Barnsley 2 (O’Grady 16,55), Charlton 2 (Cousins 64, Church 72.)
Kevin Nolan reports from Oakwell.
Under normal circumstances, Charlton’s retrieval of an away point after trailing 2-0 in the second half would be cause for celebration. And when the truth is that you’ve been outplayed for over an hour but pulled yourselves together sufficiently to get back on terms, you’re entitled to a pat on the back. Most of the time.
It’s not quite as straightforward as that because circumstances are anything but normal around The Valley these days, both on and off the field. The Addicks’ haul of one point from three games against moderate opposition hardly inspires confidence but it could be worse. In fact, it actually Is worse just a few miles down the road in a neighbouring borough. None of our business, of course.
Of more concern than Charlton’s plight near the bottom of the Championship is the ominous atmosphere hanging over the club like an ever-darkening cloud. As rumours multiply, misgivings concerning its administration increase proportionately. The natives camped outside its walls are restless, the alternative presses are rolling, there’s an unmistakeable whiff of revolution in the air. Those besieged within, meanwhile, operate a rigorous code of omerta. They neither confirm nor deny. We’ve been here before. Just over 20 years ago.
The 461 fans who followed the Addicks to South Yorkshire were happy to temporarily park their doubts, get behind the team and seek comfort in the essential simplicity of football. They had, after all, witnessed the shattering of a club record at this venue a mere four months previously. There were happy memories to be raked over.
Humiliated 6-0 on that inauspicious occasion, Barnsley had other ideas. Vengeance was on their agenda and during a one-way first half, they gave their visitors scarcely a sight of the ball. The 1-0 lead they took back to the dressing room at the break was poor reward for their complete superiority. Their inability to convert their dominance into goals, however, was to prove their undoing. Football never tires of punching home that message.
Any hint of a Charlton revival seemed remote as the Tykes, with a burning sense of mission, played their erstwhile tormentors off the park. They were well worth the lead given them by Chris O’Grady just past the quarter hour.
Most of Barnsley’s steady pressure had been launched down the left flank, where full back Tom Kennedy and Scott Golbourne combined intelligently. Kennedy supplied Golbourne with the pass which the mobile wide man whipped dangerously into the six-yard area. Bustling in front of Michael Morrison, O’Grady forced an untidy opener past Ben Hamer.
Shortly after their success, the South Yorkshiremen squandered a golden opportunity to capitalise on their advantage. With Dorian Dervite outmuscled by Chris Dagnall, Jacob Mellis pounced on the loose ball to hit a post from close range. The rebound ran kindly for Dagnall who, with the goal at his mercy, was foiled by Hamer’s brave, painful intervention.
Charlton’s solitary contribution to a dismal first half was the clever free kick, awarded for Jim O’Brien’s handball, which Mark Gower cut back for Callum Harriott to force a fine, lowdown save from Luke Steele at his right post.
Dagnall’s miss appeared irrelevant when O’Grady doubled the Tykes’ lead ten minutes after half-time. In an uncanny reprise of Lewis Grabban’s opening goal for Bournemouth a fortnight previously, Dagnall created space for Mellis to cross accurately from the left. O’Grady nodded back across Hamer into the far corner and Charlton’s future looked bleak.
Unlikely though it seemed at the time, Barnsley relaxed, Charlton improved and young substitute Jordan Cousins marked an impressive full debut by reducing the arrears just seven minutes after O’Grady’s apparent clincher. On hand to meet Steele’s inconclusive punch near the 18 -yard line, the stylish teenager drove his effort forcefully into the ground and was gratified to watch it bounce high over the stranded goalkeeper into the net. Not the most artistic of strikes but worth its weight as a tonic for a jaded team.
Barnsley’s instant panic was alarming. They were caught hopelessly square on the halfway line as Yann Kermorgant’s devastating pass sent Simon Church sprinting clear from a clearly onside position in his own half to clip past the advancing Steele and agonisingly over the goalline, despite O’Briens’s desperate attempt to clear.
Unexpected and to some extent undeserved, Church’s fine equaliser has Charlton off the mark for the season. Relief was apparent but celebrations were muted. There just isn’t much to celebrate around S.E. 7 at the moment. It provided a silver lining. But the clouds continue to gather.
Kevin Nolan’s Match Report is brought to you in association with , 294 Burnt Ash Hill, London, SE12 0QD.
Barnsley: Steele, O’Brien, Wiseman, M’Voto, Kennedy, Dawson, Perkins (Etuhu 33), Mellis (Digby 67), Golbourne, Dagnall (Scotland 76), O’Grady. Not used: Alnwick, McNulty, Cywka, Cofie. Booked: Wiseman.
Charlton: Hamer, Solly, Dervite (Cort 46), Morrison, Wiggins, Wilson, Stephens (Cousins 46), Gower, Harriott (Evina 77), Kermorgant, Church. Not used: Pope, Green, Sordell, Pigott. Booked: Dervite.
Referee: Jeremy Simpson. Att: 9,554.