Reading FC will have two major FA Cup regrets involving Aston Villa: View | OneFootball

Two FA Cup campaigns brought the Royals' fans some joy, but also some pain and Villa were involved in both.

Reading have enjoyed some memorable times in the FA Cup in the past 15 years or so, with Brian McDermott having a couple of excellent runs.

Unfortunately, there have been some more humiliating moments in recent years.

Their loss against Kidderminster Harriers back in 2022 was fully deserved - because the non-league side performed better than the Royals on the day and wanted the win more.

That was an ugly day during an ugly period for the Berkshire outfit, who majorly struggled under Veljko Paunovic during the early stages of 2022.

The Royals were also knocked out by a non-league team last year, with National League outfit Eastleigh scoring a late winner to secure a place in the next round.

Femi Azeez's goal looked to have secured a replay, but the hosts scored late on and the Berkshire side were unable to equalise again.

That was another poor day in the history of the club, but they can look further back for some fonder memories.

In the end, the Royals' FA Cup campaigns have always ended up with losses, but the competition has also provided some moments of excitement for the Berkshire side's supporters.

Two FA Cup campaigns in particular stand out - and Premier League side Aston Villa were a relevant team during both of them.

Having reached the quarter-final stage of the competition back in 2010, the Royals had a home tie against Villa, which provided them with an opportunity to book a tie at the new Wembley Stadium for the first time.

They made great strides in that quest, with Shane Long heading in from close range to make it 1-0 and also finishing off an impressive attack to make it 2-0 going into the interval.

At that point, the Berkshire side were firmly in pole position to secure a place in the last four, but a mistake from Ryan Bertrand gave the visitors the opportunity to half the deficit, which they did through Ashley Young.

A header from John Carew allowed Villa to equalise - and he went on to score twice more to seal victory.

Carew was the man who won the penalty for their fourth goal - and he scored it to complete his hat-trick and seal Villa's place in the semis.

This was a heartbreaking day for the Royals, who had gone on a good run under then-manager McDermott, but couldn't quite win a place in the last four.

FA Cup glory could have been possible for Reading FC in 2015

The Royals also went on a good run in 2015.

They may have avoided Premier League teams, but they still had quite a few tricky away games.

The Bradford away game was particularly nerve-wracking for fans, because Phil Parkinson's men had some bright moments that day and could have come out on top.

The Berkshire outfit were able to take the game to a replay though - and won the replay convincingly.

This set up a tie against Arsenal, who were aiming to secure back-to-back FA Cup wins at that point.

The Gunners weren't exactly convincing in the semi-final though - and the Royals had some opportunities of their own to score more than one goal.

Alexis Sanchez put Arsene Wenger's side 1-0 up in the opening 45, but Garath McCleary equalised and the game was taken to extra time.

A mistake from Adam Federici proved to be the difference in the end, with Sanchez's shot squirming under the Australian, who had been excellent at Wembley before that error.

It's a shame that the Royals were unable to come out on top that day, because they had some decent chances and had a valid penalty shout, but they couldn't get over the line in the end.

The Gunners faced Villa in the final - and it's safe to say that the latter didn't put in a good performance that day.

They almost rolled over for Wenger's side and went on to lose 4-0, with the North London side finding life very comfortable that afternoon.