In their previous two matches Palace had baffled their fans by overwhelming Coventry City 4-1 but then losing 1-0 at home to struggling Brighton after a run of three victories. Coventry's manager, Micky Adams, had suggested that Palace had a huge advantage, mainly because they could take Clinton Morrison off the field and replace him with Andrew Johnson. "A £3m striker for one worth £9m,'' he suggested enviously. He might have changed his tune if he had seen forlorn Palace against Brighton. Admittedly, Johnson was out with a recurrence of his knee injury, as he was yesterday, but there was a distinct lack of quality all round.Burnley set out yesterday as if to exploit any hangover. Although having only Ade Akinbiyi as a permanent striker, they supported him quickly and on a broad front.
It took Palace 25 minutes to do much more than provide Morrison with the occasional opportunity from unpromising distances.As is often the case with Palace, their response was largely the result of Jobi McAnuff getting up a head of steam down the right. His touch led to Morrison powering a finger-bruising low shot into the hands of Brian Jensen, who parried it because doing anything more was out of the question.Clearly, Morrison was on a hunting trip and just before half-time he got his prize. Marco Reich drifted the ball into the penalty area, McAnuff headed on and Morrison climbed to beat Jensen in the air and head in.After a first-half collision, McAnuff was unable to appear in the second, and Dougie Freedman joined Morrison in attack, replacing Jon Macken. If anything that increased Palace's strength, but their manager, Iain Dowie, was surprised that the crowd "became edgy and it transmitted itself to the players".Burnley added Gifton Noel-Williams to their attack, which infused some sharpness, but Akinbiyi failed with a header that had seemed unmissable. Palace punished them in the 78th minute when Morrison stabbed the ball across the goalmouth and Freedman thumped in his first goal of the season.. Sheffield United may be setting a scorching pace in the Championship but Reading's dogged pursuit of the leaders is showing no signs of weakening.
Steve Coppell's side were never in control here but were good enough to take the points, Dave Kitson's penalty 13 minutes from the end proving the decisive moment. Stoke might consider themselves unlucky, but there is no denying that Reading come with a streak of resilience as well as a measure of quality. Unbeaten in 16 matches - a club record for a sequence compiled within a single season - they will equal an all-time record if they avoid defeat in the Carling Cup on Tuesday, when their opponents at the Madejski Stadium happen to be Sheffield United. In the League, the gap between the two is down to three points following the Yorkshire side's draw at Leeds on Friday, but Coppell will not be drawn into a debate on Reading's chances of overhauling them."We're not setting our sights on anybody," he said. "All we can think about is looking after ourselves, looking at our next opponents and doing our best to beat them You can never relax. Your next opponent is always looming large."The challenge to Reading now is to maintain their standards for the whole season. They were similarly placed at this time last year but faded, although the consensus is that Coppell has a stronger squad this time. Leroy Lita dropped out injured yesterday but Kitson covered for him admirably, while Steve Sidwell, last season's key player, was only on the bench.For their part, there was enough confident enterprise in Stoke's play yesterday to raise questions over how they have managed to lose five matches in six games, although all that is lacking, it seems, is the knack of turning possession into goals.In a cagey game, Reading had chances to lead before half-time.
