Burnley FC ended glorious Reading FC era that Royals supporters will never forget: View | OneFootball

The Royals' defeat against the Clarets in 2009 marked the end of the brightest period in the Berkshire side's history.

In May 2009, Reading were in danger of not making it to the play-off final following their 1-0 loss against Burnley in the first leg of the semis.

However, the Clarets were at home during that first leg and they had to make the long trip to Berkshire to face the Royals for the second half of this tie.

Owen Coyle's side had a strong starting lineup that wasn't to be sniffed at, but the Royals had a decent first 11 of their own and had some good options off the bench, even with Kevin Doyle not involved for this game.

Andre Bikey was also unavailable, having been suspended after being sent off in the first leg.

Marcus Hahnemann started between the sticks, with Liam Rosenior and Dan Harding at full-back - and Michael Duberry and Alex Pearce in central defence.

The talented Marek Matejovsky started in central midfield, along with Brynjar Gunnarsson, Jay Tabb and exciting winger Jimmy Kebe.

Simon Church and Shane Long were also in the first 11, with the likes of Dave Kitson and Stephen Hunt available from the bench, along with central midfielder Kalifa Cisse.

With the home fans backing them, Steve Coppell's Royals would have been hoping to secure their first ever tie at the new Wembley Stadium.

In all honesty, the Berkshire side wouldn't have wanted to be in the play-offs in the first place, having only been there because they dropped so many points during the second half of the 2008/09 season.

Draws killed them just as much as losses did, but they could have made up for that by securing promotion through the play-offs.

There was no shortage of effort in the first half, as the Royals looked to level the tie on aggregate, but they were unable to break the deadlock.

And during the early stages of the second half, the Clarets capitalised on that, with Martin Paterson's wonderful strike putting the visitors 1-0 up at the Select Car Leasing Stadium.

The Clarets all but sealed the game in the 58th minute, with Steven Thompson's looping shot beating Hahnemann.

Those two goals knocked the stuffing out of the hosts, who were unable to respond.

They saw the Clarets win against Sheffield United in the play-off final to secure a place in the Premier League, and they would have been gutted not to have been the ones taking on the Blades at Wembley.

Burnley defeat marked the end of a fantastic era for Reading FC

Manager Coppell resigned after the defeat and that was a massive shame for the Royals, who had enjoyed a huge amount of success under the former England international and broke the Championship points record under his stewardship.

They also finished eighth in the English top flight under him - and had enjoyed some very bright moments during the 2008/09 campaign - even though their form during the second half of that season wasn't great.

Brendan Rodgers wasn't a good replacement for him and if it wasn't for Brian McDermott and his team's 2011/12 heroics, the club may not have reached the top level again.

Coppell's departure was sad - and it was only the first of several key exits.

Kevin Doyle, Marcus Hahnemann and Stephen Hunt all secured Premier League returns - and that would have saddened supporters who saw the trio establish themselves as key players during the glorious 2005-2007 period.

Scoring 18 goals in 41 league appearances during the 2008/09 season, Doyle looked set to be a particularly big miss.

Luckily for the Royals, Long was eventually able to step up to the plate, but it's a shame that Doyle was unable to guide the club back to the top level before he left.

Former captain Graeme Murty and key centre-back Andre Bikey were also among the group of players who left Berkshire during the summer of 2009 - and Dave Kitson and Glen Little both left following the expiration of their loan deals.

McDermott's reign meant this play-off tie against the Clarets didn't start a period of decline, but it was still a match that had big consequences, and this is why this game will always go down in the history books for the Royals.