Ipswich Town 1 (Scotland 57) Charlton 2 (Jackson 48, Fuller 50).
Kevin Nolan reports from Portman Road.
It’s a bit premature, in late September, to be referring to games as relegation six-pointers but the underlying significance of this result was impossible to exaggerate. For Charlton, it brought cheeks-puffing relief, accompanied by the almost audible whoosh of a safety valve releasing pent-up pressure. To Ipswich, losers at home for the second time in four days, came the sinking feeling that a season of unremitting hardship stretches before them. That’s how much it meant.
Beaten by another struggler, Derby County, in a midweek game which thrust them into the Championship’s bottom three, the Addicks could ill afford to lose again at Portman Road. Defeat would not, of course have been definitive – in fact, other results would have softened the blow – but the effects on morale and self-esteem might have been incalculable. As it was, they made heavy weather of seeing off moderate opposition. The bottom line is, though, that they won and that’s what mattered.
Deprived of totemic top scorer (with two goals) Yann Kermorgant through an untimely training ground ankle injury, the Addicks enjoyed, through Kermorgant’s replacement Ricardo Fuller, the useful shot in the arm they needed. The streetwise veteran provided a masterclass in the centre forward’s pragmatic arts. Leading the attack with an experienced blend of the cerebral and the physical, he used all his knowhow to score his first goal for his new employers and handed Chris Powell a selection dilemma when Kermorgant recovers.
There were other plus points for the cool handed boss. Centre backs Leon Cort and Michael Morrison were rock-solid towers of strength; Danny Green continued his improvement; Johnnie Jackson silenced a growing number of critics of his “decline” with an all-action performance in a more energy-saving central midfield, adding Charlton’s first goal to his impressive contribution.
There was, admittedly, little to savour in a first half which faded from the memory bank in tune with referee Martin Atkinson’s half-time whistle. My notes remind me that Ben Hamer made a few capable saves, most of them from Jason Scotland’s optimistic shooting, the best of them to keep out Daryl Murphy’s early header. His opposite number, Scott Loach, distinguished himself in beating away Dale Stephens’ 30-yard blockbuster but there was little else to stiffen the sinews. Which made it as much a surprise as a pleasure that the second half exploded so dramatically into life.
Thre minutes after the break, Jackson put the visitors in front; two more minutes saw Fuller double the advantage. The Addicks were well on their way to that most rare of experiences -a comfortable victory- when bad luck, not for the first time this season- pegged them back again.
Jackson’s opener was another demonstration of his ability to cleverly time late runs into critical areas. Green’s fizzing, right wing cross eluded out-of-luck Bradley Wright-Phillips but was whipped back crisply from the left byline by Salim Kerkar to the near post where Jackson powered through the dishevelled remnants of Town’s defence to score.
Almost instantly, Fuller provided what seemed to be the insurance of a second goal. Airily dispossessing absentminded midfielder Massimo Luongo, the muscular forward turned away from Tommy Smith’s ponderous challenge before accurately dispatching a low drive across Loach into the far corner.
At that stage, you wouldn’t have risked a bent tanner on the Tractor Boys’ chances, which just goes to show how often football defies logic. Just seven minutes were required to put the home side back in the hunt. And they had a journeyman of their own to thank.
Stocky and determined, Scotland had punctuated a conscientious shift with regular potshots at goal. Receiving Lee Martin’s throw in generous space, he moved into range and cheerfully tried his luck again from over 20 yards. With Hamer moving confidently to his right in anticipation of another untroubled save, a wicked deflection off Morrison sent the ball skittering beyond the stricken keeper into the bottom right corner. It’s better to born lucky than rich and this was a clear case of fortune favouring Scotland the brave. It certainly isn’t favouring the Addicks right now. They need to avoid crossing on the stairs, scrupulously pick up dropped gloves before replacing them on flat surfaces, go out of their way to encourage black cats to cross in front of them. All cobblers, of course, but you never know. Anyway, the folklore advice is passed to the manager, for what it’s worth. Bet his Mum knows what I’m talking about..
Ipswich: Loach, Edwards, Smith (Higginbotham 90), Chambers, Cresswell, Emmanuel-Thomas (Ellington 46), Luongo, Drury, Murphy (Carson 80), Martin, Scotland. Not used: Lee-Barrett, N’Daw, Hyam, Ainsley. Booked, Emmanuel-Thomas, Martin.
Charlton: Hamer, Wilson, Cort, Morrison, Solly, Green, Stephens,Jackson, Kerkar (Pritchard 82), Wright-Phillips (Dervite 90), Fuller (Haynes 90). Not used: Button, Evina, Wagstaff, Hollands.
Referee: Martin Atkinson. Att: 16,587.
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