Charlton 3 (Sanogo 7,49,84) Reading 4 (Kermorgant 4,35, John 42, Rakels 90).
Kevin Nolan reports from The Valley.
A stirring, riproaring second half rally, during which Charlton clawed back a two-goal interval deficit, ended familiarly – in heartbreak.Their statuesque defending of Jordan Obita’s added time free kick continued their chronic vulnerability to setpieces and allowed Reading’s late substitute Deniss Rakels to cause widespread dismay by poaching an easy winner at the far post.
In snatching disastrous defeat from the jaws of a useful draw, the Addicks failed to capitalise on that rarest of beasts – a hat-trick by Arsenal loanee YaYa Sanogo, the first by a Charlton player since Callum Harriott bagged all three goals in a 3-0 victory at Blackpool in May 2013.
Sanogo’s heroics earned him local plaudits but it was his centre forward counterpart wearing the hoops of Reading who inflicted the greater damage. Charlton fans needed no reminding how good Yann Kermorgant can be and he wasted little time in rolling back the years for them. His typically astute 4th minute header guided Ola John’s left wing cross in text book fashion back across Stephen Henderson from the far post and neatly down into the opposite corner of his net. The burly hitman considerately declined to celebrate and received a generous ovation from his former aficionados. In this reporter’s opinion, he had every right to perform a Breton folk dance and follow it with a few bars of La Marsellaise. He was, you’ll recall, forced out of The Valley after Chris Powell had been assured that, in Piotr Parzyszek, a superior replacement was already on the roster. That’s Parzyszek…Piotr Parzyscek. There’s an empty peg and locker waiting for you, Piotr, get in touch, pal, we’re pining for you. It’s not too late.. Who are ya, by the way? How will we know you?
Kermorgant’s opener sealed a bright start by the Royals, with Stephen Quinn’s drive having already clipped the crossbar before he scored. But within three minutes of falling behind, the first contribution to Sanogo’s hat-trick restored parity for the home side. The equaliser was created by Marco Motta, who came through a midfield challenge against John before sending Sanogo away with a perceptive through pass. Taking the ball in stride, the lanky Frenchman tricked his way past Jake Cooper before hammering a low drive past Ali Al-Habsi.
The Gallic striking duel between Sanogo and Kermorgant looked briefly to have tipped in the former’s favour but his crisp drive, after Johan Berg Gudmundsson got the better of Michael Hector on the right byline, buried itself into Al-Habsi’s midriff.
Kermorgant responded immediately by heading Hector’s corner past Henderson but Simon Makienok, stationed on the goalline close to the left post, had little difficulty in kicking the ball off the line. Hmm, a player on the line defending corners… now what century did that idea come from?
The big Yann was hard to resist, however, his second goal on 35 minutes being a thing of unquestionable beauty. Receiving Hal Robson-Kanu’s pass inside the penalty area but confronted by two opponents, he nonchalantly sidestepped them, then curled a quite magnificent shot into the top right corner. There’s always been more to Kermorgant than mere aerial artisan, a point he further stressed with a splendid pass, struck with the outside of his right foot, which bisected Charlton’s square defence and sent John through to keep his composure before slotting coolly past the advancing Henderson and make it 3-1 at the break.
The interval introduction of Zakaraya Bergdich for El-Hadji Ba paid off almost instantly for Jose Riga, although John first startled him by hitting the bar from 25 yards. Bergdich’s skilful turn of pace on the left then had Chris Gunter gasping, setting up a precise cross which Sanogo headed forcefully but straight at Al-Habsi. The ball rebounded back over the line off Cooper for might well have been an own goal but… good luck with getting the match ball back off YaYa.
After Henderson saved magificently from Kermorgant, Makienok created the next opportunity in this chance-strewn game. His flicked header played Sanogo through to loft the ball over the advancing Al-Habsi but an improvised lob lacked the necessary juice to beat the covering Paul McShane, who cleared the danger at the expense of a corner. Hard to discourage, though, Sanogo cleverly sent Bergdich away to confront Al-Habsi but in the same position and circumstances that John had successfully dealt with earlier on, the Moroccan shot against the advancing keeper. It proved to be an expensive miss.
There were was no stopping Sanogo, however, and he reacted sharply to the loose ball after Gudmundsson’s ferocious drive almost bowled Al-Habsi over. The finish was scruffy and barely made it into the net but his second equaliser, with only six minutes remaining, appeared to have earned the Addicks a brave, precious point. Which made it all the more demoralising when the visitors stole victory deep into five minutes of added time.
A pointless foul by Rod Fanni near the left touchline conceded a free kick which Obita hoisted into a crowded penalty area, where Roger Johnson’s clumsy, abortive attempt to clear wrongfooted Henderson and his equally nonplussed colleagues. Unmarked at the far post, Rakels had the simple task of tapping into an open goal, behind which the celebrations were mighty. The rest of The Valley was as raucous as a research library.
Still remarkably in reasonable touch with their relegation rivals, Charlton -and their imperturbably bulletproof boss Riga – won’t be giving up quite yet. Nor is your correspondent. Next up are Brentford (a), followed by MK Dons (h), two fixtures which offer hope. Win both of those (it’s called mindless optimism) and you never know. We’ll draw a veil over the Sabbath visit of formidable Middlesbrough and Jordan Rhodes on March 13th. No need to spread defeatism or despair. Those unwanted pests arrive uninvited. But hang in there a bit longer. It ain’t over yet. That’s the good word.
Charlton: Henderson, Fanni, Johnson, Teixeira, Motta (Harriott 77), Ba (Bergdich 46), Diarra, Yun, Gudmundsson, Makienok, Sanogo (Ghoochannejhad 89). Not used: Pope, Fox, Lookman, Poyet. Booked: Gudmundsson.
Reading: Al-Habsi, Gunter, McShane, Cooper, Obita, Norwood Williams 65), Hector, Robson-Kanu, Quinn (Rakels 87), John (McLeary 70), Kermorgant. Not used: Bond, Ferdinand, Piazon, Cox. Booked: Williams.
Referee: Nigel Miller.
Att: 21,506 (3,025 visiting).