossbar.
Steed Malbranque also had a volley tipped onto the bar in stoppage-time as Spurs went through to the fourth round.
| Reading |
Team Statistics |
Tottenham Hotspur |
| 0 |
Goals |
1 |
| 0 |
1st Half Goals |
1 |
| 2 |
Shots on Target |
2 |
| 7 |
Shots off Target |
5 |
| 2 |
Blocked Shots |
2 |
| 6 |
Corners |
6 |
| 15 |
Fouls |
6 |
| 0 |
Offsides |
3 |
| 2 |
Yellow Cards |
1 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 50.8 |
Possession |
49.2 |
|
