We Sent Palace Down!
That was the truimphant chant of the Addickted after a 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace was enough to send the Croydon side back to a level where they belong. A win would have been more satisfying and would have put Charlton into the top half of the table, but at least defeat was avoided which, for a nail biting phase of the game, looked possible.
Charlton looked nervous in the early phase of the game, but a goal by the much criticised Bryan Hughes gave them a 1-0 margin at half time. Unfortunately, a defensive error let Palace back into the goal with a soft goal, followed by a penalty after Fortune after hand balled. However, he redeemed himself by scoring the equaliser.
Travelling down on the train from Charing Cross, the Nigels and Nigellas getting on at London Bridge looked pretty glum, perhaps anticipating that the day was not going to be theirs.
Fortune was called on for good defensive work early in the match. The on form Kishishev then put in an excellent long angled pass to Bartlett but the Springbok was unable to make anything of it. Hughes had a go. Palace won a free kick near the touchline after a challenge by El Karkouri. Konchesky was able to clear, but the ball was played backed in, leading to a Palace corner which was cleared.
Hughes managed to give the ball away. Palace put in an angled shot which went not far over the bar. Charlton were awarded a free kick after Bartlett was held. The Springbok had a half chance, but headed the ball well wide. Matt Holland was injured in a challenge, but the East Stand lino said that he was waiting for a new prescription for his glasses and meanwhile could not see what was happening a few yards in front of him. Peter Varney is right when he says that so-called assistant referees assist nothing.
JJ showed some energy and actually made a challenge. After the Addicks had wasted a free kick, El Karkouri conceded a corner which was taken short by Palace and cleared (do short corners work for anyone?) Palace were given a free kick straight in front of the D and Deano saved from the subsequent corner. Routledge then put in a stinging shot which would have gone in if it had not been for an excellent save by Deano. Deano caught the ball from the corner.
As the Bloke Behind Me screamed that Hughes was useless, would never do anything and should be taken off now, Kishishev played an excellent ball to the well positioned midfielder who showed no hesitation in putting the ball in the back of the net to make it 1-0.
Young won the Addicks a free kick and Murphy's effort was not far wide. Konchesky was cynically brought down and Soares received a yellow card for his trouble. A good Charlton attack ended with an offside decision. JJ put in an excellent cross, but bafflingly there was no one there to connect.
Luke Young put in some great work to control and retain the ball in front of the East Stand and many of the Addickted near him got up and bowed their appreciation. A good run by Konchesky gave Charlton a corner, but Kiraly caught the ball and Palace went on the break, leading to a corner for them. This produced a moment of danger, but the reliable Konchesky was able to clear.
With two minutes of time added on, Palace were awarded a free kick in a potentially dangerous position, but Deano made the save. The half ended with a Charlton corner.
Half time: Addicks 1, Glaziers 0
Konchesky received a yellow card for a tackle from behind. Palace won a free kick but Deano was able to make the save. Dowie pulled off Butterfield and brought on Dougie Freedman. This soon paid off when, following a defensive error by Fortune, the substitute advanced on goal and lobbed the ball over Deano to make it 1-1.
Palace were awarded a corner when it looked to me as if they were offside. El Karkouri was called on for good defensive work. Matt Holland was taken off and replaced by Jerome Thomas. Fortune hand balled in the area and Johnson stepped up for his 13th penalty goal of the season to make it 1-2. Johnson received a yellow card for giving it large to the Addickted.
Murphy was taken off for Lloyd Sam and subsequently Rommedahl replaced Bartlett. My notes for this stage of the game are not very detailed as the tension was getting to me. This was probably the worst period of time I have spent watching Charlton for a long time as the thought that Palace would be able to celebrate staying up at The Valley was too much to bear.
Palace then gave away an unnecessary free kick and Fortune was on hand to slot the ball in the back of the net to make it 2-2. Cue celebrations at The Hawthorns. Palace were far from finished and Deano had to make a great save with his hand on the line and then another save from a Palace free kick.
No board went up, nor was any announcement made of the time added on, apparently for security reasons. The minutes dragged by, but eventually referee Clatterburg blew up and Palace were down. They are the only team to be relegated four times from the Premiership. So much for them being a bigger team than Charlton.
In many ways it has been a disappointing season for Charlton. However, my prediction at the start of the season was 12th, so we have done one better. There will now need to be a clear out of players and investment in new ones. Danny Shittu from QPR has been mentioned and his return to strengthen our defence would certainly be welcome, although the Massives are also said to be interested.
The last Silver Bone of the season was awarded by match analyst Hooch the Pooch to the tireless Kishishev who showed as if he knew how much the match meant to the supporters. Deano made some excellent saves. Young displayed some of the skill that made him the supporters' choice for player of the season. El Karkouri made one or two errors which in one case contributed to Palace scoring. Fortune redeemed himself with his goal. Konchesky was one of the better Charlton players, making some powerful runs down the wing. Holland was error prone and eventually substituted. Murphy did well enough and his substitution was not welcomed by the Addickted. Hughes is much criticised and did give the ball away under pressure, but is not as bad as some people make out. JJ for once looked as if he was really up for it.
Bartlett played well after a period out through injury. Thomas livened up Charlton's play when he came on, showing determination and skill. Sam made his first team debut and displayed some nice touches. Rommedahl remains an enigma. He makes some great runs, but has little support when he does and is dispossessed of the ball too easily.
Hiss of the Match The standard of announcing has gone down since the enforced departure of Brian Cole but Steve Sutherland went for a synthetic call for greater enthusiasm which simply grated.
Crowd rating Although very tense themselves for understandable reasons, the Addickted were well up for it. 9/10
Charlton looked nervous in the early phase of the game, but a goal by the much criticised Bryan Hughes gave them a 1-0 margin at half time. Unfortunately, a defensive error let Palace back into the goal with a soft goal, followed by a penalty after Fortune after hand balled. However, he redeemed himself by scoring the equaliser.
Travelling down on the train from Charing Cross, the Nigels and Nigellas getting on at London Bridge looked pretty glum, perhaps anticipating that the day was not going to be theirs.
Fortune was called on for good defensive work early in the match. The on form Kishishev then put in an excellent long angled pass to Bartlett but the Springbok was unable to make anything of it. Hughes had a go. Palace won a free kick near the touchline after a challenge by El Karkouri. Konchesky was able to clear, but the ball was played backed in, leading to a Palace corner which was cleared.
Hughes managed to give the ball away. Palace put in an angled shot which went not far over the bar. Charlton were awarded a free kick after Bartlett was held. The Springbok had a half chance, but headed the ball well wide. Matt Holland was injured in a challenge, but the East Stand lino said that he was waiting for a new prescription for his glasses and meanwhile could not see what was happening a few yards in front of him. Peter Varney is right when he says that so-called assistant referees assist nothing.
JJ showed some energy and actually made a challenge. After the Addicks had wasted a free kick, El Karkouri conceded a corner which was taken short by Palace and cleared (do short corners work for anyone?) Palace were given a free kick straight in front of the D and Deano saved from the subsequent corner. Routledge then put in a stinging shot which would have gone in if it had not been for an excellent save by Deano. Deano caught the ball from the corner.
As the Bloke Behind Me screamed that Hughes was useless, would never do anything and should be taken off now, Kishishev played an excellent ball to the well positioned midfielder who showed no hesitation in putting the ball in the back of the net to make it 1-0.
Young won the Addicks a free kick and Murphy's effort was not far wide. Konchesky was cynically brought down and Soares received a yellow card for his trouble. A good Charlton attack ended with an offside decision. JJ put in an excellent cross, but bafflingly there was no one there to connect.
Luke Young put in some great work to control and retain the ball in front of the East Stand and many of the Addickted near him got up and bowed their appreciation. A good run by Konchesky gave Charlton a corner, but Kiraly caught the ball and Palace went on the break, leading to a corner for them. This produced a moment of danger, but the reliable Konchesky was able to clear.
With two minutes of time added on, Palace were awarded a free kick in a potentially dangerous position, but Deano made the save. The half ended with a Charlton corner.
Half time: Addicks 1, Glaziers 0
Konchesky received a yellow card for a tackle from behind. Palace won a free kick but Deano was able to make the save. Dowie pulled off Butterfield and brought on Dougie Freedman. This soon paid off when, following a defensive error by Fortune, the substitute advanced on goal and lobbed the ball over Deano to make it 1-1.
Palace were awarded a corner when it looked to me as if they were offside. El Karkouri was called on for good defensive work. Matt Holland was taken off and replaced by Jerome Thomas. Fortune hand balled in the area and Johnson stepped up for his 13th penalty goal of the season to make it 1-2. Johnson received a yellow card for giving it large to the Addickted.
Murphy was taken off for Lloyd Sam and subsequently Rommedahl replaced Bartlett. My notes for this stage of the game are not very detailed as the tension was getting to me. This was probably the worst period of time I have spent watching Charlton for a long time as the thought that Palace would be able to celebrate staying up at The Valley was too much to bear.
Palace then gave away an unnecessary free kick and Fortune was on hand to slot the ball in the back of the net to make it 2-2. Cue celebrations at The Hawthorns. Palace were far from finished and Deano had to make a great save with his hand on the line and then another save from a Palace free kick.
No board went up, nor was any announcement made of the time added on, apparently for security reasons. The minutes dragged by, but eventually referee Clatterburg blew up and Palace were down. They are the only team to be relegated four times from the Premiership. So much for them being a bigger team than Charlton.
In many ways it has been a disappointing season for Charlton. However, my prediction at the start of the season was 12th, so we have done one better. There will now need to be a clear out of players and investment in new ones. Danny Shittu from QPR has been mentioned and his return to strengthen our defence would certainly be welcome, although the Massives are also said to be interested.
The last Silver Bone of the season was awarded by match analyst Hooch the Pooch to the tireless Kishishev who showed as if he knew how much the match meant to the supporters. Deano made some excellent saves. Young displayed some of the skill that made him the supporters' choice for player of the season. El Karkouri made one or two errors which in one case contributed to Palace scoring. Fortune redeemed himself with his goal. Konchesky was one of the better Charlton players, making some powerful runs down the wing. Holland was error prone and eventually substituted. Murphy did well enough and his substitution was not welcomed by the Addickted. Hughes is much criticised and did give the ball away under pressure, but is not as bad as some people make out. JJ for once looked as if he was really up for it.
Bartlett played well after a period out through injury. Thomas livened up Charlton's play when he came on, showing determination and skill. Sam made his first team debut and displayed some nice touches. Rommedahl remains an enigma. He makes some great runs, but has little support when he does and is dispossessed of the ball too easily.
Hiss of the Match The standard of announcing has gone down since the enforced departure of Brian Cole but Steve Sutherland went for a synthetic call for greater enthusiasm which simply grated.
Crowd rating Although very tense themselves for understandable reasons, the Addickted were well up for it. 9/10
posted by Wyn Grant at 8:08 PM
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