Kevin Nolan’s Match Report: Charlton v Bolton Wanderers (15/12/2015)

Charlton 2 (Lookman 1,26) Bolton Wanderers 2 (Heskey 32, Vela 42).

Misery heaps on misery at Charlton right now. Handed a “gimme” in the shape of stricken Bolton Wanderers, winners of only one league game this season and a club with a 12-point administration penalty hanging over them, they managed to blow a two-goal lead again and ended up drawing a game they had briefly at their mercy. They’re bright as buttons up front but their defending has to be seen to be believed. And even then, it frequently defies belief.

Galvanised by the quicksilver attacking trio of Ademola Lookman, Reza Ghoochannejhad and Ricardo Vaz Te, the Addicks dished out to last-placed Bolton the same early blitzkrieg they inflicted on table-topping Brighton recently. They were in front inside 26 seconds, with all three livewires contributing to the goal. When Wanderers’ kick-off was routinely played back to Jay Spearing, the visitors were caught flatfooted as Ghoochannejhad hustled possession from Spearing before sending Vaz Te running aggressively through the inside left channel. Timing his release perfectly, the former Trotter’s pass set up Lookman on his left to take a steadying touch before driving low across Ben Amos into the far corner.

Charlton’s second goal on 26 minutes was equally incisive and again involved their three offensive amigos. A quick free kick from Chris Solly was deliciously backheeled by Ghoochannejhad to make space for Vaz Te’s fiercely driven low cross from the left byline. Unmarked beyond the far post, Lookman’s adhesive control gave him time to finish nonchalantly from close range. It was all too good to be true and as Charlton almost visibly stepped back to admire their handiwork, their victims re-grouped.

Amid all the handwringing over the familiar disintegration which bedevilled the home side, a little credit must surely be found for Bolton, who sensed the mood of apprehension inside a still cautious Valley. They kept their heads, passed patiently and gamely worked their way back into what seemed briefly to be a lost cause. Before the interval, they were level again. And to be fair, it was far from surprising.

Leading the Trotters’ fightback was venerable Emile Heskey, who you might recall scoring in England’s historic 5-1 rout of Germany in Munich as long ago as September 2001. With his 38th birthday less than a month away, he provided a masterclass in target play. Both Alou Diarra and young Harry Lennon were helpless in the air against the old codger and as they instinctively retreated, Heskey found increasing space to get the ball down and bring his colleagues into the game. Six minutes after Lookman’s second strike, he even produced a rare goal to reduce the deficit.

A thorn in Charlton’s side all evening, tricky right winger Liam Feeney was proving to be a rare handful for Tareiq Holmes-Dennis. With the ability to go past the struggling full back on both sides, he stepped inside him all too easily to cross with his unfavoured left foot. The faintest of touches by Heskey, as Stephen Henderson and his central defenders froze, turned the dipping ball inside the left post.

With Charlton’s confidence ephemeral at the best of times, such as they are, Neil Lennon’s amateur warriors sought to exploit the nervewracked situation. Highly regarded youngster Zach Clough broke clear but was denied by Henderson’s resourceful save but Wanderers’ newly found persistence paid off before the break. Clough’s low ball from the right pinballed around before Johann Berg Gudmundsson’s partial clearance reached Josh Vela trailing the action some 25 yards from goal. The midfielder’s crisp, first-time drive skimmed the grass and found the left corner despite Henderson’s sprawling attempt to keep it out.

Still fancied to put matters right in the second half, the Addicks disappointingly produced little or nothing to trouble Amos. Lennon’s header sent Johnnie Jackson’s inswinging corner forcibly into the turf and bounced to safety off the crossbar but apart from a couple of off-target efforts from Gudmundsson, their threat was puny. A flurry of late corners at the other end, meanwhile, caused anxiety, but Bolton were as satisfied as Charlton were frustrated by the stalemate and the end-to-end game of the first half petered out into anonymity.

Sucked back into the relegation morass as MK Dons overtook them, the beleaguered Karel Fraeye will bitterly regret the opportunity missed to put a little daylight between his side and their equally desperate rivals. Due at Burnley on Saturday, where they will travel in hope but where the definitive 3-0 walloping looms, the Boxing Day engagement at Bristol City assumes critical importance. They may well survive again this season but it can’t go on, can it? League One threatens every season like the sword which hung over that bloke called Damocles. I might be muddling my classical references a bit but you take my point.

Charlton: Henderson, Solly, Diarra, Lennon, Holmes-Dennis, Cousins, Gudmundsson (Ba 70), Jackson (Ahearne-Grant 80), Vaz Te, Goochannejhad, Lookman (Makienot 60). Not used: Pope, Sarr, Bergdich, Fox. Booked: Ghoochannejhad, Lennon, Ba.

Att: 12,294 (415 visiting).