By Chris O'Brien
September 30 2006

Cristiano Ronaldo struck a late equaliser for United as they secured a 1-1 draw at Reading on Saturday evening. The ABU press will are already labelling the game a "major shock", but a point at the Madejski Stadium is no disgrace for Sir Alex Ferguson's men.

The media reaction to Manchester United's draw at Reading looks set to reach boiling point after the two teams battled out a 1-1 draw on Saturday.

Whilst the Royals will be delighted to have picked up a point against Sir Alex Ferguson's men, the media seem to have forgotten that the Premiership is a highly competitive league and picking up a point at home is not a cause for manic celebration. Under the management of former Red Steve Coppell, aided by committed investment from Madejski, Berkshire now proudly hosts a talented top flight club who have already secured impressive victories over the likes of Middlesbrough, Sheffield United and Manchester City. They should not disrespect themselves by being too overawed by this scoreline, and United certainly shouldn't be disheartened.

Nothing can be taken away from Reading. They performed well and deserved a point for their tireless endeavour. However, whilst United fans would have hoped for three points, a 1-1 draw away to a battling side who have impressed so far this season is hardly panic stations. Headlines suggesting this was a "massive shock" should be ignored and United should be looking ahead to Tuesday's trip to Benfica with confidence.

United, anxious to put last weekend's defeat to Arsenal behind them, started the stronger of the two sides but failed to make their early dominance pay dividends. The Reds made five changes to their line-up, including an eagerly anticipated comeback for Gabriel Heinze, but the Argentinean's influence couldn't help the visitors find the net before half-time. Wayne Rooney, still struggling to find his form this season, spurned an early chance, whilst Ronaldo also tested Marcus Hahnemann in an exciting opening 45 minutes.

It was the hosts who broke the deadlock only minutes after the interval from the penalty spot. Referee Peter Walton incorrectly accused Gary Neville of handling a Seol Ki-Hyeon cross and Kevin Doyle, who had missed a spot-kick against Darlington during the week, fired home from twelve yards to keep the newly-promoted Royals on track to maintain their 100% home record this term.

United pushed forward in search of an equaliser and were forced to introduce Louis Saha on the bench to give Rooney more support up front. The Frenchman replaced Kieran Richardson, who missed an excellent opportunity himself, and thankfully the change leased new life into the Reds who found an equaliser on 73 minutes. Ronaldo, who had caused the home side problems all evening with his pace and drive, collected the ball on the left-hand side and did superbly well to weave his way through the Reading defence before firing a powerful effort passed Hahnemann.

Backed by vociferous travelling support, visiting the Madejski for the first time, United through men forward as they searched for a winner but the Royals held on to claim a share of the spoils.

Full Time - Reading 1-1 Manchester United
Attendance - 24,098

Reading: Hahnemann, Murty (Bikey 89), Sonko, Ingimarsson, Shorey, Ki-Hyeon (Hunt 85), Sidwell, Harper, Convey, Lita (Gunnarsson 76), Doyle.
Substitutes Not Used: Stack, Long.

Manchester United: Van der Sar, Neville, Vidic, Ferdinand, Heinze (O'Shea 70), Fletcher (Solskjaer 70), Carrick, Scholes, Richardson (Saha 58), Ronaldo, Rooney.
Substitutes Not Used: Brown, Kuszczak.