Charlton 1 (Bauer 90) Sheffield United 1 (Duffy 32).
Kevin Nolan reports from The Valley.
The consensus among fans streaming away from the Valley shortly after Patrick Bauer had rescued his side with a dramatic added time equaliser was that a) Charlton had been lucky and b) that they hadn’t deserved anything from a game almost completely controlled by Sheffield United. And that was the opinion of the happy but apparently guilty homers. It was easy to imagine the reaction, meanwhile, of the visiting hordes as they made their disgruntled way back up north. Unprintable no doubt.
Both sets of supporters are missing the point somewhat. There is no football law that guarantees victory for the superior side, no assurance that you get what you “deserve”. It’s the very uncertainty that keeps us coming back to the greatest ballgame ever devised. The ups-and-downs, ins-and-outs, give-and-take, they all combine to frequently defy logic. You get the cards you’re dealt. Otherwise we’d simply stay at home and decide the outcome on computers.
The long and short of it is that United got a point and a point is what they earned. No more, no less. Easily the best side to visit The Valley this season, they dominated possession, played neat, attractive football and should have run out comfortable winners. But with the lumbering Leon Clarke and a strangely subdued Billy Sharp misfiring up front, they failed to increase the lead given them just past the half hour by will-o-the-wisp Mark Duffy, who stylishly finished off a slick free kick wheeze.
Defied in the second half by Dillon Phillips’ outstanding goal keeping, the blunted Blades clearly settled on their lead and, with over a half hour remaining, began resorting to shameless timewasting. Every goalkick, throw-in and corner became a trudge through treacle, while the keep-ball routines deep in Charlton’s half, while technically legitimate, exacerbated local irritation.
Their lollygagging almost worked, with indulgent referee Graham Scott adding only four minutes to regulation time. Five second half substitutions and three bookings account for that meagre allocation so you could say that Charlton were shafted. Which makes it a pleasure to report that midway through overtime, the Addicks used their allowance to frustrate their tormentors.
A cynical foul on lively substitute Jordan Botaka by Dan Lafferty on the right was the signal for the visitors’ goal area to be occupied by the hefty likes of Josh Magennis, Bauer and Jason Pearce. The free kick was whipped in left-footed by Adam Chicksen and headed into the net by Bauer. That made it legally one-all and it’s always been goals that count.
Over an hour earlier, an imaginative free kick in almost the same area, awarded for Bauer’s trip on Clarke, had crowned the South Yorkshiremen’s early dominance. Among a trio of Blades mulling possibilities over the ball, Duffy’s sudden sprint outmanouevred a wall, being braced by a hefty teammate who helpfully locked in its last brick (Ademola Lookman), ran on to John Fleck’s cute pass and scored off the disastrously exposed Phillips’ left hand.
A quiet first period featured little else but United should have put the issue beyond doubt after the break only to be frustrated, as were Bristol Rovers in midweek, by the brilliant Phillips. He began his virtuoso performance with an alert diving stop to keep out Fleck’s awkwardly bouncing effort, then bettered it with a full-length save from Duffy, after Jack O’Connell and the tireless Paul Coutts provided the spadework. Chris Basham helped out Charlton’s young keeper by skewing a good chance wide but it need more great work from Phillips to turn aside Caolan Lavery’s header from Coutts’ corner. The loss of Declan Rudd to a hip injury seems a less serious blow for new manager Karl Robinson, with Rudd’s deputy stepping up so confidently.
Magennis’ fierce drive on the turn tested Simon Moore but Phillips’ heroics in keeping the Blades at bay seemed destined merely to restrict the deficit to a single goal. His sterling goalkeeping, however, contributed as much to salvaging this valuable point as did Bauer’s last gasp equaliser. Should Rudd be recalled by parent club Norwich City in January, Robinson can be comforted by the academy graduate’s form in the two games he has witnessed while waiting to take over. And that’s more by judgement than luck!
Charlton: Phillips, Foley, Bauer, Pearce, Fox, Lookman, Crofts (Botaka 81), Ulvestad, Jackson (Chicksen 52), Ajose (Novak 63), Magennis. Not used: Beeney, Konsa, Lennon, Hanlan. Booked: Fox.
United: Moore, Fleck, O’Connell, Basham, Wright, Coutts, Lafferty, Duffy (Scougall 75), Ebanks-Landell, Sharp, Clarke (Lavery 66). Not used: Ramsdale, Hussey, Done, Freeman, Chapman. Booked: Coutts, Clarke, Lafferty.
Referee: Graham Scott. Att: 12,580 (3008 visiting).