AFC Bournemouth
The Cherries make the short trip to Reading this evening for the latest tussle with the Royals, and ahead of kick-off we look back at an especially memorable trip nearly two decades ago.
Regular rivals down the years, AFC Bournemouth and Reading have duelled more than 100 times since both joining the Football League in the early 1920s.
The Royals were among the Cherries’ first opponents in their debut season in Division Three (South), the fixtures taking place on consecutive Saturdays in November 1923.
But while goals from Joe Armstrong and Hugh Davey at Elm Park 97 years ago may be long forgotten, a more recent trip to Berkshire will stay with most Cherries followers for many a moon.
In May 2001, Sean O’Driscoll’s squad arrived at the Madejski Stadium bidding to secure what had seemed a very unlikely place in the Division Two play-offs.
Following a 1-1 draw at Wigan in mid-March, the Cherries were no fewer than 13 points adrift of the top six with just ten games remaining. In 11th place, they were closer to the bottom four.
However, a superb run of eight wins in nine games propelled them to seventh, with just two points separating them from the play-off places ahead of their final game of the season.
Reading, the only team to defeat the Cherries during their nine-match purple patch, had already clinched third place and could not be caught but could also not finish in the top two.
Fuelled by the goals of Jermain Defoe, the season will also be remembered for the West Ham loan star netting in a record ten games in a row between October and January.
O’Driscoll named an attacking line-up for the win-or-bust showdown against the Royals with Defoe, Steve Fletcher and James Hayter all starting.
In front of Gareth Stewart, Karl Broadhurst, Eddie Howe and Jason Tindall were tasked with blunting Reading’s powerful strike force of Jamie Cureton and Martin Butler, while a strong midfield included Wade Elliott, Carl Fletcher, Richard Hughes and Claus Jorgensen.
Despite being assured of a play-off place, Alan Pardew named a full-strength team with Cureton and Butler supported by a midfield four of Phil Parkinson, Keith Jones, James Harper and Sammy Igoe.
And a strong back four of Graeme Murty, Matthew Robinson, Adrian Viveash and Adrian Whitbread were marshalled by goalkeeper Phil Whitehead.
Pardew took no chances, knowing a Cherries win would have set up a semi-final against O’Driscoll’s team and was determined to stifle the visitors’ momentum.
A crowd of 20,589 packed into the Madejski, the first sell-out since the stadium had opened in August 1998.
The Cherries made a blistering start with Elliott converting Jorgensen’s cross to give them a fourth-minute lead.
And midway through the first half, Defoe pounced on a weak header from Whitbread and slotted the ball past Whitehead to double their advantage, his 18th and final league goal of a memorable loan spell.
Although the Cherries’ two-goal lead was halved when Butler despatched a superb free-kick into the top corner, it was restored thanks to a flash of brilliance from Elliott.
The former Bashley winger collected the ball on the right flank, rode three challenges and netted with a wonderful left-footed shot to make it 3-1 at the break.
Reading started the second half on the front foot and a fine save from Stewart prevented Jones from making it 3-2 before Cureton had an effort ruled out for offside.
In a bid to tighten things up at the back, O’Driscoll replaced Hayter with Stephen Purches, while Pardew withdrew skipper Parkinson for striker Tony Rougier.
Reading fans tried to goad Cherries supporters by claiming play-off rivals Wigan had taken the lead against Bristol City, a stunt which turned out to be fake news.
Howe was booked for a foul on Butler after 72 minutes, Pardew immediately replacing Jones with Darren Caskey who curled the resultant free-kick past Stewart to make it 3-2.
There was heartbreak for the Cherries when Nicky Forster levelled two minutes from time before a miraculous headed clearance from Graeme Murty kept out Purches’s late strike.
Although the Royals went on to beat Wigan in the semi-final, they lost to Walsall in the final but won promotion the following season.
Recalling the 2000/01 campaign, Elliott said: “Reading was heart-breaking. If we’d won, I’m convinced we would have won the play-offs because we were in such good form.
“We had a really good team and Jermain came in and sparked it all. He gave us the cutting edge which turned our possession into goals.
“I remember seeing him before our first training session. He was so small and he just looked like a dot. Nobody knew him and we all thought there was no way this young lad was going to score goals for us. How wrong we were!
“When you look back at that team, everyone went on to have a really good career. We were young, close-knit and all hungry trying to make our way in the game.
“We played really good football. Maybe we were a bit naive because we attacked all the time but it worked for us. It was a brilliant season.”
Purches, now Tindall’s assistant, also gave his memories of the season, his first at the club.
He said: “It was a great season to be a part of and I learned so much. I had known Jermain from West Ham and he came here and had a big effect on all our careers.
“We almost made the play-offs and it all went down to the Reading game. It was 3-3 and I had a shot cleared off the line in injury-time. That could have been my champagne moment but it wasn’t meant to be.”
Reading: Whitehead, Whitbread, Viveash, Robinson, Jones, Murty, Igoe, Parkinson, Harper, Cureton, Butler. Subs: Hunter, Caskey, Forster, Howie, Rougier.
AFC Bournemouth: Stewart, Broadhurst, Howe, Tindall, Elliott, C Fletcher, Hayter, Hughes, Jorgensen, S Fletcher, Defoe. Subs: Purches, Eribenne, O’Connor, Narada, Feeney.
This feature originally appeared in the club's MATCHDAY programme earlier this season, for the fixture against the Royals in November.
