Charlton 0 Derby County 1 (Russell 60).
Kevin Nolan reports from The Valley.
This narrow defeat inflicted by play-off aspirants Derby County -their 10th single goal reverse of the season- could be used as a blueprint in explaining why Charlton are slipping inexorably into League One.
Not for the first time recently they matched upwardly ambitious opponents step for step but when push came to shove (as presumably it did in the cockeyed decision of referee Darren Bond to disallow a patently valid goal by Jorge Teixeira) they came up short again. They also hit the woodwork before succumbing to a familiar weakness, namely their chronic inability to deal with corner kicks.
To be fair, for an hour the Addicks had coped adequately with a steady stream of corners delivered by Tom Ince until one too many of the winger’s nagging flagkicks was nodded on by Chris Martin and headed under the bar by Johnny Russell at the far post.
At the time, the out-of-luck home team were still burning with resentment at Bond’s howler mere moments before Russell scored.. There was clearly nothing illegal about Teixeira’s challenge on Scott Carson before he headed past the indecisive goalkeeper and Bond clearly wavered before coming down in favour of an endangered species. Refined as they are in their various forms of villainy, among which eye-gouging is amost an art form, rugby must roll up with laughter to hear football’s persistent claim to be considered a contact sport. And Nat Lofthouse (check with your grandads, kids) must be turning in his grave.
Only minutes before Teixeira was robbed, Charlton had further cause to curse their luck when Carson was left stranded as Igor Vetokele’s looping header left him helpless but rebounded off the bar. It’s all too late to matter this season, of course, but when you’ve reached bottom, fate seems determined to kick you down even further. But at least Jose Riga can find consolation in the fight being shown by his doomed side.
Nobody embodies their spirit more than Nick Pope, whose constantly improving goalkeeping has hopefully silenced critics who made no allowance for youth in making him the latest of their scapegoats for the Addicks’ frailty. In the first half, Pope pulled off an all but unbelievable double save, the second of which was clearly his best of the season.
Moving across his line from left to right to cover his near post, young Nick was wrongfooted as Ince squeezed Russell’s low centre back across him from a tight angle. Sticking out an instinctive left boot, Pope somehow blocked the bobbling shot but only as far as Martin, who had the whole goal at which to aim from 10 yards. The centre forward’s vicious drive was the surest of sure things until Pope’s electric reflexes enabled him to conjure the ball over the bar. The standing ovation he earned was heartfelt; now maybe he can get on with his job of pinning down Charlton’s goalkeeping duties for the foreseeable future.
During a first half of honest endeavour but few chances, the Addicks shared what there were with the fifth-placed Rams. Callum Harriott managed the first effort on target but Carson saved comfortably, then Cyrus Christie’s magnificent block denied Johann Berg Gudmundsson as the Icelandic stylist shaped to shoot from close range. A weaving run by the irrepressible Ademola Lookman set up Harriott to drive inches off target with his less favoured right foot. At the other end, Harriott’s clumsy challenge on Russell conceded a dangerous free kick which Jacob Butterfield wasted before Martin set up Russell to let fly on the run but wastefully wide. Following Pope’s double-save heroics, Teixeira ‘s desperate interception foiled Ince on the left byline and the trickster closed a lively enough opening period by blasting aimlessly over the bar a free kick needlessly conceded by Morgan Fox for a foul on the persistent Ince.
With their fate already a whisker away from being sealed, Charlton’s hunger for victory after the break was nonetheless admirable. A goalmouth scramble saw the rapidly improving Rod Fanni’s effort scraped clear, then Lookman’s inswinging corner headed unluckily off the bar by Vetokele. Teixeira promptly became the victim of Bond’s flagrant injustice (which predictably passed unremarked on Channel 5 later in the evening) and Russell celebrated Derby’s escape by heading them into an undeserved lead.
Still Charlton refused to capitulate. Butterfield’s crude tackle on Lookman, for which he was rightly booked, was almost punished by the youngster, whose wickedly swerving free kick was brilliantly tipped over by Carson but the beleaguered visitors were not quite safe yet. Gudmundsson’s resultant corner reached the insatiably working Jordan Cousins, whose ferocious drive skimmed the left post. In a last hurrah, a fine, last ditch defensive header by Jason Shackell whisked Marco Motta’s lethal cross off fellow substitute Simon Makienok’s head as an equaliser appeared inevitable. Yet again, it was too little too late…which could serve as an epitaph for Charlton’s disastrous season.
This report is dedicated to Programme cover boy Jack Wood, Perry Goldstone, James Barnes and their Upbeats teammates who have cheered us up while we’re going down. Thanks, chaps.
Charlton: Pope, Solly (Motta 78), Fanni, Teixeira, Fox, Harriott, Cousins, Diarra (Makienok 83), Lookman (Bergdich 90), Gudmundsson, Vetokele. Not used: Mitov, Suk-Young, Jackson, Lennon. Booked: Fox.
Derby: Carson, Christie, Keogh, Shackell, Hanson, Bryson, Thorne, Butterfield (Hughes 71), Russell, Martin, Ince. Not used: Mitchell, Buxton, Bent, Camara, Blackman, Weimann. Booked: Christie, Butterfield, Keogh.
Referee: Darren Bond. Att: 15,857.
Chris says
Lovely stuff again. Thanks.