Reading FC Return to English Premier League with Win over Nottingham Forest
Ready for Reading? The Royals are back in the Premier League.
Reading secured promotion to the Barclay's Premier League on Tuesday with a 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest at the Madejski Stadium. With two matches left, Brian McDermott's Royals have 88 points, eight more than third-placed West Ham United.
The top two teams in the English League Championship advance automatically to next season's Premier League. The four teams placed third through sixth are entered into the playoffs for the third and final berth.
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"It feels unreal, like I'm looking down on a different bloke managing Reading," McDermott told reporters after the match.
"It was incredible. It was a night for the supporters and the players."
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Southampton currently sit second with 85 points, and are the only team still able to overtake Reading for the Championship title.
To secure automatic promotion, West Ham must win their final two matches and hope Southampton earn only one point or less. Birmingham City, Blackpool and Cardiff City currently occupy the other three playoff positions, with Middlesbrough four points off the pace.
Meanwhile, BBC pundit and retired footballer Robbie Savage praised Reading's season:
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"Reading deserve Premier League football," he said. "It's been an amazing performance from them in the second half of the season.
They've got a fantastic manager and group of players and I'm absolutely delighted for Brian McDermott. He's a humble and fantastic man."
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Next season will be Reading's third in the top flight of English football. The Royals won the Championship in 2005-06 with a record 106 points and spent the next two seasons in the Premier League.
In 2006-07, Reading finished eighth in the Premiership under manager Steve Coppell. The following season, they finished 18th and were relegated.
Reading lost the Championship playoff final to Swansea last season at Wembley. McDermott said the loss served as motivation this season.
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"In the summer I didn't see too much good coming out of our defeat at Wembley. But I had great support from family, friends, they've sacrificed so much and I had to go through all that to get to where we are now."
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The Championship regular season ends April 28. The playoff semifinals are scheduled for May 3-4 and 7-9, with the final scheduled for May 19 at Wembley.
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welkam bek 'The Royal'