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Steve Tanner blows the whistle and Sunderland deserve their 3 points despite a late enslaught from Reading
Reading are making a late surge for an equaliser with Sunderland walking the tightrope in the final minutes of the game
Shane Long got to the byline and whipped in a cross that was cleared out for a corner
The fourth official indicates 3 minutes of added time
The ball dropped Reading's Emerse Fae and he thumped a volley a mile over the cross bar in a poor effort to grab an equaliser
GOAL! SUNDERLAND 2 - 1 READING (KITSON) The ball bounced around in the penalty area and Kitson looked to have got a slight touch on the ball and it span into the back of the net
Daryl Murphy replaces Kenwyne Jones
Roy Keane looks to seal the game and has moved five into midfield with Kenwyne Jones up front on his own
Liam Miller replaces Michael Chopra
Leroy Rosenoir is replaced by Bobby Convey
Shane Long is booked for pulling Nosworthy's shirt
Danny Collins did well to clear the corner and then win the ball back from Stephen Hunt as he tried to cross the ball back into the penalty area
Sunderland all of a sudden find themselves on the backfoot as Shane Long did well to win a corner on the right
Brynjar Gunnarsson is replaced by Emerse Fae
Leroy Lita is replaced by Shane Long
Andre Bikey is finally booked for his sins after bringing down Jones
Dwight Yorke's old legs are still going in midfield with him looking comfortable in posession and using his old head to control the game
Anthony Stokes straight into the action with a soft shot that went straight into Hahnemann's hands
Ross Wallace is replaced by Anthony Stokes
Some how Graeme Murty cleared Ross Wallace's shot off the line and out for a corner after Jones had caused more havoc in the penalty area
Leroy Lita has been very quiet for Reading and looks frustrated in attack, as Dave Kitson just put the ball over the bar with a lackluster header
Michael Chopra got in behind the defence and was persistant in trying to get his shot off at goal, he worked an opening and fired the ball into the side netting of the goal
Kenwyne Jones is having a great game for Sunderland and looks to be fully justifying his six million pound transfer fee paid for him in the summer
Michael Chopra played a great ball into the box for Jones to head the ball off a Reading defender and out for a corner ball that caused no problems
Nicky Shorey did well to take the ball of Chopra showing good upper body strength and then playing a simple pass down the line
Liam Rosenior playing on the right side of midfield today got forward and round the back on McShane but his cross was cleared by Nosworthy
Brynjar Gunnarsson into the referee's notebook
Ross Wallace booked for taking his shirt off in celebration of his goal
GOAL! SUNDERLAND 2 - 0 READING: (WALLACE) Ross Wallace finished the ball into the bottom corner after great work from Kenwyne Jones down the right
Sunderland get the game back underway and both teams make no chances at the restart
Half time here at The Stadium of Light and Sunderland lead 1-0
The fourth official indicates one minute of added time
A bit of a flury from Reading towards the break with Sunderland looking slightly vunerable in defence
Andre Bikey is rolling around on the floor holding his face as he makes the most of a slight tap in the face, and the referee has told him to get up and get on with the game
Great play by Ross Wallace who turned his man inside out and crossed the ball for Kenwyne Jones to head the ball wide when he should have scored his second of the game
Sunderland win their fourth corner of the game and this time Danny Higginbotham couldn't direct his header on target
Andre Bikey was lucky to get away without a booking after he blatently clipped Michael Chopra's ankles just over half way
Grant Leadbbitter won another corner for Sunderland but Ross Wallace overhit his cross and the ball went out for a goal kick
Sunderland are causing Reading all sorts of problems and look like scoring everytime they attack
Ivar Ingimarsson went close for Reading after he tried to curl the ball into the top far corner of the net, but it never looked like going in
Kenwyne Jones nearly doubling Sunderland's lead as he got his head to Chopra's inswinging cross but the ball went just wide of the mark
GOAL! SUNDERLAND 1 - 0 READING: (JONES) Kenwyne Jones puts Sunderland ahead with a lovely finish
Sunderland are showing plenty of invention in their play but are lacking the end product at the minute
The game remains goaless after a relatively quiet start here at the Stadium of Light
Gunnarsson has had his head strapped up and is back on the field of play
Roy Keane is out in his technical area shouting out instructions to his players as Brynjar Gunnarsson is recieving treatment for a head injury
Dwight Yorke did well to get his head to Shorey's dangerous cross into the box and the Trinadadian cleared the ball to safety
Dave Kitson commits an innocent foul on Danny Higginbotham as he left back tried to clear the ball and is warned by Steve Tanner about his future conduct
Kenwyne Jones has caused Reading some problems early on, and again set up Ross Wallace who's strike was well saved by Hahnemann
Paul McShane fouled Stephen Hunt to give away a free kick on the right touchline, but Leroy Rosenoir making his debut for Reading, couldn't reach Kitson in the penalty area
Grant Leadbitter made a great strike at goal for Marcus Hahnemann to make a brilliant save, then for Michael Chopra to head the rebound over the bar
Sunderland have started the brighter of the two teams and have had the majority of posession but have yet to make any clear cut chances
Andre Bikey gave away a sloppy, needless free kick to Sunderland wide out on the left hand side and Grant Leadbitter did well to get his cross over the wall and out for a corner
Kenwyne Jones turned and fired a shot down low to right of Marcus Hahnemann who splilled the ball and did well to clear it from Michael Chopra
Nicky Shorey back in the squad after injury did well to get forward down the left but was uphended by Nyron Nosworthy
Dave Kitson puts early pressure on Dickson Etuhu in Sunderland's defence and causes him kick the ball into touch
Sunderland get the game underway kicking from right to left in the first half
Sunderland pay tribute to their F.A Cup hero Ian Porterfield, who passed away during the week
Referee: Steve Tanner (Somerset)
This could perhaps be a relegation six pointer come the end of the season, with both teams having an identical league record so far of won one, drawn one, lost one. This is infact the first ever time the sides have met in the top flight.
Reading Line-up: Hahnemann, Murty, Bikey, Ingimarsson, Shorey, Rosenior, Harper, Gunnarsson, Hunt, Lita, Kitson
Sunderland Line-up: Gordon, McShane, Higginbotham, Nosworthy, Collins, Leadbitter, Etuhu, Yorke, Wallace, Jones, Chopra
Two teams whose solid starts to the new season have dropped off in recent weeks meet when Sunderland host Reading at the Stadium of Light. The Black Cats have lost their last three games since opening the campaign with a win over Tottenham and subsequent draw with Birmingham City. Meanwhile, Reading's early momentum gained from a draw with Manchester United and creditable defeat at Chelsea has come to a grinding halt following back-to-back 3-0 defeats to West Ham and Bolton Wanderers. Sunderland's difficult recent run has also been compounded by a series of injury blows which have left manager Roy Keane cursing his luck. Keane was already without captain Dean Whitehead for the next six months following knee ligament damage, when he learned this week that wingers Kieran Richardson and Carlos Edwards both facing spells on the sidelines. Richardson has been ruled out for three months due to a stress fracture of his back, while Edwards has suffered renewed hamstring trouble and will be out for around a month. New signings Kenwyne Jones and Russell Anderson are both doubtful for Saturday's match with calf strains, but veteran striker Andy Cole could make his debut following his arrival on a free transfer during the transfer window. Reading boss Steve Coppell has also see his squad depleted by injures during the opening weeks of the new season with no less than seven players currently on the treatment table. Shane Long, John Oster, Peter Mate, Glen Little all underwent intensive treatment during the international break and could feature in some capacity this weekend. Elsewhere, Coppell hinted at changes after the Royals were soundly beaten 3-0 by West Ham United before the international break in a match littered with defensive errors.
Sunderland paid a fitting tribute to 1973 FA Cup-winning hero Ian Porterfield by securing a vital 2-1 win against Reading as Roy Keane's side moved clear of the relegation zone. Before kick-off the Black Cats paid their respects to Porterfield who died on Tuesday and it was transfer deadline signing Kenwyne Jones who helped them clinch only their second victory of the campaign. Having not won since the last-gasp victory against Tottenham on the opening day of the season five weeks ago, it was a crucial victory for Keane's side that had lost its way recently. Jones opened the scoring just before the half-hour with a brilliant 25-yard strike and it was no more than Sunderland deserved after the former Southampton striker and Grant Leadbitter had both gone close to breaking the deadlock. Jones beat Ivar Ingimarsson before blasting a left-foot shot past Royals shot-stopper Marcus Hahnemann and into the net. He then headed Danny Collins' cross wide before contriving to miss with another header from a Ross Wallace cross when only five yards out. Reading produced another grim display and to add to manager Steve Coppell's woes they conceded a second goal almost immediately after the restart. The outstanding Jones was behind the goal, beating three challenges before finding Wallace who sidefooted his shot home. At last Reading responded but they rarely looked capable of salvaging a point from the match. They did look livelier when substitute Bobby Convey came on, and the American winger's cross-cum-shot was almost turned home by Dave Kitson at the far post. The former Cambridge United striker did grab a consolation goal with five minutes left when he glanced in Nicky Shorey's free-kick, but it was too little too late for Coppell's struggling side as Sunderland comfortably hung on to the three points.
Corners
Fouls
Goal attempts
Shots off target
Offsides
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