Norwich City 0 Charlton 1 (Jackson 86).
Kevin Nolan reports from Carrow Road.
You know something, it could be time to take Charlton seriously. Unbeaten throughout August and September, they have settled into a hardboiled, disciplined side – a tough nut to crack with table topping Norwich City the latest to try their luck but fail. In impressively short order, Bob Peeters has welded together what looks like the real deal.
This outstanding victory at Carrow Road was achieved with backs to the wall, every man standing firm as City came at them with everything they had. There were bumps and scrapes, blocks and tackles, inspired goalkeeping from Stephen Henderson, a stroke of luck here and there, all the ingredients of a smash-and-grab victory. As such it was. Because these indomitable Addicks smashed Norwich’s resistance, then grabbed all three points. Which brings us to Johnnie Jackson, the essential heartbeat of this remarkable team.
Ever-present during Charlton’s 10-game unbeaten run, Jackson clearly has the confidence of his volatile manager. It’s safe to say his name would be first on the teamsheet. It might help the cause, therefore, if the captain’s increasingly vocal detractors put a sock in in it. Constructive criticism is one thing, dog’s abuse from the safety of a grandstand quite another. Cool, composed and confident, this admirable professional hardly needs the likes of me to defend him but I’ll give it a go anyway.
Jackson’s influence on the Addicks is profound on several levels. His accurate passing, positional sense and competitive edge are only faintly diminished by reduced mobility, attributes recently acknowledged by his midfield partner Yoni Buyens. And if you’re looking for someone to convert a dramatic, late chance, then you turn to Johnnie Jackson. He’s done it before and on Tuesday evening, he did it again.
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The Addicks had soaked up almost continuous pressure for 86 tumultuous minutes when Jackson popped up like Sylvester in Tweetie Pie’s cage to break the Canaries’ hearts. Drifting instinctively into space, he let fly from 20 yards, caught a helpful deflection off Russell Martin’s foot and sent John Ruddy the wrong way as the ball found the bottom left corner. Delirium erupted among the pocket of wayfarers to the left of Ruddy’s goal as
differences between Jackson’s many admirers and his far fewer doubters were temporarily shelved in mutual joy. Amazing how a goal brings people together.
Roared on by a committed crowd, City will wonder how they finished on the wrong end of this pulsating game. Driven on by restlessly energetic playmaker Wes Hoolahan, they created enough chances to turn Jackson’s late strike into little more than a consolation.
Bristling with menace up front, Lewis Grabban began the siege by moving on to Hoolahan’s glorious through ball before stinging Henderson’s strong hands from an angle. Hoolahan promptly worked another opening for City’s prolific goalscorer but Grabban fired narrowly wide.
With Jackson’s off-target free kick and Igor Vetokele’s snapshot capably saved by Ruddy comprising the visitors’ puny response, Norwich turned the screw, with Bradley Johnson shaving a post from 30 yards. Hoolahan’s inswinging corner before the interval was prodded past Henderson by Johnson but Martin’s sly foul on Henderson hadn’t escaped referee Mick Russell’s eagle-eyed attention. The break was welcome but it did little to ease the tension. City simply took up where they’d left off.
Coming into his own, left-sided wide man Nathan Redmond began the second period by cutting in to shoot but was crowded out by an eager posse of Addicks, then crossed accurately for Grabban to glance tamely wide of the left post. The one-way traffic continued to roll Henderson’s way, with Redmond sending a drive whistling over the bar and Andre Bikey surviving a confident penalty appeal after Jackson’s sliced clearance hit his hand. Lawrie Wilson’s last ditch block on Hoolahan was heroic enough but it took the combination of Henderson’s sharp reactions and Rhoys Wiggins’ resourceful goalline defiance to keep Charlton level. The busy keeper parried Redmond’s point-blank drive, Hoolahan’s effort from the rebound flicked off Bikey but Wiggins cleared acrobatically from under the crossbar. It was hearts-in-mouth stuff but you just had to love these Addicks for their dogged refusal to buckle. Centre backs Bikey and Tal Ben Haim were immense, full backs Joe Gomez and Wiggins equally superb. Come to think of it, every manjack of them deserved to be mentioned in dispatches. So consider them mentioned.
A late scare when Grabban’s deliberate curler squeezed uncomfortably past the right post seemed to confirm a bitterly earned point. But that was to overlook the exquisite timing of Charlton’s stylish skipper who, truth told, was no more impressive than his colleagues, but brings with him an indefinable ability to deliver when it most matters.
In the late mayhem, there was still time for Karlan Ahearne-Grant, 17 on September 18th, to mark his debut by standing up for himself in a post-whistle fracas involving a bunch of Canaries with their feathers in a twist. With 20 year-old Jack Munns making his first appearance on the bench, Charlton’s academy marches on. As do their elders but not necessarily betters. Still a bit short of Arsene Wenger’s Invincibles but moving in the right direction.
Norwich: Ruddy, Whittaker, Turner, Martin, Olsson, Tettey (Howson 82), Johnson, Hoolahan (Murphy 84), Redmond, Jerome, Grabban (Loza 84). Not used: Rudd, Hooiveld, Garrido, O’Neil.
Charlton: Henderson, Gomez, Ben Haim, Bikey, Wiggins, Wilson, Bulot (Ahearne-Grant 88), Buyens, Jackson, Cousins, Vetokele (Fox 90). Not used: Pope, Morrison, Moussa, Harriott, Munns.
Booked: Wiggins, Bikey, Vetokele.
Referee: Mick Russell. Att: 25,983.
Peter Cordwell says
Who else could have come up with the Tweetie Pie reference?
Inspired.