Charlton back to winning ways
Charlton's 2-0 victory over Sunderland at The Valley this afternoon with goals from Bent and Ambrose took the Addicks back to winning ways with a clean sheet and a double over the Black Cats. Sunderland are rooted at the bottom of the table for a reason, but the game still had to be won and, particularly after they scored their first goal, the Addicks showed some of their old confidence and fluency. They were pinned back towards the end of the second half, particularly after Smertin and Bent had been taken off, but they withstood the pressure well.
It was good to meet up with American sports journalist Doug Chapman in a local hostelry before the match. Sunderland went into a huddle before the start of the game which hadn't done Charlton much good against City.
The Addicks had an early chance to go ahead when a free kick by Murphy was picked up by Bent who put the ball across the front of the goal. In the early stage of the game Charlton were relying a little too much on long balls to Bent while they look more threatening when they kept the ball n the ground. Ambrose broke through but his hurried effort went well wide. Thomas won Charlton a corner.
Kiely had to punch the ball out from a Sunderland free kick. Sunderland put in a rapsing shot which Kiely should perhaps have held and it led to two corners in succession for the visitors. However, Charlton were starting to apply some pressure with Powell and Smertin combining well. Murphy made a good move but Bent was not best placed to take advantage of it.
Smertin put in a shot that won Charlton a corner. Nosworthy received a yellow card for a foul on Thomas. On 43 minutes Murphy turned provider for Bent, Nosworthy failed to provided defensive cover and the striker was able to score from a tight angle to make it 1-0.
Half time: Addicks 1, Black Cats 0
Le Tallec was replaced by Stead immediately after the break. Four minutes into the half Young forged down the wing and put in a cross, the hapless Caldwell played the ball against the post, Young returned it, Caldwell got in a mess again and Ambrose got the ball into the back of the net to make it 2-0.
Thomas won Charlton a corner which he took himself. Smertin put in a decent shot which was saved. Two minutes later at the other end danger man Arca put in a shot which produced a great save from Kiely. From the corner the ball was punched out and there may have been a hint of handball in the area from Kishishev.
Ambrose earned credit for hassling Sunderland very effectively. Luke Young put in a powerful shot from distance which was only just off target. Ambrose powered through and put in a good shot. However, Sunderland showed that they could still threaten with a shot that went just wide. Chris Powell put in a great tackle. The Herminator gave away a corner unnecessarily and then gave Sunderland a free kick.
Smertin was replaced by a somewhat bemused Hughes on on 67 minutes, not a popular move with the crowd. Charlton rode their luck when they emerged from a goalmouth scramble without Sunderland scoring. Thomas was replaced by El Karkouri on 74 minutes. The replacement of Bent by Bartlett sent the Bloke Behind Me beserk, but he was not able to see Curbs slapping his thigh to indicate that Bent, who went straight to the dressing room, had picked up an injury. Indeed, there had been rumours of a training ground injury during the week.
On 78 minutes Arca put in a fine shot but was denied by Deano. Although Charlton were now playing very defensively, too much so for the liking of the crowd, Sunderland were unable to break them down. As the game went into time added on, Sunderland won a corner which was dealt with by a header by the Herminator. Then the whistle blew and all that remained was to enjoy Chris Powell's post match celebration routine.
Match analysis
In a shock announcement earlier in the day the Association of Canine Match Analysts announced they were dropping Hooch the Pooch who has been associated with Charlton's long string of defeats and replacing him with Homer the Cherry Hound from Chilton, Oxon. It was thus the lucky labrador who presented the Silver Bone to Dean Kiely. After a poor performance against Manchester City, Deano made a number of great saves that kept Charlton in the match. Also improved in relation to his performance against the Massives was Perry who made only one dodgy back pass and put the ball out of play when that was the sensible thing to do. Hreidarsson played with his usual passion and commitment although as a consequence gave away a number of free kicks and ended up with a yellow card. Powell showed that he could still be an effective contributor, always engaged and forging forward well. Young also played well, made some great runs into threatening positions and nearly scored with a searing shot. Kishishev showed why he is needed and did not make any serious errors. Smertin once again displayed real skill and set up a number of attacks as well as having a go himself. Murphy was not prominent, but played his part well enough. Ambrose generally had a good game apart from his goal, although it was not always clear what position he was supposed to be playing in. Thomas was an effective marauder, although he could have got wider sometimes. Bent had a great game with a very well taken goal. Hughes hardly made contact with the ball after he came on. Bartlett sadly looked like a carthorse and seemed keener on defending than attacking. El Karkouro seemed to do very little after he came on.
Juneau the Soccer Cat has awarded The Hiss of the Match to Steven Caldwell for his blatant professional foul for which he escaped with a yellow card.
Crowd rating Generally in good voice, particularly after the Addicks went ahead, although one of the most passionate chants was for 'Super Clive Mendonca'. 7/10.
It was good to meet up with American sports journalist Doug Chapman in a local hostelry before the match. Sunderland went into a huddle before the start of the game which hadn't done Charlton much good against City.
The Addicks had an early chance to go ahead when a free kick by Murphy was picked up by Bent who put the ball across the front of the goal. In the early stage of the game Charlton were relying a little too much on long balls to Bent while they look more threatening when they kept the ball n the ground. Ambrose broke through but his hurried effort went well wide. Thomas won Charlton a corner.
Kiely had to punch the ball out from a Sunderland free kick. Sunderland put in a rapsing shot which Kiely should perhaps have held and it led to two corners in succession for the visitors. However, Charlton were starting to apply some pressure with Powell and Smertin combining well. Murphy made a good move but Bent was not best placed to take advantage of it.
Smertin put in a shot that won Charlton a corner. Nosworthy received a yellow card for a foul on Thomas. On 43 minutes Murphy turned provider for Bent, Nosworthy failed to provided defensive cover and the striker was able to score from a tight angle to make it 1-0.
Half time: Addicks 1, Black Cats 0
Le Tallec was replaced by Stead immediately after the break. Four minutes into the half Young forged down the wing and put in a cross, the hapless Caldwell played the ball against the post, Young returned it, Caldwell got in a mess again and Ambrose got the ball into the back of the net to make it 2-0.
Thomas won Charlton a corner which he took himself. Smertin put in a decent shot which was saved. Two minutes later at the other end danger man Arca put in a shot which produced a great save from Kiely. From the corner the ball was punched out and there may have been a hint of handball in the area from Kishishev.
Ambrose earned credit for hassling Sunderland very effectively. Luke Young put in a powerful shot from distance which was only just off target. Ambrose powered through and put in a good shot. However, Sunderland showed that they could still threaten with a shot that went just wide. Chris Powell put in a great tackle. The Herminator gave away a corner unnecessarily and then gave Sunderland a free kick.
Smertin was replaced by a somewhat bemused Hughes on on 67 minutes, not a popular move with the crowd. Charlton rode their luck when they emerged from a goalmouth scramble without Sunderland scoring. Thomas was replaced by El Karkouri on 74 minutes. The replacement of Bent by Bartlett sent the Bloke Behind Me beserk, but he was not able to see Curbs slapping his thigh to indicate that Bent, who went straight to the dressing room, had picked up an injury. Indeed, there had been rumours of a training ground injury during the week.
On 78 minutes Arca put in a fine shot but was denied by Deano. Although Charlton were now playing very defensively, too much so for the liking of the crowd, Sunderland were unable to break them down. As the game went into time added on, Sunderland won a corner which was dealt with by a header by the Herminator. Then the whistle blew and all that remained was to enjoy Chris Powell's post match celebration routine.
Match analysis
In a shock announcement earlier in the day the Association of Canine Match Analysts announced they were dropping Hooch the Pooch who has been associated with Charlton's long string of defeats and replacing him with Homer the Cherry Hound from Chilton, Oxon. It was thus the lucky labrador who presented the Silver Bone to Dean Kiely. After a poor performance against Manchester City, Deano made a number of great saves that kept Charlton in the match. Also improved in relation to his performance against the Massives was Perry who made only one dodgy back pass and put the ball out of play when that was the sensible thing to do. Hreidarsson played with his usual passion and commitment although as a consequence gave away a number of free kicks and ended up with a yellow card. Powell showed that he could still be an effective contributor, always engaged and forging forward well. Young also played well, made some great runs into threatening positions and nearly scored with a searing shot. Kishishev showed why he is needed and did not make any serious errors. Smertin once again displayed real skill and set up a number of attacks as well as having a go himself. Murphy was not prominent, but played his part well enough. Ambrose generally had a good game apart from his goal, although it was not always clear what position he was supposed to be playing in. Thomas was an effective marauder, although he could have got wider sometimes. Bent had a great game with a very well taken goal. Hughes hardly made contact with the ball after he came on. Bartlett sadly looked like a carthorse and seemed keener on defending than attacking. El Karkouro seemed to do very little after he came on.
Juneau the Soccer Cat has awarded The Hiss of the Match to Steven Caldwell for his blatant professional foul for which he escaped with a yellow card.
Crowd rating Generally in good voice, particularly after the Addicks went ahead, although one of the most passionate chants was for 'Super Clive Mendonca'. 7/10.
posted by Wyn Grant at 8:06 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home