25 March 2006 - Reading Rockets To The Top

On 25 March 2006, Reading FC secured promotion to the Premier League with a 1-1 draw at Leicester City. And they did it in record time.

As recently as 2002, they were in Division Two, but they won promotion to Division One that year, then reached the Championship in 2004. In their second season there, they got off to a poor start, losing to Plymouth 1-2 on opening day. But they followed that loss by going unbeaten for their next 33 league matches--they lost only twice all season. Along the way, they took the table's top spot in November and held on to it for the duration.

Going into their match against Leicester City, Reading were 16 points clear of second-place Sheffield United, with seven matches left to play for both teams. Critically, they were also nineteen and twenty points clear, respectively, of Walsall and Leeds United, who were the other teams in contention for the top two automatic promotion spots.

Approximately 3,000 Reading supporters made the trip to Walkers Stadium--part of an overall crowd of 25,578--only to see the visitors go down 1-0 in the 38th minute due to a goal from Leicester's Iain Hume. But they equalized with a header from Kevin Doyle in the 85th minute and escaped with a draw. As it turned out, the results from the day's other matches meant they would have secured a top-two finish even with a loss.

It was their first promotion to the top flight and it was the earliest any team had guaranteed promotion since the league went to a 46-game season. Unfortunately for Reading, they stayed in the Premier League for only two seasons before dropping back down to the Championship in 2008.

20 September 2008 - Who Ya Gonna Call, Watford?

On 20 September 2008, Reading and Watford battled to a 2-2 draw thanks in part to a phantom goal.

Played before a crowd of 14,761 at Watford's Vicarage Road Stadium, the match was scoreless in the 13th minute when Watford midfielder John Eustace, defending his goal against Reading striker Noel Hunt, knocked the ball over the end line several yards wide of the post. Rather than call for a corner, however, linesman Nigel Bannister (pictured) flagged it as a goal to the astonishment of both sides. Watford protested, but the referee allowed the decision to stand.

Despite the setback, the home side rallied to take a 2-1 lead with goals from Tommy Smith (57') and John-Joe O'Toole (64'), but were undone by a late penalty. With three minutes left on the clock, Eustace tripped Reading winger Stephen Hunt in the box and Hunt converted the ensuing spot kick to earn the Royals a crucial point.

Reading manager Steve Coppell offered a replay, but the Football League said that the referee's decision was final.

30 April 2006 - Reading Makes A Few Points

On 30 April 2006, Reading concluded the Championship season by beating QPR 2-1 at the Madejski Stadium before a crowd of 23,156. The win gave Reading a total of 106 points for the season, setting an English Football League record.

It was a fitting end to an amazing season for the Royals, who suffered only two League losses all year - at home to Plymouth Argyle in the season opener and away to Luton Town on 17 February. The remainder of their matches consisted of 28 wins and 16 draws, setting a record pace that saw them take the table's top spot on 22 November and keep it through the end of the season.

Reading's Dave Kitson gave his side the lead against QPR, tapping the ball into the net in the 40th minute. The visitors found a late equalizer from Paul Furlong in the 72nd minute, before Reading captain Graeme Murty clinched the victory with an 84th-minute penalty kick. It was the first goal of the season and only his second ever in 280 appearances for the Royals.

The win pushed Reading to 106 points, one past the previous points record of 105 set by Sunderland in the 1998-99 season. Reading moved into the Premier League for the following season, where they finished in eighth place - their highest finish ever - before getting relegated back to the Championship at the end of the 2007-08 season.

18 August 1979 - Brentford Beats Death

On 18 August 1979, Reading FC drew 2-2 with Brentford FC, thus ending Reading's 1,103-minute streak without conceding a goal. The match was the season-opener for both teams, and the first in Division Three for the newly-promoted Reading.

Reading's keeper throughout the streak, which consisted of 11 consecutive clean sheets, was Englishman Steve Death, who made 471 appearances for the Royals from 1969 to 1982. The streak began on 28 March 1979, with Reading's 4-0 win over Grimsby Town. At the time, the Royals were playing in Division Four. The win moved them into first place in the table, which is where they finished after following up the win over Grimsby with a season-ending run of 7 more wins and 3 draws, earning promotion to Division Three.

The streak was an English league record until 31 January 2009, when it was broken by Manchester United's Edwin Van Der Sar.