Simon Johnson’s Cityzens kick off a busy March which will see them play five home games here at the Rivermoor in 15 days on Saturday afternoon when they host Ardley United in Combined Counties Football League Premier Division North action!

Ardley haven’t taken all three points away from Reading since our Hellenic era when they beat us 4-1 here on Monday 17th September 2018.

Johnson’s side will be hoping to inflict even more misery on our visitors come 3pm this Saturday.

As we enter what’s commonly known as the business end of the season, your support is vital! So come along and roar us on towards victory.

ABOUT THE OPPOSITION

Ardley United Football Club was formed in 1945, playing initially in the Lord Jersey FA on a pitch near the railway line on Oxford Road. The 1950s and 60s were successful, with multiple league titles and cups, including three Oxfordshire Junior Shields. In the mid-60s, the club moved to a new Playing Field site in the village and built modest changing rooms.

The club struggled in the 70s and early 80s but saw a resurgence with Norman Stacey as chairman in the mid-80s. They were promoted to the Oxfordshire Senior League in 1988, winning the Division One title and the Premier Division title in consecutive seasons. In 1993/4, Ardley joined the Hellenic League, achieving success under manager Peter Foley and subsequent managers, winning the Division One title twice and the Division 1 Cup four times consecutively.

In the early 2000s, Ardley built new dedicated facilities, leading to promotion to the Hellenic Premier Division. Under Kevin Brock, they won several cups, including the Oxfordshire Senior Cup in 2013/14. Following Brock, Paul Davis managed the team until 2017, when Norman Stacey resigned as chairman.

Ian Feaver became chairman, and Craig Adey managed the team, leading to immediate promotion back to the Premier Division after a voluntary relegation. Despite ups and downs, the team won the Hellenic League Floodlit Cup in 2018/19.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the club strengthened its community support, creating various committees. Julian McCalmon was appointed as the first team manager. The club moved to the Spartan South Midlands Football League and then to the Combined Counties Premier League – North Division for the 2023/24 season. Ardley United aims to achieve Southern League football, supporting their management and players towards this goal.

HEAD TO HEAD

Simon Johnson’s Cityzens have already met Ardley this season, having faced them on the opening day of the season at home in the Extra Preliminary Round of the Emirates FA Cup in which we won 3-2 to progress to the Preliminary Round before exiting to Nailsea & Tickenham in a Preliminary Round Replay we then faced our North Oxfordshire opponents in League Action on Tuesday 5th November in which we narrowly lost 1-0 at The Nolan Oils Ground.

In our last five meetings, City have won 3, lost one and one has ended all square.

Ardley haven’t won a league fixture here at the Rivermoor since their 1-4 win against us on Monday 17th September 2018 when we both competed in the Uhlsport Hellenic League Premier Division.

Coming into this game, Ardley United will be looking to return to winning ways as they have suffered back-to-back defeats with defeats at home to Edgware & Kingsbury and North Greenford United.

City will also be looking to return to winning ways, with our last registered win coming on the 14th December 2024 when we dispatched British Airways 3-1. Although we’ve been picking up points along the way, Johnson’s side are hungry for all three!

TICKETS

Prices are:

• Families (X2 Adults, X2 Children): £16
• Adults: £8
• Concession: £4
• Under 16: £4
• Under 5:  Go FREE with paying adult

Special Offer

The Cityzens play 5 games here at the Rivermoor in 15 days and to say thank you for your support we are offering you five games for the price of 4, so join us as we take on Ardley United, Harefield United, Broadfields United, Risborough Rangers and Edgware & Kingsbury. To purchase your 5 for 4 pass, just click here.

For our Combined Counties Football League Premier Division North games, we are delighted to be able to offer the following discounts on admission to the Rivermoor:

Free Entry

Reading City Football Club is proud to work with Tickets for Troops and the Defence Discount Service to offer free entry to our brave Armed Forces Veterans & active Armed Forces Service Personnel along with their families.

We are also proud to work with Blue Light Tickets and Blue Light Card to offer free entry to supporters who work in the emergency services, NHS, social care sector along with their families.

Our Armed Forces, Emergency Services, NHS & Social Care Sector Heroes do so much for us both at home and around the world, we wanted to do our bit to say thank you for their service.

Discounted Entry

With so many Premier League and English Football League clubs, located in or around the Thames Valley Region we’re offering anyone with a Season Ticket for a club competing in the 2024/25 Premier League or English Football League, 50% admission for our First Team Games.

Reading City Football Club is proudly partnered with Her Game Too, as we believe that football should be for all. To celebrate our partnership with Her Game Too we offer anyone with a Season Ticket for a Women’s Super League or Women’s Championship club 50% off entry.

We recommend purchasing your tickets online to reduce delays at the turnstiles. Purchase yours online now

THE RIVERMOOR

Address: The Rivermoor Stadium, Scours Lane, Tilehurst, Reading, RG30 6AY

GETTING HERE

By Car:  National Highways has a full closure on the east side of the M4’s junction 12, including the eastbound on-slip road, from 9pm on Friday 28 February to 6am on Monday, 3 March. 

Anyone travelling from Ardley should follow the M40, A34 and then follow the A4074 to Reading

At Ardley Roundabout, take the 1st exit onto A43

At Cherwell Roundabout, take the 3rd exit onto the M40(South) slip road to London/Newbury/Oxford

Continue onto Exit 10

Merge onto M40

At junction 9, Use the left 2 lanes to take the A41/A34 exit to Bicester/Aylesbury/Oxford/Newbury

At Wendlebury Interchange, take the 3rd exit onto A34

Take the exit towards Cowley/Henley

At the roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Southern By-Pass Rd/A423Continue to follow A423

Use the right lane to continue on Eastern By-Pass Rd/A423

Use the right lane to turn left at the 1st cross street onto Heyford Hill Roundabout

Use the middle lane to stay on Heyford Hill Roundabout

Use the middle lane to turn slightly right to stay on Heyford Hill Roundabout

Keep left to continue on A4074

At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit and stay on A4074

At Elm Bridge Roundabout, take the 3rd exit and stay on A4074

At the roundabout, take the 3rd exit onto Port Way/A4074

At the roundabout, take the 1st exit and stay on Port Way/A4074

Continue to follow A4074

Turn right onto Bridge St/A4155

At Caversham Bridge Roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Richfield Avenue and continue straight on.

Go through the roundabout with Kwik-Fit on your left-hand side and continue straight on to Cow Lane.  When you get to the roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto Portman Road, before continuing to Wigmore Lane. There will be a Shell Petrol Station on your left hand-side.

At the roundabout, take the 3rd exit onto Oxford Rd/A329 before turning right on to Scours Lane. Reading City Football Club will be signposted.

Parking: Parking is available on site here at The Rivermoor at no extra cost on a first come first served basis, there are 80 spaces available to park in the ground. In the event that the club car park is full, then additional car parking is available at the Reading Retail Park, where you are permitted to a maximum stay of 3 hours.

Postcode for Additional Parking: RG30 1PR

Leave the Rivermoor and drive back up Scours Lane until you reach the junction with the A329, then turn left. Continue straight on at the roundabout before turning right to enter Reading Retail Park.

It’s roughly a 5-10 minute walk back to the Rivermoor.

Nearest Railway Station: The nearest railway stations to The Rivermoor are Reading West & Tilehurst, both of which are served by regular services operated by Great Western Railway from the much larger Reading Station and are in walking distance from the Rivermoor.

Reading West is also served by services from destinations including Basingstoke & Newbury whilst Tilehurst is also served by services from destinations including Didcot & Oxford.

Bus: The nearest bus stop to the ground is Norcot Junction and is served by the 16 and 17 Reading Bus service which travel between Central Reading and Tilehurst every 10 minutes. More details on the bus route/s here.

TRAVEL INFORMATION

Due to National Highways having a full closure on the east side of the M4’s junction 12, including the eastbound on-slip road, from 9pm on Friday 28 February to 6am on Monday, 3 March traffic around Reading may be busier than usual this weekend so please allow extra time for your journey to the Rivermoor.

FACILITIES

The Rivermoor has some of the best facilities for a non-league football ground with parking on site, disabled access and more including:

• Licensed bar
• Kitchen serving hot and cold food
• Disabled access to pitch side
• Toilets
• Standing and seated covered areas to watch the match
• Card payments taken on the gate and in the bar