TOO HOT TO RUSH Rushden & Diamonds 2-3 Reading

A gridlocked M40 and temperatures approaching 100 degrees fahrenheit were not enough to prevent Floyd on Football making the trip to Nene Park last night as Reading triumphed 3-2 in their third pre-season friendly. A small crowd gathered inside Rushden's tidily impressive little ground saw the locals take a first half lead courtesy of Jon Ashton who fired accurately into the far corner from the edge of the box, giving third choice goalkeeper and goal hero Federici no chance.

A Reading team missing the likes of Hahnemann, Convey, Harper, Kitson and Lita were level on the stroke of half time as Seol Ki-Hyeon opened his RFC goalscoring account with a rasping finish into the roof of the net from the edge of the box. Reading took control of affairs after half time and moved ahead with a typically forceful Sonko header from a corner. Simon Cox showed all his strength and guile to muscle his way towards goal and finished with aplomb via the far post. A late Ashton penalty gave Rushden a goal back on an evening where John Oster impressed in an unfamiliar central-midfield role and John Halls suffered a lazy-looking stinker of a performance at right back and was withdrawn at half time. Reading will return to the Rose of the Shires on Saturday for an assignment at League 1 Northampton Town.