Addicks Grab Last Minute Point
Charlton managed to equalise against Manchester City through a Chris Perry goal in time added on at The Valley on Saturday. 1-2 down at half time, I had said to Steve from Sidcup that their failure to create chances in the last thirty minutes suggested that nothing was going to happen in the last three. Many fans had already left the ground and, in the style of a David Lodge novel, would have heard the cheer of the Addickted from outside.
It was a lucky escape for Charlton, however. For much of the match they had been outplayed by a Manchester City team that found it all too easy to dispossess Charlton and were more accurate in their passing. If it hadn't been for some great saves by Deano in the first half, the Addicks could have been further behind at the interval.
The hapless Mark Fish, who should never have started, was pulled off at half time in favour of Jon Fortune. As Steve from Sidcup commented, 'I never thought I would be glad to see Fortune on the pitch.' At the same time the lacklustre JJ was replaced by Jeffers to the delight of much of the crowd. Combined with a switch to 4-4-2, the arrival of these players helped Charlton's performance to improve, admittedly from a low base, in the second half.
Fowler and Murphy exchanged friendly words about times past before the kick off, perhaps not a good omen given Murphy's subsequent performance. Things started as they were going to go on with City winning a corner in the first minute after Thomas gave the ball away, although the youngster redeemed himself by clearing from the corner.
Musampa then connected with a cross from Reyna forcing Deano to tip the ball over. With the corner, Dunne put a header in on goal with the ball apparently going in off the head of Hreidarsson and the left leg of Murphy. The scoreboard credited Dunne with the fourth minute goal, but perhaps this will be one for the Dubious Goals Committee.
Then on ten minutes Konchesky released Thomas who put in an excellent cross that outfoxed James who must have been wondering if he could set up his easel in the goal and get his paints out. Distin failed to clear the danger and Bartlett was able to take advantage of the situation and make it 1-1.
Luke Young was called on for some good defensive work. Deano then saved off the line from Fowler, the ball having taken a deflection off Perry. The Herminator then managed to get himself out of a tight situation which he had created for himself. Macken then found himself one-on-one with Deano stopped an otherwise inevitable goal by halting the ball with his legs, showing immaculate timing. Fish then exposed Deano who had to save again from Macken at the expense of a City corner. A good Murphy interception released Bartlett but the offside flag was raised against the Springbok.
The pace of the match then slowed when Charlton should have been increasing the tempo. City exposed Charlton down the wing again and won a corner, followed by a second. Deano had to make a save from a shot from distance. Thomas won a rare Charlton corner, but unlike two of those taken by City, it was wasted.
The Addicks were giving the ball away too easily. Bartlett had to use a scissors kick to clear out of defence, his position giving some indication of the pressure the Addicks were under. Then seven minutes from time Fowler connected with a cross from Barton and put the ball past Murphy on the line who looked as if he was taking up modelling for an art class, so frozen was his pose. 2-1 to the Massives.
A Charlton free kick won by Thomas was punched out and James dealt in a similar way with a Charlton corner.
Half-time: Addicks 1, Massives 2
The substitutions enlivened Charlton and Bartlett made his own charge on the City goal, but was crowded out by the three Massives surrounding him. A City free kick from Fowler went way over. There was a worrying moment when Konchesky went down injured and required treatment. An error by the Herminator gave City a corner which fortunately was unproductive.
Murphy put a shot straight at James which did produce a Charlton corner. James then had to make a diving save from Bartlett. City were given a free kick in front of the D and Luke Young was shown the only yellow card of the day. The free kick came off the wall and was eventually cleared. There was a penalty call when Jeffers was brought down, but nothing was given. Thomas was released by good play by Jeffers, but his effort went over at close range.
Good work by Young and Jeffers won Charlton a corner which was followed by a second. A good cross by Thomas was met by Holland, but his header came off the crossbar. Musampa continued to be dangerous for the visitors and missed at least two chances.
Then in injury time a Luke Young cross was flicked on by Jeffers to an unmarked Perry who made no mistake in putting it past James who may be a better critic of Lowry than he is a keeper. Much relief was felt by the Addickted.
Coming back on the train, I saw a Massive who proudly bore the legend 'Spiv' on his back. At least they didn't do the double over us.
Match analysis
Once again Hooch the Pooch was able to award the Silver Bone to Paul Konchesky. In a lacklustre midfield, Konchesky shone as an example of energy, commitment and skill, making some important interventions in defence as well. Deano was hardly to blame for the creaking defence in front of him that led to two City goals from set pieces. He also made some vital saves which showed excellent anticipation. Fish is no doubt a reasonably good poet, has a good appreciation of red wine and may one day make his mark in South African politics. A Premiership footballer he is not. He is too slow, drifts out of position too easily, and fouls too readily. Perry was his usual calm and collected self in defence before delivering the Charlton equaliser. Hreidarsson who is usually a tower of strength seemed to have been drained by his international exertions and eventually had to be substituted. Young was once again one of the stronger Charlton players in both attack and defence.
Murphy seemed to have slipped backwards, having one of his poorer games in the Charlton shirt, giving the ball away too far often through unforced errors. Holland had a generally poor game. Steve from Sidcup thought that Thomas also had a poor game, but I thought he contributed at times and not at others. JJ was apparently Man of the Match for Finland. I would like to see him play for his country because he must save his best efforts for them. He hardly got to the ball in the first half before he was pulled off. Bartlett scored and was also, as ever, active in defence.
Jeffers played some neat and skilled football, but I still remain unconvinced that he is the saviour that many of the crowd think he is. Fortune played competently which was a great improvement on Fish.
Lisbie was energetic and committed when he came on, but made no great impact on the game.
Hiss of the Match Many of the Addickted would no doubt select referee Styles and we certainly got few 50-50 decisions from him. On the whole, however, I think he kept the game moving and was reasonably fair. Juneau the Soccer Cat has given the Hiss of the Match to the Blokes Behind Me. This was not the legendary BBM, although he agreed with them, but two blokes in the row behind that who were slagging off Curbishley even after the game had finished.
Crowd rating The effect of the spring sunshine, the early kick off and the lack of sparkle from Charlton in the first half made the crowd subdued. However, the Covered End deserves credit for a chant at David James: 'England's Number Four', followed by all the numbers down to seven. 6/10.
It was a lucky escape for Charlton, however. For much of the match they had been outplayed by a Manchester City team that found it all too easy to dispossess Charlton and were more accurate in their passing. If it hadn't been for some great saves by Deano in the first half, the Addicks could have been further behind at the interval.
The hapless Mark Fish, who should never have started, was pulled off at half time in favour of Jon Fortune. As Steve from Sidcup commented, 'I never thought I would be glad to see Fortune on the pitch.' At the same time the lacklustre JJ was replaced by Jeffers to the delight of much of the crowd. Combined with a switch to 4-4-2, the arrival of these players helped Charlton's performance to improve, admittedly from a low base, in the second half.
Fowler and Murphy exchanged friendly words about times past before the kick off, perhaps not a good omen given Murphy's subsequent performance. Things started as they were going to go on with City winning a corner in the first minute after Thomas gave the ball away, although the youngster redeemed himself by clearing from the corner.
Musampa then connected with a cross from Reyna forcing Deano to tip the ball over. With the corner, Dunne put a header in on goal with the ball apparently going in off the head of Hreidarsson and the left leg of Murphy. The scoreboard credited Dunne with the fourth minute goal, but perhaps this will be one for the Dubious Goals Committee.
Then on ten minutes Konchesky released Thomas who put in an excellent cross that outfoxed James who must have been wondering if he could set up his easel in the goal and get his paints out. Distin failed to clear the danger and Bartlett was able to take advantage of the situation and make it 1-1.
Luke Young was called on for some good defensive work. Deano then saved off the line from Fowler, the ball having taken a deflection off Perry. The Herminator then managed to get himself out of a tight situation which he had created for himself. Macken then found himself one-on-one with Deano stopped an otherwise inevitable goal by halting the ball with his legs, showing immaculate timing. Fish then exposed Deano who had to save again from Macken at the expense of a City corner. A good Murphy interception released Bartlett but the offside flag was raised against the Springbok.
The pace of the match then slowed when Charlton should have been increasing the tempo. City exposed Charlton down the wing again and won a corner, followed by a second. Deano had to make a save from a shot from distance. Thomas won a rare Charlton corner, but unlike two of those taken by City, it was wasted.
The Addicks were giving the ball away too easily. Bartlett had to use a scissors kick to clear out of defence, his position giving some indication of the pressure the Addicks were under. Then seven minutes from time Fowler connected with a cross from Barton and put the ball past Murphy on the line who looked as if he was taking up modelling for an art class, so frozen was his pose. 2-1 to the Massives.
A Charlton free kick won by Thomas was punched out and James dealt in a similar way with a Charlton corner.
Half-time: Addicks 1, Massives 2
The substitutions enlivened Charlton and Bartlett made his own charge on the City goal, but was crowded out by the three Massives surrounding him. A City free kick from Fowler went way over. There was a worrying moment when Konchesky went down injured and required treatment. An error by the Herminator gave City a corner which fortunately was unproductive.
Murphy put a shot straight at James which did produce a Charlton corner. James then had to make a diving save from Bartlett. City were given a free kick in front of the D and Luke Young was shown the only yellow card of the day. The free kick came off the wall and was eventually cleared. There was a penalty call when Jeffers was brought down, but nothing was given. Thomas was released by good play by Jeffers, but his effort went over at close range.
Good work by Young and Jeffers won Charlton a corner which was followed by a second. A good cross by Thomas was met by Holland, but his header came off the crossbar. Musampa continued to be dangerous for the visitors and missed at least two chances.
Then in injury time a Luke Young cross was flicked on by Jeffers to an unmarked Perry who made no mistake in putting it past James who may be a better critic of Lowry than he is a keeper. Much relief was felt by the Addickted.
Coming back on the train, I saw a Massive who proudly bore the legend 'Spiv' on his back. At least they didn't do the double over us.
Match analysis
Once again Hooch the Pooch was able to award the Silver Bone to Paul Konchesky. In a lacklustre midfield, Konchesky shone as an example of energy, commitment and skill, making some important interventions in defence as well. Deano was hardly to blame for the creaking defence in front of him that led to two City goals from set pieces. He also made some vital saves which showed excellent anticipation. Fish is no doubt a reasonably good poet, has a good appreciation of red wine and may one day make his mark in South African politics. A Premiership footballer he is not. He is too slow, drifts out of position too easily, and fouls too readily. Perry was his usual calm and collected self in defence before delivering the Charlton equaliser. Hreidarsson who is usually a tower of strength seemed to have been drained by his international exertions and eventually had to be substituted. Young was once again one of the stronger Charlton players in both attack and defence.
Murphy seemed to have slipped backwards, having one of his poorer games in the Charlton shirt, giving the ball away too far often through unforced errors. Holland had a generally poor game. Steve from Sidcup thought that Thomas also had a poor game, but I thought he contributed at times and not at others. JJ was apparently Man of the Match for Finland. I would like to see him play for his country because he must save his best efforts for them. He hardly got to the ball in the first half before he was pulled off. Bartlett scored and was also, as ever, active in defence.
Jeffers played some neat and skilled football, but I still remain unconvinced that he is the saviour that many of the crowd think he is. Fortune played competently which was a great improvement on Fish.
Lisbie was energetic and committed when he came on, but made no great impact on the game.
Hiss of the Match Many of the Addickted would no doubt select referee Styles and we certainly got few 50-50 decisions from him. On the whole, however, I think he kept the game moving and was reasonably fair. Juneau the Soccer Cat has given the Hiss of the Match to the Blokes Behind Me. This was not the legendary BBM, although he agreed with them, but two blokes in the row behind that who were slagging off Curbishley even after the game had finished.
Crowd rating The effect of the spring sunshine, the early kick off and the lack of sparkle from Charlton in the first half made the crowd subdued. However, the Covered End deserves credit for a chant at David James: 'England's Number Four', followed by all the numbers down to seven. 6/10.
posted by Wyn Grant at 5:01 PM
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