Kevin Nolan’s Match Report: Forest Green v Charlton (14/02/23)

Forest Green Rovers 0 Charlton 1 (Blackett-Taylor 12).

Kevin Nolan joined the foot soldiers on the terraces at Forest Green Rovers where Charlton survived an unlikely battering from bottom-of-the-table Forest Green and emerged with three bitterly won points.

After cruising smoothly through an opening 20 minutes of effortless domination, during which they took a deserved lead, toyed with their bottom-of-the-table hosts and seemed bound for comprehensive victory, Charlton inexplicably fell apart. From graceful thoroughbreds, they degenerated into weary, overworked hacks good for nothing but the knackers yard. Having squeezed over the finishing line by the shortest of short heads, there was, however, enough energy left to join in an untidy, post-game melee where push came to shove, no damage was done but which everyone enjoyed immensely. You’re not supposed to but you do.

Standing tall during the extra-curricular shenanigans was Ryan Inniss, completely exonerated of guilt for the red card he received three days previously. The club’s decision to appeal his dismissal was resoundingly vindicated and the massive centre back responded accordingly both during and after this nerve-jangling away win. His contribution to the Addicks’ narrow win had been stalwart; his role as peacemaker following the final whistle was exemplary. Supported by the similarly daunting Michael Hector, he was a conciliatory force for order. You wouldn’t go out of your way to antagonise either of them, to be fair, no matter how cheesed off you were about the result of a football game.

Hector had replaced scorer Corey Blackett-Taylor, as Rover’s nagging pressure was beginning to assume siege proportions. Michael’s a centre half from the old school. He can obviously play a bit but whenever a ball needed to be booted out of Charlton’s penalty area, there was little doubt where it was headed. Alongside Inniss and cool customer Lucas Ness, he formed part of a formidable central alliance which had just enough about it to see the visitors home and dry.

During that blistering opening spell, twin speedsters Blackett-Taylor and Jesurun Rak-Sakyi were irresistible. The latter terrorised left back Jamie Robson and, in a preview of the all-important goal, provided a splendid, diagonal pass which enabled Blackett-Taylor to cut inside
and shoot off-target. Shortly afterwards, Rak-Sakyi again showed Robson a clean pair of heels, reached the right byline and crossed on the run. Helped by a faint deflection, Blackett-Taylor smashed home a no-nonsense drive and Charlton, so it seemed, were on their way to an easy win.

A second goal would almost certainly have sealed the deal but Rak-Sakyi disastrously squandered a golden chance to double the lead. Expertly set up by surprise starter Chuks Aneke, who nodded Sean Clare’s cross back from the far post, the Crystal Palace loanee swung and missed from three yards. It proved to be a turning point, from which Duncan Ferguson’s battlers drew heart and began to improve. Charlton’s early swagger disappeared and a long, uncomfortable evening stretched before them. Had they been facing more formidable opposition -the kind provided by Derby County and Sheffield Wednesday within the next 10 days – their chances of survival would almost certainly have been bleak.

But this was right-on Forest Green Rovers, a team which has defied massive odds to climb from over a century of non-league competition to wind up in the same division as the lofty likes of Derby and Sheffield Wednesday -not to mention Charlton – but without obvious resources or adequate support, seem destined to embark on a journey back to reality, which will start with relegation this season. There is much about them to admire but professional football is an unsentimental business and dues must be paid. Game as they come but marooned in a rustic cul de-sac, Rovers are in no position to pay them.

Back in Nailsworth, meanwhile, there was a game to won and lost and Charlton, despite their scintillating start, were by no means certain to win it. They were well served by the reformed Inniss and the calm precocity of Ness, while George Dobson, as usual, led by captain’s example, his ball-winning tenacity balanced by crisp distribution. Dobson is the ultimate team player and ranks among the best midfielders in League One. He was at the heart of Charlton’s resistance to Forest Green’s surprising superiority.

Shoulder to shoulder with Dobson was Gavin Kilkenny, a busy bustler who took no chances but passed safely and unadventurously. It was Kilkenny. with a map of Ireland for a face, who dangerously upended Myles Peart-Harris inside the penalty area but escaped without punishment. Forest Green continued the onslaught with a spate of left wing corners, swung in and sometimes out, by substitute Charlie Savage before Ness produced a miraculous goalline clearance to prevent Cory O’Keefe from converting Dominic Bernard’s treacherously swirling cross. By the time Ashley Maynard-Brewer did his bit by brilliantly saving Brandon Cooper’s point-blank shot, Charlton were unashamedly hanging on. Their own attacking threat had vanished with the steady decline of Blackett-Taylor and Rak Sakyi and the earlier elegance and style were a dim memory. In its place was a gritty determination not to concede and that, sometimes, is invaluable. They duly made it -but only just.

Following the after hours dust-up, for which Macauley Bonne carries the can, a return to the warmth of the coach was blessed relief. As a veteran of considerable vintage, your correspondent feels uniquely qualified to comment on the pros and cons of terrace life. Fated to stand behind some lofty bloke wearing a big hat, the pros, such as they were, remain elusive. To each his own, of course, but you can keep it. So the cons have it.

Forest Green: Doohan, O’Keefe (Godwin-Malife 79), Bernard (Omotoye 79), McGeoch (Savage 65), Casey, Stevenson, Garrick (McAllister 49), Robson, Bakaoko. Cooper, Peart-Harris. Not used: Thomas, McCann, Clarke.

Referee: C.Pollard. Att: 2,670 (871 visiting).