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Tyra Wilson swings in a late free-kick
Reading Women narrowly missed out on a place in the League Cup final after a 1-0 defeat to AFC Portchester at Arbour Park on Sunday. A goal in the eighth minute from Sarah Butterworth was enough to separate the two teams at the final whistle.
It wasn’t for the want of trying, with Reading throwing everything at the Portchester team in the second half to get themselves level, but unlike Tuesday evening, the equaliser proved elusive.
It’s been a week of mixed fortunes for Reading after Tuesday night’s last-minute goal and 8-7 penalty heroics to knock out tier-four side Actonians and progress through to the quarter-finals of the Combined Counties Cup. On Wednesday, Reading will find out who their opponents will be in that competition, with the Royals facing the winners of Fleet Town vs Maidenhead United.
Portchester arrived in Slough in confident form, losing just one of their previous eight matches (a 4-2 penalty shootout defeat to tier-four side Moneyfields in the County Cup), having knocked out Farnham Town in the quarter-finals.
Reading and Portchester have different ambitions from the last time they met, on the final day of 2024/25 (almost a year ago). Both teams are on an upward trajectory, with the Royals having already kick-started a new era, giving something fans to enjoy and look forward to, while Portchester are looking to go even better than last year’s third-place finish behind champions Ascot United and runners-up Wycombe Wanderers.
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The visitors are well placed in the league, having beaten Wycombe 1-0 in the league last weekend (the same scoreline that Reading managed against Wycombe in January), and are currently 13 points behind the league leaders – but with six games in hand, and a home match against the Chairgirls in a few weeks’ time.
They also now have a League Cup final to fit in against Wycombe, who defeated Winchester City Flyers in the other semi-final.
Reading manager Ed Jackson-Norris made three changes from the midweek cup victory with Emmi Tong, Lucy Bolitho and Nat Cowell all back in the starting XI. Keren Banduka and Tyra Wilson were both named among the substitutes, with Ellie Skekeres not included in the squad.
She instead represented Reading’s under-16s on Saturday in the final of the Berks & Bucks County Cup, the Royals unfortunately losing 3-0 to Milton Keynes Dons.
There was some late bad news for Jackson-Norris with substitute Georgia Hayes picking up an ankle injury during the pre-match warm-up, meaning Reading were a player short on the bench.
First half
With the tannoy system in full operation and the scoreboard screen switched on, we were all set for a cracking semi-final to commence.
Reading lined up in an attacking and bold formation. Jackson-Norris was brave in his set-up, with Johnson and Cowell leading the attack, together with a high-pressing supporting midfield trio of Parker, Tong and Bolitho. However, the team didn’t look as comfortable and started tentatively with, perhaps, a little too much respect for the opposition.
That cautious start cost Reading dearly. Early pressure from Portchester striker April Hill set up a chance for Butterworth, who made no mistake to finish from inside the penalty area for her 13th goal of the season and give the visitors an early lead. 0-1.
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The opening 25 minutes continued in a similar vein, with Reading on the back foot and struggling to get to grips with the streetwise, experienced and lively Portchester team.
Reading goalkeeper Butler was called into action, diving to her left to stop a shot from Hill, and comfortably handling a couple of long-range peppered shots straight at her, from Portchester’s number nine Charmaine True.
After nearly 30 minutes of play, Jackson-Norris tweaked the set-up again and switched to more of a 4-1-4-1. That meant Cowell going up top, Bolitho and Johnson out wide, with Tong and Parker the engines in midfield and King doing what she does bestL coolly distributing the ball in front of the defence.
Although not perfect, the team settled and restricted the visitors to efforts from distance. Portchester’s rangy set-piece specialist Kim Fuller tested Butler with three separate free-kicks, the Reading goalkeeper equal to all attempts, including one particularly spectacular one-handed tip over the crossbar.
Half-time: 0-1
There was one change for the Royals at half-time. Wilson replaced Tong, who appeared to pick up a knock during the first half, starting on the left-wing with Bolitho moving back into a more central midfield position.
The opening 15 minutes of the second half started off as the first half had ended, with Portchester enjoying the better of the chances but unable to extend their lead.
On the hour mark, Jackson-Norris made a triple change which not only brought fresh legs and energy to the pitch, but also swung the momentum of the match around.
Before the arrival of Keren Banduka, Rowden and Manners (for Bolitho, Whitburn and Poole) really kicked into force, there was one further scare for Reading. Portchester’s Butterworth appeared to tee up Bell with a great chance at the back post, only to see Butler pull off an exceptional close-range save to deny the striker what looked to be a certain goal.
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From here onwards, the Royals just pushed and pushed until the final whistle. Reading’s first corner of the match was whipped in by Wilson and caught at the second attempt by goalkeeper Shannon Betteridge.
King’s threaded pass was unlucky not to find Keren Banduka. Johnson also came close on a couple of occasions, the first forcing a save from the goalkeeper – after a great pass from Rowden – and another chance at the back post from a King corner.
It was all so much better from Reading. If there were an award for ‘best moment of the match’, it came from Rowden with 15 minutes of play remaining.
The Royals’ central defender burst forward from the half-way line to dribble past a couple of players deep into the Portchester half, and release a ferocious shot that rocketed just past the post. So unlucky, what a goal that would have been!
Still Reading pushed on. King whipped in a free-kick which fell agonisingly close and onto the roof of the net. Later, Wilson fired a shot straight at the goalkeeper, after some great hold-up play from Cowell.
With time running out and the game stretched, Portchester enjoyed a couple of late chances, only to be thwarted once again by Butler. The Reading goalkeeper had to leave the field injured after being caught by the Portchester striker during a brave double save, meaning defender Poole played the final few minutes in the green jersey.
Full-time: 0-1
What started off as a difficult match to watch ended on a relative high, even in defeat, with Reading unlucky not to get something from the game. It’s not a dissimilar picture to other games earlier in the season – against teams in and around them or from the tier above – with matches against Ascot United, Brentford and Winchester City Flyers being good examples.
This is a very good Royals team and can compete against the top sides – as they have already proven in recent matches against Wycombe and Actonians, the latter only a few days ago. With a bit more belief and a touch more confidence, the ruthlessness and clinical finishing in front of goal will come (only the bottom two sides have scored fewer goals than Reading) and the team will continue to go from strength to strength, as the results follow.
The Royals now have a week to prep and get back on the training ground before they’re back in action next weekend (Sunday March 29) with a trip to Surrey against bottom-of-the-table Badshot Lea.
See you there!
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