12 goal football thriller last night evokes memories of Doncaster Rovers' 7-5 win - and it's the THIRD time Reading have lost by that score

A 12-goal football thriller in last night's Checkatrade Trophy has evoked memories of Doncaster Rovers' 7-5 win over the same side.
The Doncaster Rovers team of 1982.The Doncaster Rovers team of 1982.
The Doncaster Rovers team of 1982.

Gillingham beat Reading U21s 7-5 in an incredible game - and amazingly, it is the THIRD time the Berkshire side have been on the wrong end of a 7-5 scoreline.

For not only did Rovers beat them by that margin back in 1982, but Premier League giants Arsenal did the same to the Royals in the League Cup back in 2012.

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In last night's game, Gillingham progressed to the last 32 of the Checkatrade Trophy after an amazing 7-5 win over Reading Under-21s.

Gillingham built a 4-1 lead, but Reading drew level at 4-4 before the Gills scored three times in the last 10 minutes with Reading pinching a fifth.

The result brought back memories of a game still talked about by Doncaster Rovers fans who were there on that day at Belle Vue back in 1982.

The date was September 25 and in front of an attendance of 3,118, Rovers and Reading played out an incredible 12-goal thriller which eventually saw the hosts triumph 7-5 in one of the most amazing games ever involving the club.

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Rovers had come into the League Division 3 game buoyed by a 6-1 win over Exeter in their previous home game and Colin Douglas put Rovers in front after just two minutes with a glancing header.

Reading striker Kerry Dixon, who would later go on to enjoy massive scoring success with Chelsea and England before, ironically, later returning to Rovers as manager, levelled things up almost immediately before an Ian Snodin penalty after seven minutes restored the advantage.

Billy Russell made it 3-1 before Dixon grabbed a second and then Ian Snodin, who also later became Rovers manager, struck again to make it 4-2.

Dixon dispatched a penalty and completed his hat-trick to make it 4-3 before Rovers went in 5-3 in front at the break after Snodin also notched his hat-trick from the penalty spot – the third penalty of the game.

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Needless to say, the scoring continued after the interval, Dixon grabbing his fourth five minutes after the restart before Tommy Graham struck to make it 6-4 to Rovers.

Reading narrowed the gap through Robinson before Glynn Snodin, Ian’s brother, completed the scoring action with an indirect free kick which was touched into the net by the Royals’ keeper to bring the remarkable final scoreline of Doncaster Rovers 7, Reading 5.

The result came in the midst of a crazy five-week spell. A 6-3 defeat at home to Wigan followed, there was a 5-1 loss at Lincoln and a 4-4 draw with Brentford.

And the 7-5 result did neither club any favours – both were relegated at the end of the season.

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Thirty years later - the same would happen again, with Arsenal star Theo Walcott scoring a scintillating hat-trick as Arsenal produced one of the great comebacks to take their place in the last eight of the League Cup.

Reading were 4-0 up after 35 minutes in the 2012 match before collapsing to a 7-5 defeat.