Cambridge United 1-3 Reading: New Year’s Resolution

Harvey Knibbs’ brace and Sam Smith’s goal of the season contender saw off a stubborn Cambridge side to give Reading a perfect start to 2025.

The Royals finished 2024 by winning through sheer resolve against Mansfield Town, 2-1 at the SCL, and have carried that into 2025 by triumphing 3-1 at Cambridge United on New Year’s Day in similar fashion.

In neither case were the Royals at their absolute best, with plenty of room for improvement in possession and in creating chances. Both sets of opposition fans can also reasonably say that their teams deserved more than they got.

The bottom line though is that this is an efficient, spirited Reading team that’s been emboldened under Noel Hunt since back-to-back defeats just before Christmas. Crucially, it is now clearly capable of grinding out ugly wins, with this dogged victory at Cambridge a great example of that - a victory which also extended the Royals’ winning run to three matches, as well as moving us up to fifth.

Defensive grit is one thing but Reading also required ruthlessness at the other end this afternoon. Fortunately for the Royals though, they have such individual quality in abundance in the shape of former Cambridge forwards Harvey Knibbs and Sam Smith.

Knibbs opened Reading’s annual account for the second year in a row in the first half (thanks to Ross for spotting that factoid) and restored the advantage after the break. Those were two poacher’s finishes for someone who’s proven time and again just how good he is at sniffing out goalscoring chances and capitalising.

While both of those were fairly scrappy goals, Smith’s most certainly was not. Words don’t do justice to the supreme technique and confidence - arrogance really, but in the best possible way - with which he volleyed the ball sweetly over his right shoulder, over the ‘keeper, and into the net.

Just watch this. Drink it in.

On paper, before the game, this trip to strugglers Cambridge only had one winner. The home side were in desperate need of points, sitting 22nd in the table, and had been handily beaten 3-0 in the reverse fixture at the SCL last month.

In practice though, the game went very differently. The hosts knew how to hurt Reading, a side that struggles against direct football anyway - even before the forced withdrawals of Michael Craig and Amadou Mbengue for Louie Holzman and Harlee Dean at right-back and centre-back respectively.

Reading (4-3-3): Pereira; Holzman, Dean, Bindon, Garcia; Knibbs, Wing, Savage; Campbell, Smith, Camara

Subs: Button, Abrefa, Kanu, Rushesha, Osho, Sackey, Wareham

Then again, the introduction of Dean was a blessing in disguise. The Royals had an awful lot of balls into the box to defend today (a total of 40 crosses actually, according to WhoScored), and those are the veteran defender’s speciality. He led the team both for clearances (14) and headed clearances (8).

Park for a moment how well he fits into a pressing side that requires ball-playing ability from its defenders: if you want someone to reliably get his head on crosses time and again to clear the danger, Dean’s your man. He came up with the goods today, putting in perhaps his best Reading performance so far, and was rightly singled out for praise by the fans at full-time.

Much of the first half followed the same pattern: Cambridge forcing Reading back and getting the ball into the box, Reading dealing with the danger fairly well. Joel Pereira was called into action sometimes, but not into real heroics.

Reading had little going forward in response. The lack of Ben Elliott in particular was apparent as the Royals struggled to build attacks through the lines and on the deck, with no direct alternative into the front three working. Having Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan in there to hold the ball up would have also been beneficial.

And yet, we found the breakthrough in the first half nonetheless, very much against the run of play. A Charlie Savage corner from our left was eventually put back across, low, by Holzman from the other side, and Knibbs was on hand to convert for 1-0.

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The Royals made it through to half-time with that lead intact, although they could - and should really - have made it 2-0 at one stage. A Cambridge corner was dealt with, Reading countered in numbers to create a four/five on two, but Lewis Wing’s touch in the area ultimately let him down.

Hunt, a little surprisingly to my mind, made no half-time changes. Although he’d come up with an assist, Holzman was struggling somewhat at right-back, being caught out numerous times and looking sloppy in possession also. With Kelvin Abrefa (back from injury) and Tivonge Rushesha on the bench, the gaffer had options for shoring up the right-back spot but elected not to do so.

Cambridge started the second half quickly and came desperately close to equalising when a cross, sent in from the right, deflected off a Reading player onto the crossbar and thankfully bounced behind for a corner. The resulting set-piece helped the hosts get back on terms though: flicked on at the near post and bundled in at the back post by Elias Kachunga for 1-1.

For a second game in a row, Reading had conceded a goal at a poor time: just before the interval against Mansfield and just after it at Cambridge. Again though, the Royals responded well from then on in, and restored their lead just five minutes later.

Chem Campbell, who’d been quiet in the first half but would prove to be an effective outlet in the second, skipped past his marker on the right in the 53rd minute. Though his low cross wasn’t initially converted, the ball was slammed back into the danger area by Savage on the other side, and poked home by Knibbs for 2-1.

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To their credit, Cambridge weren’t done there, and they soon had Reading’s back line under pressure in their search for another equaliser. That back line was forced into an alteration on the hour mark however, with the injured Mamadi Camara replaced at left-wing by Andre Garcia, as substitute Abraham Kanu took the 17-year-old’s place at left-back.

While Reading had struggled to exert much control on the game in the first half, or cause Cambridge serious difficulties going forwards bar the goal, they improved significantly on both fronts as the second half went on. The home side left gaps which could be exploited on the counter, and were, and the Royals’ use of the ball became more authoritative.

You still felt that Reading could do with another goal though, just to add a bit of breathing space against a stubborn Cambridge outfit that would surely press for an equaliser late on. And that came in the 83rd minute, in spectacular fashion, through Smith. The long ball from Wing was somewhat speculative, the finish was outstanding, and Reading had the comfort of a 3-1 advantage.

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To see that lead out, Hunt turned to his bench a few more times. Holzman was swapped off for Abrefa right after the goal, and Abrefa went on to put in an assured cameo performance in his long-awaited return from injury. At long last, Reading were able to play an actual full-back at full-back.

And later, off went goalscorer Smith and provider Savage for Jayden Wareham and Rushesha respectively. Those changes meant the Royals going into something of a 5-2-3: Abrefa and Garcia as the wing-backs, Rushesha and Wing in midfield, and Campbell (right) and Knibbs (left) either side of Wareham.

Pleasingly this was another game under the belt for Rushesha - who, like Abrefa, has struggled for fitness this season. I’ve enjoyed his performances when I’ve been able to watch him play, with his Duracell Bunny-like style giving Reading tenacity in the middle of the park, should he play there, or at right-back as he was used in pre-season.

Wareham on the other hand went desperately close to increasing his tally and making it 4-1. Shortly before the end of the 90 minutes, Reading somehow managed to win the ball back in the Cambridge area when it seemed a hopeless cause, and got it across to Wareham in the middle, but his finish from close range was wide.

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That was the last major action of a difficult game for Reading which, in hindsight, may look easier than it actually was.

The Royals struggled to get going in the first half and pretty much had to stay in the game, as well as riding out a decent amount of pressure after the break. Ultimately though, defensive stability (marshalled to a large extent by Dean), mature game management and the ruthless finishing which the hosts sorely lacked all got Reading over the line.

Next up is a trip to Charlton Athletic on Saturday, meaning a tight turnaround. Getting anything there won’t be easy: the Addicks have won their last three, will be fresher due to having their game postponed today, and have the incentive of a viable playoff challenge (they sit six points outside the playoffs but have two games in hand).

Then again, if we can show today’s resolve at The Valley, we’ll stand a good chance.