Reading FC Win at Home as Knibbs fires two goals in the net

Progression secured in RG2Reading secure a rampant three goal victory against Newport County on Tuesday evening to qualify for the knock-out stages of the Bristol Street Motors Trophy.The visitors got the game underway in this winner takes all match at the Select Car Leasing Stadium, with the Royals kicking towards the south end of the ground in usual fashion.With two minutes on the clock, Lewis Wing was so close to getting the home faithful off their feet with an audacious volleyed effort from the half way line. The skipper had the young goalkeeper Jacob Carney scrambling back towards his own goalline, and his blushes were spared as he settled himself and latched onto the ball at the second attempt.The front footed Royals went even closer to breaking the deadlock on nine minutes, with Ben Elliott striking Carney's upright from the edge of the box. The chance was a result of fantastic pressing work from Adrian Akande, who dispossed centre-back Kyle Jameson and squared across the area. An expectant Elliott was first to the ball, and was a whisker away from the opening goal of the game.Moments later, Wing had another chance to put the Royals ahead. Great work down the left hand side from Mamadi Camara saw him square the ball to the skipper, but his shot was excellently blocked by Wildig.Newport had a chance to take the lead themselves on 13 minutes, with Bobby Kamwa striking a 300 yard free kick just wide of the upright. The chance signalled the end of a frenetic opening quarter of an hour, where we could have seen as many as four goals!It was perhaps to be expected that the game would calm down after such a fast start, with the following ten minutes seeing both sides looking to take the upperhand in the tie. A resolute defence were thwarting the Royals attack, whilst the Exiles were looking dangerous when they ventured forward on the counter attack.Wing looked up for this one, and was the next Reading player to have an effort on goal on 35 minutes. Shirking off the challenge of two Newport defenders, he shaped up to shoot on his unfavoured left foot, but the strike went straight at Carney.Moments later, Jayden Wareham expertly beat the offside trap but shot wide from a narrow angle, before Adrian Akande hit another effort just wide of the post. The chances had certainly gone the way of the Royals, but with five minutes left of the opening period, the scores remained level.The half came to a close with the Royals guilty of not taking their chances despite a strong performance up to that point. A further half was ahead for the hosts to make their dominance count and secure a place in the knock-out rounds.Half-time: Reading 0-0 Newport CountyJAS_8480.jpgWith the words of Rubén in their ears, the Royals kicked off the second half on the hunt for the goal that their first half performance deserved, and the first chance of the second 45 came within a minute. Wareham was able to latch onto a loose ball on the edge of the area, but his left footed shot was straight at Carney in the Newport goal.The Exiles responded immediately, and Andre Garcia had to be at his defensive best to block a shot on goal from Oliver Greaves on 47 minutes.On 52 minutes Amadou Mbengue was replace by Louis Holzman after the Senegalese hobbled off after overstretching for the ball.Newport number nine Courtney Baker-Richardson tested David Button on 53 minutes with a right footed effort that our number one gathered at the second attempt. Within a minute Matthew Baker almost turned the ball into his own net from a teasing cross from Akande on the right hand side - the second period had started well and truly in the same vein as the opening half.The Royals did find the back of the net on 59 minutes, but Mamadi Camara was adjudged to have strayed into an offside position when latching onto a Lewis Wing cross. In truth, had the offside flag not been raised there was a good chance the goal would have been chalked off for handball, but a signal of intent of sorts for the hosts.Just past the hour mark the Royals made a triple change in a bid to find that all important opening goal. Harvey Knibbs, Chem Campbell and Michael Craig were introduced in place of Shay Spencer, Adrian Akande, and Ashqar Ahmed, with the clear objective to break the deadlock.On 72 minutes Rubén's Royals finally had the breakthrough, and it was one of his substitutes who found the back of Carney's net. A cute flick from Wing found the run of Harvey Knibbs, and the recently introduced forward calmly slot into the far corner.Two minutes later the hosts had a second! Another substitute the architect, as Chem Campbell skipped past his marker to cross into the box, and Wareham was waiting expectantly to tap into the net. Just the reewards for a tireless performance from our striker.Wareham, hungry for a second, hit the side netting on 83 minutes with a thunderous drive from a tight angle. Down the other end, Matthew Baker went close for the Exiles with a volley from inside the box.Reading's Campbell tested the resolve of Carney with a strong drive when one on one with the goalkeeper, but the Exiles' young keeper was equal to the strike.There was nothing Carney could do when Reading made it three on 87 minutes, and it was Knibbs who bagged a brace on the night. A ricocheted strike bounce kindly into the path of the number seven, and he was able to guide the ball home into the bottom left corner.The referee called time on another Reading victory at the Select Car Leasing Stadium. The Royals had to be patient, but the victory against the Exiles now makes it eight wins out of nine in all competitions at our home. Images Reading FC Full-time: Reading 3-0 Newport County