Charlton unfortunate
There was a real sense of disappointment among Charlton fans after the 1-3 defeat by Arsenal at The Valley on New Year's Day. Everyone knew that the champions would be formidable opponents, although they looked less impressive than Chelsea. However, the game turned on Arsenal's second goal just after half time which put them ahead again after El Karkhouri's stunning equaliser just before the break. Van Persie was clearly offside when he came back and put Ljungberg through. Alan Curbishley rarely complains about such decisions, but he did on this occasion and his views were subsequently confirmed by the Match of the Day team. Having said that, Charlton's defence was to some extent at fault for the other two goals and there was a lack of bite up front, although getting round Campbell was far from easy.
Very often a Charlton kick off quickly leads to pressure from the other side, but this time it was Charlton who piled on the pressure. Rommedahl drew a first minute save from Almunia, after he had been played in by Matt Holland. Rommedahl then burst through again and his effort was not far off target. However, Arsenal started to pile on the pressure and Thomas was called on in defence. Henry put in a tricky shot which Deano got down to save well.
The rain started to pour down, accompanied by a strong wind and Arsene Wenger was seen in a hooded anorak designed by a leading Paris fashion house. Kishishev forged through the Arsenal defence, but having done the hard work, gave the ball away easily. This led to an Arsenal corner, but Clichy sent the ball far wide.
As the halfway point of the half approached, El Karkhouri played a clever free kick to Thomas who was waiting unmarked down the wing. Rommedahl's strike was not far off target. The Herminator put in good defensive work to cover the ball.
Then Ljungberg burst through, was fed the ball by Viera and was given far too much time to turn and blast the ball in the back of the net on 34 minutes, aided by a slight deflection off Murphy which made Deano's job more difficult. Three Charlton players were in attendance, but Fortune, perhaps fearing a penaly decision, was most at fault for Charlton's misfortune.
Kishishev fairly won the ball but had a free kick awarded against him. Defender/striker El Karkhouri launched an attack on the right. A blatant Arsenal handball was ignored by the officials. Charlton pressure nearly lead to an own goal as Almunia had to make a reaction save from one of his own players. Then El Karkhouri took a free kick awarded to Charlton and blasted the ball into the back of the net from over thirty yards out. Referee Halsey was surrounded by protesting Arsenal players as he left the pitch as they sought to explain to him that their side was not supposed to go in on level terms.
HT: Addicks 1, Gooners 1
The hooded figure of Arsene Wenger had clearly said something to his players at half time as they dominated the play from the moment they kicked off. Van Persie went ahead of the statue like Fortune, but the real misfortune was the failure to apply the offside rule. Ljungberg put in an assured finish that left Deano with no chance and on 48 minutes it was 2-1 to the Gooners.
El Karkhouri put in some good defensive work. Charlton mounted a couple of good attacks, one started by El Karkhouri and both of them involving Thomas, but in both cases offside was readily detected by the lino. In the second case, Thomas placed a sweet strike in the back of the net. He was then given a yellow card, although whether this was for cheek was unclear. (A West Stand fan has explained that this was for a shirt tug which had been spotted by the eagle eyed lino).
Arsenal were then given a free kick in front of the D for a foul by El Karkhouri on Van Persie. Cameras flashed in the Arsenal end as they anticipated a Henri goal, but the well placed Bartlett cleared off the line.
Thomas was pulled off for Konchesky and Kishishev for Euell, the latter move giving Charlton more of an attacking emphasis. However, shortly afterwards, Arsenal made it 1-3. A dubious defensive header by Fortune placed the Addicks in danger, Deano failed to come forward and Young was unable to contain the attack with the other defenders stranded out of position. Indeed, the ball took a slight deflection off Young.
Charlton kept trying, but with more space opening up, Arsenal remained in control, even after Campbell had been substituted because of an injury. Bartlett was limping and was replaced by JJ. A late Charlton corner, their first of the game (but the Gooners only had two) was poor. Charlton had been far from disgraced, but the new year had not started well for them.
Match analysis
Hooch the Pooch once again presented the Silver Bone to the club's leading scorer, Talal El Karkhouri for a strike that must be in contention for the club's goal of the season and for a Premiership goal of the month. Deano might have positioned himself better in relation to the third goal. Fortune once again showed himself to be wanting and one wonders if another central defender will be on the transfer window shopping list for Curbs, given that Perry's return from injury seems to be prolonged. Young was much in evidence, but less impressive than in recent games. Hreidarsson had another excellent game, strong in defence and threatening going forward. In my view he is currently the best all round player in the squad. Opinions about Kishishev are currently divided. He does make some very good moves, but he is also capable of making some poor and potentially dangerous ones. I heard some criticism of Murphy after the game, but I thought that he put in a good performance. Holland was quietly effective. Rommedahl was impressive in the first half and faded in the second but at least he was left on for ninety minutes. Thomas looked a little out of his depth and perhaps a bit intimidated by playing against his former team, although he made some good moves. He has already fallen foul of the shrewd football brain of the Bloke Behind Me, his offence being that he 'tries to do too much'. Bartlett was more impressive in defence than up front, but the role he is given is a very difficult one. Konchesky failed to make much of a difference when he came on and much the same could be said of Euell.
Hiss of the Match
Angry with the standard of the officials: Juneau the Soccer Cat
Juneau the Soccer Cat wanted to know who was in charge of officials at the FA, but I must admit I didn't know (I have subsequently been told that it is Keith Hackett). Anyway, he now has a cat determined to hiss at him. He needs to do three things: (i) press for the controlled use of video technology; (ii) sort out the confusion over the offside rule; (iii) perhaps most important, ensure that linos understand the rule and also encourage them to assert themselves more in relation to their referees on matters like handballs, fouls etc., even if the referee has told them to keep their mouths shut.
Crowd rating Generally good, but inclined to fade more often than one would hope for in such a crucial match. Perhaps they were counting the 50p a minute some of them paid to see it. 7/10.
Very often a Charlton kick off quickly leads to pressure from the other side, but this time it was Charlton who piled on the pressure. Rommedahl drew a first minute save from Almunia, after he had been played in by Matt Holland. Rommedahl then burst through again and his effort was not far off target. However, Arsenal started to pile on the pressure and Thomas was called on in defence. Henry put in a tricky shot which Deano got down to save well.
The rain started to pour down, accompanied by a strong wind and Arsene Wenger was seen in a hooded anorak designed by a leading Paris fashion house. Kishishev forged through the Arsenal defence, but having done the hard work, gave the ball away easily. This led to an Arsenal corner, but Clichy sent the ball far wide.
As the halfway point of the half approached, El Karkhouri played a clever free kick to Thomas who was waiting unmarked down the wing. Rommedahl's strike was not far off target. The Herminator put in good defensive work to cover the ball.
Then Ljungberg burst through, was fed the ball by Viera and was given far too much time to turn and blast the ball in the back of the net on 34 minutes, aided by a slight deflection off Murphy which made Deano's job more difficult. Three Charlton players were in attendance, but Fortune, perhaps fearing a penaly decision, was most at fault for Charlton's misfortune.
Kishishev fairly won the ball but had a free kick awarded against him. Defender/striker El Karkhouri launched an attack on the right. A blatant Arsenal handball was ignored by the officials. Charlton pressure nearly lead to an own goal as Almunia had to make a reaction save from one of his own players. Then El Karkhouri took a free kick awarded to Charlton and blasted the ball into the back of the net from over thirty yards out. Referee Halsey was surrounded by protesting Arsenal players as he left the pitch as they sought to explain to him that their side was not supposed to go in on level terms.
HT: Addicks 1, Gooners 1
The hooded figure of Arsene Wenger had clearly said something to his players at half time as they dominated the play from the moment they kicked off. Van Persie went ahead of the statue like Fortune, but the real misfortune was the failure to apply the offside rule. Ljungberg put in an assured finish that left Deano with no chance and on 48 minutes it was 2-1 to the Gooners.
El Karkhouri put in some good defensive work. Charlton mounted a couple of good attacks, one started by El Karkhouri and both of them involving Thomas, but in both cases offside was readily detected by the lino. In the second case, Thomas placed a sweet strike in the back of the net. He was then given a yellow card, although whether this was for cheek was unclear. (A West Stand fan has explained that this was for a shirt tug which had been spotted by the eagle eyed lino).
Arsenal were then given a free kick in front of the D for a foul by El Karkhouri on Van Persie. Cameras flashed in the Arsenal end as they anticipated a Henri goal, but the well placed Bartlett cleared off the line.
Thomas was pulled off for Konchesky and Kishishev for Euell, the latter move giving Charlton more of an attacking emphasis. However, shortly afterwards, Arsenal made it 1-3. A dubious defensive header by Fortune placed the Addicks in danger, Deano failed to come forward and Young was unable to contain the attack with the other defenders stranded out of position. Indeed, the ball took a slight deflection off Young.
Charlton kept trying, but with more space opening up, Arsenal remained in control, even after Campbell had been substituted because of an injury. Bartlett was limping and was replaced by JJ. A late Charlton corner, their first of the game (but the Gooners only had two) was poor. Charlton had been far from disgraced, but the new year had not started well for them.
Match analysis
Hooch the Pooch once again presented the Silver Bone to the club's leading scorer, Talal El Karkhouri for a strike that must be in contention for the club's goal of the season and for a Premiership goal of the month. Deano might have positioned himself better in relation to the third goal. Fortune once again showed himself to be wanting and one wonders if another central defender will be on the transfer window shopping list for Curbs, given that Perry's return from injury seems to be prolonged. Young was much in evidence, but less impressive than in recent games. Hreidarsson had another excellent game, strong in defence and threatening going forward. In my view he is currently the best all round player in the squad. Opinions about Kishishev are currently divided. He does make some very good moves, but he is also capable of making some poor and potentially dangerous ones. I heard some criticism of Murphy after the game, but I thought that he put in a good performance. Holland was quietly effective. Rommedahl was impressive in the first half and faded in the second but at least he was left on for ninety minutes. Thomas looked a little out of his depth and perhaps a bit intimidated by playing against his former team, although he made some good moves. He has already fallen foul of the shrewd football brain of the Bloke Behind Me, his offence being that he 'tries to do too much'. Bartlett was more impressive in defence than up front, but the role he is given is a very difficult one. Konchesky failed to make much of a difference when he came on and much the same could be said of Euell.
Hiss of the Match
Angry with the standard of the officials: Juneau the Soccer Cat
Juneau the Soccer Cat wanted to know who was in charge of officials at the FA, but I must admit I didn't know (I have subsequently been told that it is Keith Hackett). Anyway, he now has a cat determined to hiss at him. He needs to do three things: (i) press for the controlled use of video technology; (ii) sort out the confusion over the offside rule; (iii) perhaps most important, ensure that linos understand the rule and also encourage them to assert themselves more in relation to their referees on matters like handballs, fouls etc., even if the referee has told them to keep their mouths shut.
Crowd rating Generally good, but inclined to fade more often than one would hope for in such a crucial match. Perhaps they were counting the 50p a minute some of them paid to see it. 7/10.
posted by Wyn Grant at 9:39 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home