Below are a list of stats about our opponents at Deepdale on Saturday and the particular date of the game we are playing on:
- Although Reading did not make their first league appearance at Deepdale until November 1926, they had previously visited our club for an FA Cup tie in 1894 and it turned out to be something of a mismatch. Whilst we fell well short of equalling our record 26-0 scoreline in the competition set seven years earlier versus Hyde, we still managed to rack up 18 goals without reply against our amateur opponents.
- There were four hat-tricks in the above match, as there were in the 26-0 win against Hyde, and one of them was scored by John Barton, who was the team’s trainer and only played due to an injury crisis!
- We continued our high-scoring trend when league matches commenced 32 years later, with our first seven matches seeing us score 26 times, whilst only conceding six goals, although these games were spread over 51 years. A goalless draw in 1981 was therefore somewhat unexpected on history alone and is the only blank scoreline in 26 games here.
- We have had by far the better of these fixtures to date, with 17 wins, five draws and only four defeats, although two of those defeats have come in the last six games here.
On this date: 19th August
- Saturday marks the 70th birthday of former striker Gerry Ingram and he recorded a classic hat-trick (scoring with his left foot, right foot and head) in our 4-1 home victory over Reading in September 1970. Gerry ended the season as our leading scorer as we won the third division championship under manager Alan Ball.
- Former left-sided midfielder Paul Parry also celebrates his birthday on Saturday (37) whilst Alfie Biggs and Dave Barber made their North End debuts on this date in 1961 in a 4-1 defeat at Luton Town. Alfie scored 24 goals in 49 appearances for North End, but couldn’t settle in the north and returned to Bristol Rovers a year after leaving for Deepdale.
- Our solitary victory on this date was our first home game back at this level, having been promoted in 2000 under David Moyes. We faced Sheffield United, who returned across the Pennines on the wrong end of a 3-0 scoreline. Michael Appleton and Jon Macken scored in the first six minutes, before Macken’s second after the break sealed the points to make it back-to-back wins at the start of that campaign.
Last Five Clashes At Deepdale
PNE 3 (Barkhuizen, 2; Horgan) Reading 0, 11th March 2017
PNE 1 (Garner, pen) Reading 0, 12th December 2015
PNE 1 (Treacy) Reading 1 (Karacan), 2nd October 2010
PNE 1 (Parkin, pen) Reading 2 (Church, Kebe), 29th September 2009
PNE 2 (Ingimarsson (og), Elliott) Reading 1 (Hunt, pen), 18th October 2008
