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Kevin Nolan’s Match Report: Queens Park Rangers v Charlton (21/12/2019)

December 22, 2019 By Kevin Nolan

Queens Park Rangers 2 (Cameron 6, Pugh 70) Charlton 2 (Taylor 56, Sarr 90+5).

Kevin Nolan reports from Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium.

The scenes on and off the field when referee Matt Donohue's whistle brought this game to a close to an end after 96 pulsating minutes were all too familiar. One group of players slumped in despair while their opponents capered, screamed in jubilation and joined their supporters behind the goal in riotous assembly.

As Charlton have conceded a series of added time goals this season, it's been their hearts that have been regularly broken. But this time the boot was firmly on QPR's foot. Only seconds from a victory that seemed theirs for the taking and having spent the dying throes of the game camped in their visitors' half, Rangers were shattered by an equaliser scored by unlikely hero Naby Sarr,
Sent upfield as a last desperate gesture by Lee Bowyer, Sarr had, frankly, made little impression. But his manager was aware that despite his huge frame, the popular Frenchman is capable of cool finishing under pressure. And as Dillon Phillips murmured a prayer and launched a long ball into the home penalty area, Sarr moved on to Geoff Cameron's disastrous misheader, took a touch to steady himself and used his weaker right foot to slot an especially crucial equaliser past Joe Lumley. Although their winless streak extended to eleven games, the point they wrested from this awkward fixture could be a turning point.
Much earlier, Sarr's defensive error had contributed to Rangers' opening goal. His weak, wrongfooted stab at Ebere Eze's right wing delivery found Cameron only eight yards from goal. The American's crisp half-volley duly punished Sarr's blunder and made Charlton's difficult task even harder.
As the Addicks briefly wilted, sharpshooter Nahki Wells twice let them off the hook. His point blank header after Jordan Hugill nodded another fine cross from Eze back from the far post clipped the crossbar on its harmless way to safety. It was a bad miss but Wells wasn't quite through for the afternoon. Sent clear by Ben Purrington's dreadfully underpowered backpass, the profligate striker bore down on an advancing Phillips, with Spurs loanee Luke Amos urgently making up ground to offer support to his left. With the hopeful keeper outnumbered, a simple squared pass would have made Amos' tap-in a mere formality. Instead Wells selfishly elected to shoot and was brilliantly blocked by Phillips; beside himself in frustration, meanwhile, Amos' language doesn't belong on this family website, understandable though it was at the time.
Handed an improbable lifeline, the Addicks steadied thermselves and gradually improved. Precocious kids Alfie Doughty and Albie Morgan, on as a 12th minute replacement for latest casualty Jonathan Leko, orchestrated the recovery and there was always hope with Lyle Taylor up front. The inspirational goalscorer took time to assert himself but a sharp low shot, saved smartly by Lumley, offered promise. Another of the kids -Conor Gallagher - also tested Lumley as the pendulum began to swing in the visitors' favour.
Taylor's twisting header hit the bar early in the second half and it was no surprise that Charlton drew level before the hour. Gallagher's right wing corner was inconclusively cleared to Morgan, hovering just outside the penalty area. Young Albie's powerful shot returned the ball with interest and was nimbly turned past Lumley by Taylor, the most alert player among the cluster surrounding the unsighted keeper. It was no lucky ricochet, merely the predatory reaction of a born poacher.
The removal of Wells minutes later and his replacement by the silky skills of Bright Osayi-Samuel promptly reclaimed the initiative for Mark Warburton's men. Scorer of a wonder goal at Birmingham recently, the newcomer began to run at Charlton's increasingly dogeared defence to devastating effect, Shimmying through two challenges, he left Jason Pearce in a tangle on his way to the right byline, before cutting back a pass which left Marc Pugh the simple job of tapping home Rangers' second goal with 20 minutes remaining.
Still the Addicks plugged away doggedly, with Doughty's fierce crosshot shaving the right post. But it was no more than hit-and-hope that inspired Phillips' agricultural delivery and Cameron's more than helpful misheader. The educated touch and calm finish by Sarr, however, was different class.
Winless now since October 19th, Charlton can hardly expect results elsewhere to keep them out of the relegation maelstrom. After all, the "kindness of strangers" upon which she depended served Blanche Dubois well in A Streetcar named Desire only until she ran into roughhouse brother-in-law Stanley Kowalski (Marlon Brando) in New Orleans and look what happened to her. I don't have a clue what Tennessee Williams' play has to do with Charlton's relegation fears but I thought I'd mention it. Feeling the pressure a bit, I reckon... or just showing off.
QPR: Lumley, Kane, Hall, Leistner, Manning, Cameron, Amos (Scowen 78), Eze, Pugh (Chair 79), Wells (Osayi-Samuel 66), Hugill. Not used: Barnes, Wallace, Smith, Ball. Booked: Manning, Amos, Hugill.
Charlton: Phillips, Matthews, Lockyer, Sarr, Purrington (Pearce 27), Pratley, Gallagher, Leko (Morgan 12), Doughty (Oshilaja 88), Bonne, Taylor. Not used: Maynard-Brewer, Ledley, Solly, Dempsey. Booked: Matthews, Pratley, Purrington, Morgan.
Referee: Matt Donohue.. Att: 16,166.

Filed Under: Sport

Kevin Nolan’s Match Report: Charlton v Huddersfield Town (10/12/2019)

December 11, 2019 By Kevin Nolan

Charlton 0 Huddersfield Town 1 (Daly 90+2).

Kevin Nolan reporting from the Valley

That comforting points gap which has consoled Charlton during their disastrous two-month slump is disappearing like (as my mum was fond of saying) the snow that fell last year. The Addicks are in freefall and no amount of reassurance that they'll be fine when their injured players return cuts the mustard. Despite their barnstorming start, this season was always about staying in the Championship, with 50 points the generally accepted minimum to aim at. Right now, they need 27 more points but if they continue to throw away useful draws, that total may turn out to be notional.

A grim, scoreless stand-off was clearly on offer when three unwanted added minutes were announced. Satisfied with their night's work, Huddersfield's body language made it obvious that they were ready to shake hands and call it off as sensible cricket teams do. A point's a point, no sense risking all three, was the message conveyed by their languid attitude to throw-ins and goal kicks.

Charlton had other ideas. Despite having failed to register a single effort on target, they fancied their chances of coming up with a late winner. For a few wild seconds, it seemed that Lyle Taylor had turned the trick but Naby Sarr was ruled offside before touching the ball on to his galvanic colleague. But there was a sting left in an awful game and the visitors were about to inflict the same painful misery on their victims as Bristol City and Millwall had recently.

From a free kick on the right, Junior Bacuna's delivery charted an uncertain course to the opposite flank, where Chris Solly was offered an opportunity to clear his lines on an anywhere-will-do basis. Instead his weak, left-footed squibber went straight to Florent Hadergjonaj, allowing the Swiss wide man to find Matt Daly inside him. The 18 year-old substitute swept his first-ever league goal, ironically enough, through Solly's legs into the far corner and the Addicks had yet again snatched defeat from the jaws of a perfectly acceptable draw. It's only fair to observe that Solly's solitary error marred an otherwise solid contribution from this ultimate team man. Next time though, Chris, put your laces through the bloody ball and send it to Kingdom Come. Nobody but the purists will blame you. Trust me.

There was precious little else to encourage beleaguered boss Lee Bowyer as he prepares for the potentially season-defining visit of Hull City on Friday evening. His team has adopted a jaded, threadbare look, which can only partly be explained by a catastrophic injury list. among which Josh Cullen's is the most sorely missed name. There is no lack of effort from the survivors but an understandable fear of making mistakes is unmanning them. Gone for the time being at least is the freewheeling, exuberant joy and cussed satisfaction they derived from defying pre-season predictions of their imminent downfall.  Bowyer's own decisions, meanwhile, such as his preference for greenhorn James Vennings over Albie Morgan as a replacement for a third novice in Alfie Doughty, seemed an almost perverse exercise of his authority and had the amateur tacticians scratching their heads. Young Vennings was probably not alone in being surprised by his manager's call.

Trawling through my meagre notes, meanwhile, I've failed to disinter so much as the whiff of a threat to Kamil Grabara's goal. Even when Solly ran dangerously on to Macauley Bonne's low cross intended for Taylor, his shot was capably blocked by Hadergjonaj. There was also, I believe, a first half shot from Doughty which whistled high and wide but that may be wishful thinking on my part. The Terriers were marginally more aggressive, with Dillon Phillips saving alertly from Karlan Grant and Josh Koroma early in the second half, not to mention Solly's razor-sharp interception to deny Grant an unhindered run on goal.

Shot-shy themselves, the Addicks fired popguns at their almost equally feeble visitors. It fell to an 18-year old Terrier to produce the marksmanship necessary to separate them and send Charlton slip-sliding into what certainly looks like a crisis. It feels like a crisis. Chances are it's a crisis. Yeah, it's a crisis.

Charlton: Phillips, Lockyer, Pearce, Sarr, Solly, Pratley, Gallagher, Purrington, Doughty (Vennings 73), Leko (Taylor 68), Bonne. Not used: Maynard-Brewer, Matthews, Oshilaja, Ledley, Morgan. Booked: Lockyer, Gallagher, Bonne.

Huddersfield: Grabara, Hogg, Bacuna, Kachunga, Koroma (Simpson 73), Schindler, Stankovic, Hadergjonaj, Mounie (Daly 76), Edmunds-Green, Grant. Not used: Coleman, Harratt, High, Austerfield, Jackson. Booked: Kachunga, Stankovic.

Referee: Graham Scott.. Att: 13,488 (680 visiting).

Filed Under: Sport

Kevin Nolan’s Match Report: Millwall v Charlton (9/11/2019)

November 10, 2019 By Kevin Nolan

Millwall 2 (Hutchinson 6, Smith 90) Charlton (Leko 51)

Kevin Nolan reports from The Den.

The more things change, the more they stay the bloody same. There's a more stylish French saying which covers the subject without my sanguinary embellishment but let's stick with English to make the bleedin' point. It's reassuringly Anglo-Saxon.

Fact is there's things upon which you can depend as stone-cold certainties. You can rely, for example, on night following day; the seasons changing; the tides ebbing and flowing; the sun rising; the sun also setting; and Millwall beating Charlton. Or at least Millwall nearly always beating Charlton. There have, after all, been 27 draws among their 75 league meetings and - say it neither proud nor loud - 12 wins for the Addicks. The last of those victories was by 2-0 at The Valley on March 9th 1996, with current manager Lee Bowyer opening the scoring. Since that distant afternoon in a mothballed century, eleven more league games have been played; needless to say, Charlton have won none of them. To be fair, though, they drew five times.

A sixth draw looked likely when, with the score 1-1, three added minutes were announced at the Den on Saturday. On second thoughts, make that not so bloody likely! For among 2,211 Charlton fans in attendance and countless others following events through the media, you'd find hardly one of them who was genuinely surprised by what followed. Let's drag the French into it again and put it down to deja-vu. Yet again.

Having forced a left wing corner, the Lions loaded the goal area with hulking attackers. Among them was Matt Smith, called from the bench by Gary Rowett five minutes previously with this situation in mind. At 6'7", Smith is a rare handful at setpieces but in 6'5" man mountain Naby Sarr, Charlton had his physical match. Jed Wallace's expertly delivered inswinger duly targeted Smith at the far post, where the towering substitute swatted aside Sarr's powderpuff challenge and headed firmly past Dillon Phillips. There was scarcely any sense of shock in the upper tier of the stand behind the goal. Some colourful language, of course, but bitter experience soon reduced it to a sullen silence. It's happened too often to be dismissed as an unhappy accident.

An understandably seething Bowyer was scathing in his criticism of his players. As a museum piece member of a Charlton side which actually beat Millwall, he had history on his side when insisting that in defending setpieces, you "do your job and make sure your man doesn't score... coming to a tough place like this, you have to be a man. Stand up and do your job properly. The players know the importance of this game. I've been telling them all week... Smith was more hungry to win the ball."

Bowyer no doubt had also warned them about the careless concession of setpieces in the first place. Their clinical execution is clearly prioritised at Calmont Road and practice made perfect as early as the sixth minute after Jason Pearce's pointless foul on Jon Dadi Bodvarsson dangerously close to Charlton's penalty area. Shaun Williams' wicked delivery was headed home forcefully by Shaun Hutchinson at the far post. Sarr was again flatfooted but was probably no more culpable than a cadre of ball-watching colleagues.

Hutchinson's opening goal punished a disastrous start by Bowyer's men. Sarr had already hacked Wallace's shot off the line, with Phillips saving smartly from Mahlon Romeo's follow-up effort. But the visitors, encouraged by Josh Cullen's fearless example, recovered to control most of the action until the interval. Cullen was desperately unlucky when his shot beat Bartosz Bialkowski, cannoned off the underside of the bar but was scraped off the line by the startled keeper. Bialkowski performed heroically before the break when spectacularly tipping Macauley Bonne's thunderous volley over the bar, then getting down to turn away an effort from Darren Pratley, following fine approach play by Adam Matthews.

By now the better side, Charlton resumed their onslaught in the second half and drew level six minutes into the session. The Lions displayed similar vulnerability to setpieces when Cullen's inswinging left wing corner was scuffed clear only as far as Jonathan Leko, who found the top right corner from a difficult angle. His third goal of the season hardly compensated for a passive contribution from the WBA loanee.
Cullen continued to courageously carry the fight to the wilting Lions. He received sturdy support from Pratley and Conor Gallagher who, despite being singled out for early attention, with two fouls committed on him within the first minute, refused to be cowed. Up front, Bonne grafted gamely and Phillips seemed to have secured his side at least a point with a fine save from the excellent Ben Thompson's point-blank volley. But the late initiative and the points belonged with Millwall - as they have on 36 occasions since this one-sided fixture began at The Den on New Years Eve 1921. Plus ca change...

Millwall: Bialkowski, Romeo, Hutchinson, Cooper, M.Wallace, J.Wallace, Molumby, Williams, Thompson (O'Brien 86), Bradshaw (Smith 86), Bodvarsson (Mahoney 76). Not used: Steele,Ferguson, Pearce,Skalak.

Charlton: Phillips, Matthews, Lockyer, Pearce, Sarr, Cullen, Pratley (Kayal 67), Gallagher, Purrington, Leko (Lapslie 84), Bonne. Not used: Maynard-Brewer,Oshilaja, Solly, Oztumer, Davison.

Referee: Robert Jones. Att: 17,109 (2,211).

Filed Under: Sport

Kevin Nolan’s Match Report: Fulham v Charlton (05/10/2019)

October 8, 2019 By Kevin Nolan

Fulham 2 (Cavaleiro 55, Mitrovic 63) Charlton 2 (Gallagher 41, Bonne 57).

Kevin Nolan reports from Craven Cottage.

Battered, bruised and brainweary, Charlton trudged off after this punishing, enthralling Thameside derby clutching a precious point. They had withstood a second half pounding from a wave of white-shirted attackers, ridden their luck at times but shown genuine character in clinging on to a share of the spoils. With four points quarried from an unholy trinity of recent games against Championship high flyers Leeds, Swansea City and Fulham, they had earned rest and recuperation during the second international break before tackling another daunting schedule featuring Derby County, Bristol City and West Bromwich Albion.

Not that the first lay-off worked in their favour; it disastrously cost them the services of top scorer Lyle Taylor, injured while on duty with Montserrat. There was brief alarm as the Addicks promptly lost to the modest likes of Birmingham City and Wigan Athletic; in Taylor's absence, in fact, they have picked up just four points from five games. But their spirited defiance at Craven Cottage, not to mention the ability and guts they showed, encourages hope that their mini-slide has been checked. They gave almost as good as they got, fought courageously and survived.

Among a catalogue of superb performances, the pick of which was a stupendous display of goalkeeping by Dillon Phillips, another more unlikely hero emerged. Taylor's injury has given Macauley Bonne an opportunity to step up from non-league football with Orient to the Championship with newly promoted Charlton. The massive leap in class proved initially tricky and the overawed tyro struggled to impress. Then the small matter of Charlton's winning goal against Leeds, which was claimed with a veteran's chutzpah by the newcomer despite only vague evidence it was his to own, changed his fortunes. Bonne had bravely thrown himself in where the boots were flying and, at the very least, forced defender Stuart Dallas to put through his own goal. The record book duly credits him with his first Charlton goal and nobody any longer disputes his right to it. Least of all Dallas.

Having made little impression on Swansea during midweek defeat at The Valley, Bonne came into his own against Fulham. He was significantly involved in the Addicks' first goal and brilliantly scored their second. His overall performance up front on his own, meanwhile, was accomplished and effective.

A first half during which Charlton held their own with Scott Parker's talented Cottagers was drawing to an entertaining close when Bonne cleverly nodded Phillips' long clearance on to Conor Gallagher, who instantly relayed the ball to Jake Forster-Caskey near the left touchline. Stepping inside to cross right-footed, the wide midfielder picked out Chris Solly closing in at the far post. Solly's canny header was cushioned perfectly for Gallagher, intelligently on the move as usual, to half-volley past Marcus Bettinelli. Five players had contributed to a fine team goal.

No doubt irritated to find themselves behind at the interval, Fulham took steps to redress the situation. Inspired substitute Bobby Decordova-Reid was immediately dangerous, his sharp exchange of passes with Ivan Cavaleiro outwitting the attentions of Forster-Caskey and Naby Sarr and sending the electric-heeled Portuguese winger through to beat Phillips with a blistering 25-yard strike.
Fulham's equality lasted just two minutes, the time it took Bonne to put the visitors in front again. Josh Cullen's right wing corner was scuffed clear for Jonny Williams to re-cycle possession to Darren Pratley on the left. The wily campaigner switched feet and crossed for Bonne to climb above Aleksandar Mitrovic and flight a deft header over Bettinelli and sweetly under the bar. This goal had "Bonne" indelibly stamped on it.

Again Charlton's lead was shortlived. After Joe Bryan and Mitrovic had each rattled the crossbar, the bustling Serb drew Fulham level again under frankly dubious circumstances. Returning from an offside position as Phillips brilliantly saved Tom Cairney's diving header, Mitrovic re-joined the action, turned and bullied a second equaliser over the fallen keeper. Neither referee Keith Stroud nor his equally myopic assistant were interested in Charlton's protests.

A riproaring, rumbustious game now seemed Fulham's - and especially Decordova-Reid's - for the taking but Phillips had other ideas. Two wonderful saves from the Jamaican flyer, first from a point-blank header, then a corner-bound curler, were mere tasters for the frankly incredible block on the goalline which kept out Decordova-Reid's sure thing in added time. His save defies description so none will be offered here, except to point out that goalkeepers hear a different drummer and are often not accountable for their actions. Many of them are not all there but Dillon was the coolest customer inside Craven Cottage on Saturday. Anyway, I can't talk. I swore in fluent Hungarian when the added time board showed seven extra minutes, then broke into a fit of hysterical giggling when they were over. See you after the break if they let me out in time...

Fulham: Bettinelli, Mason, Johansen (Onomah 97), Ream, Sessegnon (Decordova-Reid 46), Bryan, Cairney, Arter (Reed 46), Knockaert, Cavaleiro, Mitrovic. Not used: Rodak, Odoi, Le Marchand, Kamara. Booked: Bryan, Mitrovic.

Charlton: Phillips, Solly, Pearce, Lockyer, Sarr, Pratley, Cullen, Forster-Caskey (Field 89), Williams, (Leko 64), Gallagher, Bonne (Matthews 90). Not used: Amos, Oshilaja, Oztumer, Lapslie.

Booked: Gallagher. Referee: Keith Stroud. Att: 18,654 (1,970 visiting).

Filed Under: Sport

Kevin Nolan’s Match Report: Wigan Athletic v Charlton (21/09/19)

September 23, 2019 By Kevin Nolan

Wigan Athletic 2 (Dunkley 22, 70) Charlton 0.

Kevin Nolan reports from DW Stadium.

If Charlton never again play at Douglas Whelan Stadium - or whoever they call it after these days - it's gonna be a day too soon for me. This fixture is a waking nightmare. The staff are friendly, the crowd passive, the press room pies beyond reproach. But the results and performances are unremittingly dismal. And to make it worse, when the Addicks won here about four years ago, I was an absentee.

I make it four times I've journeyed to Wigan and each time Charlton have phoned it in. My debut, to be fair, wasn't all that bad. If memory serves -and Colin Cameron is sadly no longer around to verify my version - we lost 4-2, with both Bents on the scoresheet.

Trip No. 2 began the slide into growing insanity. I think the Latics tanked us 3-0 and my solitary memory is of some fruity old codger sneering derisively as we were outclassed "C'mon Wigan, you've nowt to beat here!" He looked like Norris Cole and actually said "Nowt" just like they do on Coronation Street but he was a shrewd judge. They polished us off with what came dangerously close to contempt.

Never the quickest of learners, I was again on hand to celebrate prematurely when Marvin Sordell put us ahead early on some years later. We somehow hung on until the last five minutes despite the antics of some bloke in goal who was good mates with Roland and was apparently over for the weekend. It was decent of him to volunteer and all that but he was an enormous liability and made quaking wrecks of us all. It was almost a relief when we caved in at the end and lost 2-1. Someone told me he was Lilian Thuram but that's cobblers. Lilian Thuram was never a goalie.

On Saturday, Lee Bowyer's side turned up -make that didn't turn up - at DW and stone me if they didn't succumb to the Wigan curse. The local yokel was no longer around to make the point but once again the Latics had nowt to beat. Two goals were enough to see us off this time and some of us considered taking a short walk off Wigan's fictional pier. They must think we're not all there to travel so far in support of such serial losers.

Resistance, such as it was, lasted this time for 22 minutes, at which point Latics' centre half Chey Dunkley sauntered through the cigar store Indians stationed around Charlton's goal and volleyed Charlie Mulgrew's right sided corner past Dillon Phillips. Not a red-clad figure twitched. They were similar disinterested when Dunkley again appeared among them 20 minutes from time to head home Michael Jacobs' inswinging left wing corner. Skipper Jason Pearce might have stiffened their setpiece defending but he was oddly unavailable on the subs' bench.

Wigan's second goal at least roused their dozing fans enough to enquire whether they could play Charlton every week. Bloody cheek but a reasonable request given their visitors' record in these parts.

"There were no positives," commented Lee Bowyer, although he qualified his damning summary by claiming that "we created enough chances to get something from the game but we were not ruthless in front of goal." Charlton's best chances, such as they were, arrived in a flurry near the end when the issue was effectively sealed. Conor Gallagher was foiled at close range by David Marshall, who also saved impressively from Josh Cullen's header. Tom Lockyer had previously blasted wide from an promising position when set up by Gallagher. Other than that, Charlton's strikers, four in number due to substitutions, had mustered between them a single shot on target, a feeble effort from Macauley Bonne, who turned sharply enough but was unable to summon the power to beat Marshall.

The way things shape up, it's likely that Wigan and Charlton will lock horns again in the Championship next season. This result removed the Addicks from the top six while lifting the Latics to three places above the relegation basement. It's early days, I don't need reminding but these clubs will probably be a lot closer to each other in the table come next May. Just staying clear of the bottom three will be a triumph for both of them. But anyway, that's Wigan (a) out of the way for a bit. That's a relief. Unless we're drawn away to them in the Cup. Nah, no chance. But here come those nightmares again...

Wigan: Marshall, Byrne, Dunkley, Mulgrew, Robinson, Morsy, Williams, Massey (Evans 69), Lowe (Naismith 70), Jacobs, Moore (Garner 84). Not used: Macleod, Fox, Jones, Gelhardt. Booked: Morsy.

Charlton: Phillips, Oshilaja, Lockyer, Sarr, Purrington, Pratley (Aneke 68), Cullen, Gallagher, Williams, Hemed (Bonne 62), Leko. Not used: Amos, Pearce, Forster-Caskey, Solly, Field. Booked: Oshilaja.

Referee: Andy Davies.  Att: 9,567 (970 visiting).

Filed Under: Sport

Kevin Nolan’s Match Report: Reading v Charlton (31/08/2019)

September 1, 2019 By Kevin Nolan

Reading 0 Charlton 2 (Leko 51, Taylor 80, pen).

Kevin Nolan reports from the Madejski Stadium.

These Charlton reports are beginning to write themselves. They tell a repetitive story of consistency, team spirit and ability- in a side which features several loan signings, but shows touching pride in the shirt and an insatiable will to win. Operating with one of the most modest budgets in the division, they are already on their way to confounding dire predictions that they would be outclassed at this level. There will be setbacks, of course, but Lee Bowyer's band of brothers seem equipped to deal with them.

This latest success over a side tipped to beat them comfortably showed the Addicks at their most dangerous. Though marginally second best in a testing first half, they stayed in the game, held their nerve and ultimately put Reading in their place. They were denied a clear penalty when home skipper Liam Moore clean-and-jerked Jonny Williams to the ground but survived a scare of their own shortly before the break. Dillon Phillips' save with an instinctively deployed right foot in one-on-one confrontation with George Puscus was outstanding.

The Romanian striker was inches away from telling contact with Omar Richards' pass which bounced freakishly up against the bar and also shot narrowly wide on the turn as the Royals had the better of things. But four minutes after the break, they found themselves behind.

Chosen regularly by Bowyer, West Brom loanee Jonathan Leko has captivated and frustrated in equal measure. Adhering to no obvious plan, he makes his own one up as he goes along but is a troublesome handful for defenders expecting a more orthodox challenge. Typically chancing his arm from outside the penalty area, his well-struck left foot drive enjoyed a treacherous deflection off Tom McIntyre which left Rafael Cabral helpless as it changed direction and found the left corner. Leko's joy at scoring his first goal for Charlton was shared by a healthy contingent of travelling Addicks, who were belatedly joined by their new hero as soon as he realised he was heading off in the wrong direction. The goal crowned his best performance in the famous old red shirt.

Taking, then holding, the lead has been in the still recent past, a problem for Charlton. A chronic habit of conceding late goals had robbed them of points with alarming regularity. This failing has not been inherited by the class of 19-20. Not while a rock-like defence is being marshalled by granite-hewn centre backs Jason Pearce and Tom Lockyer, with full backs Chris Solly and Ben Purrington steady Eddies alongside them. And behind an obdurate back four, Phillips added to his crucial first half save with spectacular flying stops of Ovie Ejiara's resounding drive and a vicious late free kick from John Swift. The Royals were stopped around their visitors' 18 yard-line, with blocks, interceptions and expertly timed tackles frustrating their efforts to break through a stubbornly organised red wall.

While diligently protecting their lead, the enterprising Addicks had passed up several chances to add to it. Leko did the hard part by sharply cutting inside but hit the sidenet with an effort on the turn. With the bit firmly between his teeth, he then set up Connor Gallagher, whose fierce drive on the run forced a fine, full length save from Cabral. Another versatile contribution from the 19 year-old Chelsea academy graduate was slightly marred by the hesitant mess he made of another opening from closer range.

But with ten minutes left, Reading were finished off from the penalty spot. Having emerged from a strong bench to relieve a bruised and battered Williams just past the hour mark, Chuks Aneke had been a physical nightmare for the home defence. Slipped in by Leko, he staggered through one foul but was dragged down by a second, more ruthless offender. Following a bout of kidology involving Lyle Taylor and Cabral, the striker sauntered up from the "D", took two quick steps and slid the ball casually inside the right post. It's not everyone's recommended penalty routine but, listen, it works for Taylor. The same can be said about the methods Charlton are using to put together an impressive, unbeaten start to their season. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Reading: Cabral, Moore, Morrison, McIntyre, Yiadom (Boye 65), Richards (Meite 65), Joao, Gomes (Barrett 81). Ejaria, Swift, Puscas. Not used: Rinomhota, Virginia, Adam, Osho, Barrett.

Charlton: Phillips, Solly, Lockyer, Pearce, Gallagher, Purrington, Williams (Aneke 62), Field (Pratley 74), Cullen, Leko (Hemed 81), Taylor. Not used: Amos, Sarr, Oztumer, Lapslie.

Referee: J. Gillett. Att: 16,906 (2144 visiting).

Filed Under: Sport

Kevin Nolan’s Match Report: Charlton v Forest Green Rovers (13/08/2019)

August 15, 2019 By Kevin Nolan

Charlton 0 Forest Green Rovers 0 Forest Green won 5-3 on penalties).

Kevin Nolan reporting from The Valley.

In the 67th minute of this dismal Carabao cup-tie, Charlton were handed a golden opportunity to claim a place in the second round. To nobody's surprise, they blew it. Not that they deserved it. Or even appreciated it.

One of only two players -Ben Amos was the other - to escape Lee Bowyer's disapproval following a dreadful team performance, Naby Sarr irresistibly sliced through Rovers and was helped on his way by Macauley Bonne, before being chopped down near goal byLiam Kitching. Referee John Busby was perfectly placed to administer capital punishment, leaving the identity of the penalty taker the remaining issue to be resolved.

With Lyle Taylor on leave, the decision seemed obvious. Among Bonne's impressive goal tally with Leyton Orient were included a number of coolly converted spotkicks. Which made the choice of patently unready Jake Forster-Caskey to shoulder the responsibility difficult to understand. His pathetic penalty was duly dribbled into Joseph Wollacott's waiting hands and the tie was still alive - if alive it could ever claim to have been in the first place.

No doubt Bonne would have relished the morale-boosting chance to open his Charlton account. Almost inevitably he made his point by stepping up confidently to convert the first penalty in the shoot-out which decided this goalless mess.

"There was too much casualness, not enough urgency" commented Bowyer, "there are two people who could hold their hands up and that's probably Ben and Naby -the rest of them weren't good enough."

The "rest of them" didn't feature a single player who started against Stoke City three days previously, the wholesale changes perfectly in line with Charlton's traditional attitude to encumbrances such as Cup ties. A derisory home crowd of 2,534 was a clear message that their supporters are unwilling to pay first team prices to watch the reserves. They were swelled by 159 eco-warriors from Gloucestershire who were keen to scotch the rumour that their champions had arrived in a diesel-powered team coach driven, to be fair, by a bearded monk wearing bamboo sandals.

So what else do you want to know? What can I tell you? Well, it's good to report that the versatile Sarr, whose whiplashed shot almost broke Wollacott's nose in the first half, is match-ready to cover several defensive positions. Also that in Amos, who produced an excellent save to foil Junior Mondial in the late going,  Dillon Phillips has an able deputy breathing down his neck. But on Tuesday's evidence, the depth of Bowyer's squad is more shallow than we thought.

Oh yeah, when the penalty shoot-out was arranged in front of the away end, there was this sense of resignation that Rovers would prevail. Bonne, Sarr and Dejo Oshilaja scored, Albie Morgan missed and the visitors gave Amos not so much as a sniff as they stuck away five in a row to prevail 5-3.

I'm disgruntled, I admit, but I'm getting over it. When it comes to Charlton's cup history, I peaked too early. The only way was down and that's where the Addicks have taken me ever since. But there's always Barnsley next Saturday...always another game..and another one after that.

Charlton: Amos, Wiredu, Oshilaja, Sarr, Doughty, Forster-Caskey, Field (Ocran 78), Lapslie, Morgan, Aneke (Quitirna 62), Bonne. Not used: Phillips, Dempsey, Stevenson.

Filed Under: Sport

Kevin Nolan’s Match Report: Charlton v Stoke City (10/08/2019)

August 11, 2019 By Kevin Nolan

Charlton 3 (Taylor 25, Aneke 75, Gallagher 83) Stoke City 1 (Ince 37).

Kevin Nolan reporting from The Valley.

Showing that their opening day victory at Blackburn was no flash in the pan, Charlton made it two wins in a row by seeing off Stoke City. On a gusty afternoon when fans bonded with players to create an irresistible atmosphere, the briefly impressive visitors were swept away on a tide of raw emotion. Some of the football produced by Lee Bowyer's iconoclastic warriors was pretty nifty too, it's pleasing to report.

The first 20 minutes made admittedly awkward viewing for the buoyant home crowd. City kept the ball on the deck, passed it around accurately and probed for openings. Doggedly, the Addicks kept their shape, picked up runners diligently and hung in. Then midway through a one-sided first half, they suckerpunched their over-confident visitors with a goal of stunning quality.

At the end of what was apparently a difficult week (as a virtual stranger to social media, the "difficulty" passed me by), Lyle Taylor had been struggling to get a look-in as the Potters dominated possession. He's not a player it pays to take your eye off, though, as Nathan Jones' complacent men discovered. Picked out on the left flank by Jonathan Leko's arrowed pass, Taylor stepped inside on to his favoured right foot before detonating a venomous drive which found the opposite corner off Jack Butland's straining fingertips. His second goal of the season qualified as a collector's item. He seldom - if ever - scores from outside the penalty area.

Falling behind galvanised City. The penny dropped that their pretty approach play needed end product, which new signing Scott Hogan came close to providing by beating Dillon Phillips with a faintly deflected effort which unluckily cannoned off the bar. Three minutes later, Tom Ince equalised with a long range blockbuster which saw and raised Taylor's effort for sheer quality.

Having conceded possession near the halfway line, the Addicks retreated instinctively as Ince made ground and let fly from over 30 yards. His shot was still rising as it hit the net behind a full length Phillips. Game most definitely on.

Ince's fine goal handed the pre-interval initiative to the visitors and Lee Gregory, cheerfully jeered for his Millwall connections, hit the post during an untidy goalmouth scramble. By the time Tommy Smith shot conveniently straight at Phillips from inside the penalty area, the break came as sweet relief to Bowyer's rattled men.

The second half didn't quite start as Charlton meant to go on. They were spreadeagled by Joe Allen's menacing run along the right byline but with scoring the easiest of his options, Gregory incredibly scooped an absolute sitter over the bar. The Addicks had their moment too, with Taylor breaking away to set up Leko for a tap-in which Butland's alertness bravely smothered. With a useful draw looking likely, The Valley erupted in primeval joy as a two-goal salvo instead destroyed the Potters.

Interpassing between Ben Purrington and Johnny Williams on the right made a fleeting opening for Taylor, which Butland foiled. Picking up the scraps on the left, Josh Cullen made positive inroads to improvise a cross half scuffed clear to the penalty spot. Substitute Chuks Aneke practically licked his lips before drilling Charlton ahead. Celebrations were mighty but the home side were not yet finished.

From Cullen's right corner - Charlton's first of the game - a rehearsed routine saw Taylor come short along the byline before turning to drive a hard low ball into the middle. Butland's parry fell perfectly for Connor Gallagher to sweep a game-clinching third goal past him. The Valley could even allow itself the rare luxury of relaxing. This game was won and lost.

For Bowyer, there were resounding performances to savour all over the pitch, with certain reservations about the flimsy nature of some of Charlton's defending a cause for concern. Full backs Purington and Solly were sound enough, with the latter recovering from a shaky start to put a sock into the mouths of a persistent band of detractors, some of whom judge him at second sight from hand-me-down accounts. Solly's was his usual 7 out of 10 contribution. No call to worry about him.

Restless and insatiable, Cullen was a popular choice as man-of-the match, his re-signing shortly before the transfer window closed, a coup for Bowyer and his staff. He was run close, however, by the unsung, prodigious contribution of Darren Pratley, who belied his veteran's label with selfless, unstinting commitment to Charlton's cause. Pratley made himself hard to drop, despite the 11th hour arrival of several midfield candidates. Debutant Leko was a clever, twisting box-of-tricks, who only occasionally hung on to the ball a trifle too long, Gallagher a youthful bundle of energy with no air of Chelsea swanking about him. Good kid with good pedigree.

What's not to love about these honest, talented Addicks? It's a pleasure to report their progress. So I'll go on doing it, if you don't mind.

Charlton: Phillips, Solly, Lockyer, Pearce, Purrington, Leko (Aneke 69), Cullen, Pratley, Williams (Lapslie 86), Gallagher, Taylor. Not used: Amos, Oshilaja, Forster-Caskey, Bonne, Sarr.

Stoke: Butland, Smith, Batth, Lindsey, Ward, Woods (Duffy 69), Allen, Clucas, Ince, Hogan (Campbell 61), Gregory (Verlinden 78). Not used: Federici, Vokes, Cousins, Collins.

Referee: Simon Hooper. Att: 17,848 (2,340).

Filed Under: Sport

Kevin Nolan looks ahead to the 2019-20 season

July 18, 2019 By Kevin Nolan

As we prepare to tackle our first season since WW11 without Betty Hutchins at the helm, it devolves on me to step up and deliver a pep talk in her place. Think of it as my take on a new President's inauguration speech, a case of out with the old, in with the six months younger.

Betty was a cockeyed optimist when it came to life and Charlton. She'd decided long ago never to walk in anyone's shadow. Me too. We were scrupulous about not walking in each other's shadow, in case it caused Charlton to lose. We collided occasionally but it's funny how superstition takes over. For instance, a few weeks ago, I wore the same shoelaces I wore in 1998, the first time we played Sunderland at Wembley. And I used Colgate to clean my teeth both times. Daft I admit but you can't be too careful.

"You know something, Kev?" Betty mused earlier this year, "I've begun to think of my life as vintage wine from fine old kegs from the brim to the dregs". I didn't have a clue what she was on about because she rarely took a drink but I was sensitive to the mood and counter-mused. "Bet, I hear what you're saying, but the record shows I took the blows and did it my way." Then for some reason we broke into "My Old Man's a Dustman", which made far more sense to us. She was flat for once. But I digress.

Bet would probably agree that with less than three weeks until it all kicks off again at Blackburn, there is cause for concern about our prospects. You don't need me or her to tell you that any midfield which, in one fell swoop, loses the likes of Josh Cullen, Krystian Bielik and Joe Aribo, is in trouble. That sheer quality is all but impossible to replace. Patrick Bauer's departure is probably adequately covered by Tom Lockyer but midfield is where we'll be found out, unless Lee Bowyer and his staff's uncanny nose for disregarded talent comes into its own again. Bet trusted them. So do I but I wish they'd hurry up.

Our goalkeepers (Dillon Phillips and Ben Amos) are sound and the defence solid-looking. We boast two excellent right backs (Chris Solly and Anfernee Dijksteel), three experienced centre backs who possibly need an extra body (Lockyer, Naby Sarr and Jason Pearce), a couple of first-class left backs (Lewis Page and Ben Purrington). Lyle Taylor might find it tough up front without proven support (Tom Eaves fits the bill perfectly), which brings us back to the department where games are invariably decided.

Both George Lapslie and Albie Morgan are impressive graduates from the academy's peerless assembly line but have only recently discarded their L-plates. Jake Forster-Caskey's return is well-timed but we look threadbare in the middle of the park. We need a midfielder or two cast in the manager's mould.

Whatever state we're in, we'll be pulling out from Anchor and Hope Lane on August 3rd with the indomitable spirit of Betty Hutchins not so much fording every stream but still doggedly following her dream. Which was usually a bacon-and-egg fry-up at the motorway stop on the way there and a large Magnum to cool her down on the journey home. She sometimes bit off more than she could chew but she never spat it out. Which is more than that full-of-himself bloke in the song can claim.

Filed Under: Sport

Homage to the NHS

June 8, 2019 By Kevin Nolan

I was 11 years old on July 5th 1948, when the NHS was born. It's safe to say that I was totally oblivious to the greatest act of social legislation ever passed into law by any government for the good of the people it served. My shameful ignorance at the time has been overtaken down the years by a deep appreciation and an even deeper respect for the dearly loved but constantly threatened institution.

Before Health Minister Aneurin Bevan's ideal that "good health should be available to all regardless of wealth" became reality, so-called ordinary Britons shifted uneasily for themselves in fighting off injury or illness. Most parents adapted into self-taught medics and developed a commonsense range of skills in taking care of their families. With his bill an unpleasant deterrent, calling in a doctor was an option considered only as a last resort. In other words, next to never.

Women became diagnostic savants as well as prescriptive wizards. A ruthless gang of them, which included my mum, paternal gran and maiden aunt Mary Ellen, once fell upon me during one of our summer-long evacuations to the Irish countryside, when I reported back to the farmstead after an afternoon of blissful lawlessness, sporting an angry, red stripe climbing up an arm from a wound I'd hardly noticed on my hand. Within hours, a series of bread and porridge poultices routed the poison and staved off possible amputation. Likewise, boils were popped or lanced, headlice were shown the door by Nitty Nora and iodine took care of complaints unmoved by germolene. You took off fast when iodine was mentioned.

The feeling of relief and gratitude with which the post-war population welcomed the NHS is tough to convey to people who were born under its umbrella. No longer was good health care the exclusive birthright of privileged toffs. While under its benign auspices, formerly fatal diseases like tuberculosis or meningitis (Mum lost an older brother I never knew to meningitis) were conquered by research made possible under the new, revolutionary phenomenon. Life expectancy increased, with the quality of life itself enhanced for countless millions by what Danny Boyle called "the institution which more than any other unites our nation."

Aneurin Bevan (1897-1960) spent the rest of his life battling to defend the NHS' integrity against covetous attacks to limit its reach and effectiveness. Voted 1st in a list of 100 Welsh heroes as recently as 2004, recognition of his selfless endeavours is largely confined to Wales; within his own country he is properly considered a prophet with honour. The Prime Minister he served - Clement Attlee - whose government made possible the NHS and, among other good works, addressed a grossly unfair education system, meanwhile goes disgracefully overlooked.

Both Nye Bevan and Clem Attlee would have shifted uncomfortably in their graves earlier this week as the NHS was briefly pawed by a creepy American bloke, a cynical speculator who was unmoved by the majesty of its noble ambition but instead sensed in it only an inviting moneyspinner. Rarely before did the adage about "knowing the price of everything but the the value of nothing" ring with more truth. Our most cherished British institution must be removed from any table where he is balefully sitting. It ain't for sale, pal. So do one!

Filed Under: Kevin Nolan

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