Doyle exceeding hopes at Reading
Reading’s Irish striker Kevin Doyle steered home his 10th goal of the season to set the Championship leaders on their way to a 2-0 victory over Leicester and then said: “That’s my target for the season. Now I will have to set a new one.”
Doyle, who joined Reading from Cork, has played a vital role in a Royals side which stretched their winning league run to 10 successive games and their unbeaten run to 25.
Doyle’s goal came on the hour after stubborn Leicester resistance had frustrated their Coca-Cola Championship rivals.
He got on the end of a Dave Kitson pass to race clear of the defence before beating Robert Douglas.
Three minutes from the end Reading added their second when substitute Brynjar Gunnarsson headed in Nicky Shorey’s free-kick for Reading’s second.
“The first goal was a relief and I couldn’t see us losing after that,” said Reading manager Steve Coppell.
“Kevin took it very well. It’s hard when you have that much time to think and he did very well to tuck it away.
“He had been playing for Cork City for five months when he came to us so he was up to speed already and didn’t really need the pre-season training.
“Our success this season has been built on our team spirit. There is no jealousy when I make changes because players realise this is not about individuals but about the team.
“Leicester made it difficult for us. They changed their personnel and their formation but that’s a compliment to us.”
Leicester manager Craig Levein called Reading “a well-oiled machine” and said he was sure they would be promoted at the end of the season.
“Sheffield United may catch them and Leeds will spend some money in the second half of the season, but I still can’t see the third-placed team catching Reading.
“They made the decisions of a team playing with confidence while we made the decisions of a team lacking confidence.
“That was evident in their first goal. Ironically it came during our best spell.
“Doyle anticipated the pass but Patrick McCarthy had lost concentration and slipped.
“Reading’s players are not very different from those we faced last year but the team is very different and that’s down to their confidence.”
Coppell said he will probably make changes for Reading’s visit to Derby on Saturday, although striker Leroy Lita and winger Glen Little are likely to remain unavailable.
“We are in the middle of a spell of four games in seven days and you can’t expect midfielders to play for 90 minutes in all of those games.
“I will have to think about changes, but fortunately I have three really superb central midfielders challenging for those two positions.”
Coppell will certainly keep faith with American goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann, who successfully kept a clean sheet for the 16th time this season, including two smart saves from Mark de Vries.
