Having held United to a draw at Old Trafford, some pundits had thought that this encounter would be in the tradition of cup ties, hard to call. However within two minutes Gabriel Heinze put United in front when his shot managed to find a path past Reading keeper Adam Federici.

Reading were instantly on the back foot and while they tried to string a few passes together United took possession and a long ball from Rio Ferdinand found French striker Louis Saha as he was being watched by Royals defender Andre Bikey. Saha coolly stroked the ball past Federici and within four minutes United were two up.

Another two minutes passed and Reading found themselves another goal down this time it was baby faced assassin Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. He sprinted clear of the Reading off-side trap to further torment the Reading keeper.

Reading managed to gather some composure and on twenty three minutes Dave Kitson threw his side a life line when he headed the ball home from a yard. The goal seemed to settle the Royals, and they began to fight their way back into the game.

In the second half Reading looked more like the side that had impressed at Old Trafford. Their pressure paid off when Leroy Lita scored their second however there was not enough time left in the game to score the goal that would have taken the fixture to extra time and penalties.