Huddersfield Town 1 (Rhodes 13,pen) Charlton 0.
Kevin Nolan reports from the Galpharm Stadium.
An incendiary game of numerous flashpoints, most of which involved embattled midfielder Darrel Russell, sent Charlton crashing to a first away league defeat of 2012. They departed West Yorkshire embittered about the part played by an East Yorkshireman in their downfall. And they had a point.
By any system of judgement, Carl Boyeson’s control of this vital promotion clash was appalling. It defies belief that the Hull born Tyke was even considered to referee a Yorkshire team with so much at stake. Unless, of course, we’re meant to assume that antipathy between East and West Yorkshire rules out any possibility of bias. Only joking, m’lud, but it shouldn’t be an issue, should it?
Mr. Boyeson’s first key decision effectively sealed the issue and it must be conceded unreservedly that this time his decision was correct.
Chasing back to challenge Gary Roberts as Town attacked their visitors on the break, Russell hunted down the winger, fell for his trickery as he twisted into the penalty area and left enough leg carelessly dangling to make Roberts’ fall dramatic. Prolific netbuster Jordan Rhodes calmly made it 32 league goal this season from the penalty spot.
As Charlton were beginning to recover from their nightmare start, Boyeson’ second pivotal decision before the interval was much less impressive. His inexplicable reluctance to punish a dreadful, studs-up challenge by Antony Kay on Scott Wagstaff in the centre circle poisoned this tense game’s atmosphere beyond recall. Backpedalling self-importantly from the scene of Kay’s crime, the official’s initial body language suggested that Kay was for the high jump. Surrounded by the perpetrator’s colleagues, however, Boyeson softened his stance, showed Kay neither yellow nor red but instead re-started the game with a bounce-ball, though not before booking Ben Hamer for dissent, an insignificant offence alongside the violence that prompted his outburst.
Early in the second half, Russell, who had been performing adequately enough in central midfield was fouled by Kay but re-acted senselessly in kicking out at his opponent as they tangled on the ground. A red card was another of Boyeson’s correct calls but Russell should have been accompanied off the field by Lee Novak, who used both hands to push him over again. “If you raise your hands you leave the referee with no option but to dismiss you”, that’s the mantra we’re regularly fed. Well, Mr. Boyeson succeeded in finding an option, which entailed turning a judicial blind eye to Novak’s offence. Be fair, though, he did book Kay for the original foul and, remarkably, awarded Charlton a free kick. So the Addicks emerged from the incident with at least a diluted dollop of justice.
Sandwiched between the sporadic mayhem, Charlton, even with ten men, were marginally the better team. Missing the ailing Yann Kermorgant’s creativity and aerial threat, they coped comfortably with the Terriers’ long ball tactics, while making few chances of their own.
In the early going, Hamer’s magnificent save from Rhodes stood out in the general mediocrity. From point-blank range, League One’s Player-of-the-Season was set up by Roberts, headed firmly but Hamer’s instinctive block foiled him. Rhodes also stabbed wide at the near post after Ward’s cross dropped amid flailing feet.
At the other end, Charlton were all too toothless. Michael Morrison glanced Danny Hollands’ centre wide, then Holland himself shot over the bar. During a late rally, Hollands crossed, Morrison nodded back from the far post but Leon Cort, despite an heroic effort, could do no better than head down into the turf and harmlessly over the bar.
Defeat increases the pressure on the stuttering Addicks. It’s essential that they climb out of the clutches of League One, which, for all the fancy spin, boils down to Division Three, before they become institutionalised in it. That’s precisely what happened to the freewheeling side of 1957-58, which mounted a brave effort to climb directly back to Division One (think Premiership) the season after they were relegated in 1956-57. A tempestuous, wildly entertaining effort ended in crushing anti-climax in the season’s last game on April 26th 1958, with 4-3 defeat by Blackburn Rovers, who leapfrogged the Addicks to join champions West Ham in the top flight. Over 56,000 hearts were broken on that fateful afternoon.
It’s fair to say that Charlton Athletic were shattered by their heroic failure. They subsequently endured seemingly endless seasons of yo-yoing between Divisions Two and Three until Lennie Lawrence hauled them back into Division One in 1986.
If we don’t learn from history, we’re doomed to repeat its mistakes. And 1957-58 hands us down a warning from history.
Failure this season is unthinkable. There might not be another chance half as golden as this one and it musn’t slip through Charlton’s fingers. The repercussions would dwarf those of 54 years ago. And some of us don’t have the time to wait it out again.
Huddersfield: Smithies, Hunt, Peter Clarke, Morrison, Tom Clarke, Roberts (Lee 69), Arismendi (Arfield 90), Kay (Gudjonsson 69), Ward, Rhodes, Novak. Not used: Bennett, Woods.
Charlton: Hamer, Solly, Morrison, Cort, Wiggins, Wagstaff, Russell (sent off), Hollands, N’Guessan (Stephens 60), Hayes (Pritchard 81), Wright-Phillips. Not used: Sullivan, Taylor, Cook.
Referee: Carl Boyeson. Attendance: 15,735.
Edit: This post was amended at 20.04 on Sunday 25th March.
If you don’t know, find someone who does. If you miss a Charlton match, read Nolan. How right he is in saying they must grab this chance now. Some of us fear their ability to do well in the Championship (Division Two) but, as with most things we say, it’s not the point. The point is now, getting out of this division, and dealing with the future when it comes. The point is points, just a few more. Good luck to ’em.
Can I start again?
Were you actually at the game?
1) Roberts was fouled for the pen
2) Rhodes missing at the near post was set up by a novak header
No need for the sour grapes. You have been the best/most consistant team in this div and will still go up so get over it. You were out battled end of.
I’m afraid the fact is Charlton just didn’t turn up at The Galpharm. They were very disappointing throughout the game and Huddersfield were never in any danger of losing the 3 points. Was your reporter actually at the game? It was Gary Roberts who was hacked down for the penalty not Danny ward as stated in the report. Poor, poor journalism.
Lazy, lazy journalism.
How can you be expected to be taken seriously (which to be honest, is difficult with the not so subtle bitter undertones of the article) when you can’t even name the right players?
If Huddersfield were never in any danger of “losing” 3 points, why were the home fans whistling for about 10 minutes towards the end? Starting to worry the yorkshire ref wanted some more money perhaps?
What a bitter, twisted and wholly inaccurate report. To add to the other corrections, although a yellow card would have been well-deserved, Hamer did not get booked for his childish outburst!
What a completely ludicrous statement to suggest that the referee was brided. Just face the fact that Charlton were second best all over the pitch and wouldn’t have scored if they’d played all night.
Good discussion. Keep them coming. My only interest, as it happens, is always a football one. I’m a bit of a football snob, to be honest, and am only interested in teams that like to pass it – from Barcelona down. I’m also a football gambler and have backed Huddersfield many times, but the latest info is that they just hoof it and chase it. Really miss Brighton – what a team they were in this division! Anyone else actually care about the game – or is it all just tribal?
If you had conceeded as many last minute equalisers as we have this season then I think you would have been whistling as well.
Comments about the Referee being brided (Al), or even bribed, are ridiculous.
Some referees might have shown Ben Hamer a red card for leaving his goal and disputing decisions even after he had been yellow carded for the same offence earlier on.
A biased Ref with the minimum of knowledge about Huddersfield Town would know that Alex Smithies’ distribution is painfully slow and that he wastes time even when Town are in a hurry, he ought to be booked every week!
The comment about the refs backhander may be ridiculous, if taken seriously. It was written tongue in cheek! However … “charlton were second best all over the pitch” … 1-0 home win against 10 men, via a penalty. I found the Huddersfield fans to be fairly sensible after the game yesterday while sampling some nice local beer. Seems a completely different and humourless attitude online.
What a shocking report and surely not written by a professional journalist. Following the the injury in the first half the referee was clearly booking the Carlton keeper having had to suffer his abuse for several minutes only to change his mind after being surrounded by his teammates. Then there was the foul on Diego as his standing foot was swept away, but another yellow off the hook. And as for the charlton centre half (number 2), how did he continually get away with 2 arms on the attackers shoulders. The ref was poor, but definitely not biased.
Come on, lads, as Bill Shankly, said, it’s only football.
Not sure about the suggestion that the referee might have been influenced by his Yorkshire birthplace,but referees are human,and many moons ago, when schoolboys, me and some friends used to cycle 10 miles to Charlton for every home game.One of these friends subsequently became a first class ref,and whenever we saw he was reffing at the Valley we always thought we were on to a good thing.
He has long since retired,but if we ever questioned him on his old allegiance he would remain totally inscrutable as he did about any game,but in a rare moment of weakness he did once divulge whenever he had to ref Arsenal he had nightmares about Ian Wright before and after the match.
Charlton number 2 is Andy Hughes, who hasn’t played since last November. So you need to win with a biased ref, sorry to hear that.
On a similar line, back in the late 70s I interviewed a just retired referee for the Sunday Mirror (double page spread – they loved that sort of stuff in those days) about his career. He said the worst player he had to deal with as a present day TV pundit. The ref – Tom Reynolds – said that if this player was not moaning he was rucking – moan, ruck, moan ruck – every match. Any guesses?
Worst piece of lazy one sided Journalism I have ever read.
1, The ref was from at least 50 miles away from Huddersfield, so if a ref was from Reading(lets say) would he be biased towards Charlton?
2, Kay should have had at least a yellow in the first half.
3. N’Guesson was taken off as he was pushing the ref’s patience(no mention of that)
4, the lad who got sent off deserved it and Kay should have got his second yellow then too.
5, Novak gave him a little push, but look at the highlights and you will see Russell going down in instalments. The lad knew he had done wrong and tried taking someone with him. The CentreHalf came in and pushed Novak too, so was that a sending off?
6, The big one missing is the lad going through the back of Arismendi late on (yellow card), but then going straight through Ward too (2nd yellow)
7, Other huge things missing were Charlton Fans, Charlton’s shots on target, Charlton actually testing Smithies in the net.
That is all 🙂
Oh, that’s ok then lad, if you have been out for a few months you get away with it then.
You didn’t seem fit to comment on the other points, can’t say I’m surprised.
And Huddersfield were as good as gold, of course. Is football the one area in British public life where objectivity goes completely out of the window. Can you remember the last time you appealed for a free kick for the other team?
I was lucky enough to be at The Oval for Shane Warne’s last (official) game and we all stood and waited to applaud him on the Aussies’ lap of honour (yes, they won).
Here, someone who’s worked their Michaels off for six seasons is jeered the moment he puts on a different shirt – how childish. (Michaels? Ballacks).
“Can you remember the last time you appealed for a free kick for the other team?”
Most games I go to, to be honest – do you not? The free kick Kermorgant scored from at the Valley against Huddersfield, certainly. Hunt got caught in the wrong place facing the same way, and did (arguably) the professional thing to give away a foul. I don’t get up and shriek ‘freekick!’, but then I don’t do that the other way, either.
Wasn’t at the game on Saturday, but the reports I had tell me Kay was lucky to be on the field at full time, and (goal aside) the two teams looked as likely as one another to score – though Town more through concerted pressure, which one should expect from the home side.
He hasn’t played since November = He didn’t play on Saturday you dullard
had quite a lot of time and respect for powell – until saturday
had his team put the same effort into the game as they did to moaning, whingeing, elbowing, constantly chasing after the referee and contesting every decision, they might done better, maybe even getting a greater share of the 50/50 decisions
amused me no end though how he complained so much about the kay tackle (which for me was no more than two players equally committed to win a 50/50 ball and risking injuring themselves) when he made many of these himself
short memory powell or what?
ps kevin nolan – check your atlas – hull is in a different county to west yorkshire (same as norfolk is to suffolk etc) – huddersfield to hull is 60-70 miles – approximately the same as from charlton to dover!
If you knew about the game and had actually attended YOU should know the name of the player in question, rather than resorting to tell me who wasn’t playing rather than who was. And you call me a dullard!
If you knew about the game and had actually attended YOU should know the name of the player in question, rather than resorting to tell me who wasn’t playing rather than who was. And you call me a dullard!
How very dare you.
Chris Powell was never the kind of defender to dive in.
Far too cerebral for that.
He’s an honest man who has a fantastic reputation within the game. When he was given the job at Charlton everyone wondered if he was ‘too nice’.
Even when he has been on the receiving end of terrible decisions he has always made a point of saying his own players were far from blameless and should be punished if they have broken the rules.
Can you imagine what a fuss Neil Warnick would have made if he had been in charge of Charlton last weekend?
Kevin has attempted to calm any ruffled feathers with the Huddersfield fans in his latest match report:
http://www.greenwich.co.uk/sport/07579-kevin-nolan-match-report-charlton-athletic-v-leyton-orient-31032012/