John pushes Reading dream further out of sight

Reading's sequence of matches without a League win extends back to Boxing Day, and if they squander potential points as they did at the Madejski Stadium yesterday they can forget the Premiership.

Reading's sequence of matches without a League win extends back to Boxing Day, and if they squander potential points as they did at the Madejski Stadium yesterday they can forget the Premiership.

They were totally in charge and in the lead after the first half, but permitted a previously much-inferior Coventry City to hit back with a spirited recovery that gave encouragement in their relegation struggle. But, for Reading, there is a dramatically fading spirit.

Cryptically, their manager, Steve Coppell, said afterwards that the performance may have shown that there were some "hidden agendas" amongst his players. He quickly added: "That doesn't matter - it's not an issue". However, he said: "I can't really explain what happened today. Eight games ago we were in a great position but now we must be the worst team in the division. I'm bemused. I can't understand the change. There's no composure - we are brittle and can't dig ourselves out of a hole. I can only apologise to the fans. The players are not expressing themselves the way they can." Certainly courage in unexpected adversity was not on their agenda yesterday.

Reading's need to score more goals was paramount. The return yesterday of their leading achiever in that respect, Dave Kitson, brought some optimism, but it was Les Ferdinand who came to their aid after only eight minutes. Nicky Shorey had run elusively down the line before cutting inside and putting across a low centre that Ferdinand stooped to head in - his first goal for the club.

Coventry's inability to get to grips with Shorey on the left side unsettled them so much that any ball played high into their penalty area was met with near panic. And when they did clear their lines, their midfield players had little in the way of organisation.

Only once in the entire first half did they make significant progress into the Reading half, and then it was a lone, brave foray by Gary McSheffrey, who ended his run with a shot that, at last, warmed the fingers of Reading's goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann, who until then had been just one of the perishing spectators.

At this point, there was a distinct feeling that, while Reading may have come to the match on the back of a poor run, their poverty was nothing by comparison with that of Coventry. Yet quite why Reading thought they needed to employ long-ball tactics on a day when, so far, they were in complete control, only they know. It certainly gave Coventry a chance to retrieve possession and they looked a lot more positive in the second half.

Deservedly, McSheffrey did indeed grab the equaliser after 63 minutes. Trevor Benjamin, making his debut, cut inside, pulled the ball across, and McSheffrey hammered it through the goal area. Reading suddenly looked decidedly queasy. Nine minutes later they were feeling a whole lot worse when Richard Duffy centred, Benjamin squared the ball and Stern John volleyed in.