Doyle delivers for Royals
By Peter ORourke. Last Updated: January 1, 1970 1:00am
Reading continued their good start to the season with a 2-1 win over Burnley at The Madejski Stadium.
Kevin Doyle's second half goal proved to be enough to give Steve Coppell's men all three points after Ade Akinbiyi had cancelled out Leroy Lita's early opener.
Reading started brightly and they broke the deadlock after just seven minutes when Lita hooked his shot over Danny Coyne and into the net.
Burnley battled well to get back into the contest, but were struggling to make any inroads against the home defence.
Bobby Convey tried his luck from a free kick from the edge of the box on 35 minutes which Coyne did well to save low down to his left.
Five minutes later Reading suffered a blow when Dave Kitson was forced off with an injury and he was replaced by Doyle.
Burnley then stunned the home side when they drew level three minutes before the break when Akinbiyi picked the ball up on the edge of the box, turned his marker and then drove his shot into the bottom corner.
Akinbiyi then had another chance for Burnley a minute later when he broke clear down the right, but he fired his shot into the side-netting.
Micah Hyde had the final chance of the half with a shot from the edge of the area which Marcus Hahnemann collected comfortably.
Doyle had a chance for Reading two minutes into the second half when he met Convey's corner, but he could not direct his header on target.
Doyle had another sight of goal soon after when he burst past John McGreal into the box, but Coyne was quickly off his line to block his shot.
Reading restored their lead on 70 minutes when Convey worked a short corner with Glen Little and the American whipped in a cross which Doyle headed past Coyne.
Burnley fashioned a chance ten minutes from time when Michael Duff cut the ball back inside the box for James O'Connor and he saw his shot tipped over the bar by Hahnemann.
Burnley's hopes of getting back into the game went up in smoke in the dying minutes when Garreth O'Connor was sent off for a second bookable offence after kicking out at Convey.
Matches
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npower Championship
Table
npower Championship
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cardiff City | 46 | 87 |
| 2 | Hull City | 46 | 79 |
| 3 | Watford | 46 | 77 |
| 4 | Brighton and Hove Albion | 46 | 75 |
| 5 | Crystal Palace | 46 | 72 |
| 6 | Leicester City | 46 | 68 |
| 7 | Bolton Wanderers | 46 | 68 |
| 8 | Nottingham Forest | 46 | 67 |
| 9 | Charlton Athletic | 46 | 65 |
| 10 | Derby County | 46 | 61 |
| 11 | Burnley | 46 | 61 |
| 12 | Birmingham City | 46 | 61 |
| 13 | Leeds United | 46 | 61 |
| 14 | Ipswich Town | 46 | 60 |
| 15 | Blackpool | 46 | 59 |
| 16 | Middlesbrough | 46 | 59 |
| 17 | Blackburn Rovers | 46 | 58 |
| 18 | Sheffield Wednesday | 46 | 58 |
| 19 | Huddersfield Town | 46 | 58 |
| 20 | Millwall | 46 | 56 |
| 21 | Barnsley | 46 | 55 |
| 22 | Peterborough United | 46 | 54 |
| 23 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 46 | 51 |
| 24 | Bristol City | 46 | 41 |
Ade Akinbiyi
Leroy Lita
Kevin Doyle
