Sport

Reading send Leeds packing

First Division strugglers Reading dumped Leeds out of the English League Cup thanks to a late goal from veteran striker Trevor…

Wed Nov 19 1997 - 00:00

First Division strugglers Reading dumped Leeds out of the English League Cup thanks to a late goal from veteran striker Trevor Morley at Elland Road last night. The 36-year-old former West Ham player latched on to Martin Williams's cross in the 85th minute to put Terry Bullivant's team into the quarter-finals. Leeds started the game without the injured Gary Kelly and Harry Kewell, who is set to represent Australia against Iran, while Reading welcomed back player-coach Ray.

Reading embarrassed their hosts when they took an eighthminute lead. Leeds pair David Wetherall and David Robertson raced to clear in the penalty area but left the ball to each other and allowed Reading striker Carl Asaba to slip between them and score.

The shock suddenly brought sluggish Leeds to life and the equaliser soon followed. A Lee Bowyer corner drifted onto the head of Wetherall as he climbed with Linvoy Primus and he powered home. David Hopkin crashed a ferocious shot against the bar but the ball bounced away for a Reading throw. The Scottish international then aimed a curling shot goalwards in the 19th minute but Nicky Hammond pushed the effort away.

Five minutes later, the former Crystal Palace midfielder sent Rod Wallace free with a cleverly crafted through-ball but his chipped shot drifted over. Reading stubbornly resisted the early second-half pressure from their hosts but eventually came undone when Jimmy Hasselbaink released Bowyer into the penalty area in the 52nd minute. The former Charlton midfielder drove home his second goal in as many games to give Leeds a 2-1 advantage.

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But in the 67th minute, Bowyer flicked Andy Bernal's cross onto the head of Williams and the young winger sent a looping header over Nigel Martyn into the far corner to bring Reading level at 2-2.

Leeds: Martyn, Robertson, Haaland (Molenaar 75), Radebe, Wetherall, Wallace, Hasselbaink (Lilley 75), Ribeiro, Bowyer, Hopkin, Maybury. Subs Not Used: Halle. Booked: Ribeiro. Goals: Wetherall 16, Bowyer 54.

Reading: Hammond, Bernal, Swales, Caskey (Hodges 89), McPherson, Primus, Parkinson, Asaba, Morley, Houghton, Williams. Subs Not Used: Lambert, Booty. Booked: Morley, McPherson. Goals: Asaba 9, Williams 66, Morley 85.

Referee: G P Barber (Pyrford).