Reading FC legend Graeme Murty will return to face his former side when his Sunderland U21s side visit the Royals in the Premier League 2 play-off semi-finals.
Murty joined the Royals from York City in 1998 and spent more than a decade in Berkshire, becoming a club legend in the process.
The Scottish international made 339 appearances in total for Reading and most famously captained the side during the legendary ‘106’ campaign in 2005/06 which saw the Royals win the Championship to gain promotion to the top flight for the first time in the clubs history.
Having seen his Sunderland side win a dramatic quarter-final on Monday night against West Ham, Murty’s side will face Noel Hunt’s Reading team in the final four.
The Royals saw off Nottingham Forest on Saturday in front of 1,100 fans with a penalty from Jayden Wareham and a John Clarke double.
Meanwhile, the Black Cats had to do it the hard way in a frantic tie on Monday night.
West Ham led in normal time before Sunderland found a late leveller to take the game to extra-time.
The Hammers regained their lead before Sunderland made it level once again.
Having missed a penalty in the 113th minute, West Ham made amends when they went in front with three minutes left to play.
But Murty’s side responded again with a last gasp equaliser to take the game to penalties.
Sunderland won the shootout 5-3 as they earned the right to face Reading in the semi-finals.
The game is expected to take place at the Select Car Leasing Stadium this weekend with a date and kick-off time yet to be confirmed.
