Leeds United 1 (Norris 37) Charlton 1 (Dervite 50).

Kevin Nolan reports from Elland Road.

The best cure for insomnia, according to that old curmudgeon W.C. Fields, is to get plenty of sleep. Stands to reason. And the best way to deal with disappointment, he might have added, is to get over it. Again, stands to reason.

It’s not known how Chris Powell slept on Saturday night after watching his side humiliated by Barnsley at The Valley. Not too well, probably, and his mood was hardly lightened by the immediate prospect of a tricky trip to Leeds, not the most pleasant of venues on his Championship agenda. But whether or not he slept between Saturday and Tuesday, his side’s battling attitude at Elland Road certainly helped him forget the bitter disappointment, not to mention disillusionment, of losing in front of a bumper crowd at the weekend. Having got over it, this result will help him nod off.

Elland Road itself reeks of past glories, though successive, unloved sides have struggled to combine success with popularity. On hand in the press facilities from Don Revie’s great 70s team were Norman Hunter and Eddie Gray, who represented the steel hand inside a silk glove that Leeds’ opponents came to recognise and fear all too well.

These days, Revie’s successor is the peripatetic Neil Warnock, all affability when he wins, a glowering whiner when he doesn’t. For Hunter, read Michael Brown, a 35-year old veteran coming to the end of a career largely spent at odds with almost everyone including himself. Gray’s magical wing skills, meanwhile, are supposedly covered by the odious El Hadji Diouf, once described by Warnock as a “sewer rat” but these days rehabilitated as bosom buddies with the gaffer. Overseeing the operation we have Ken Bates, offshore chairman (for reasons of tax, you understand) but persistent dispenser of unwanted philosophy nonetheless. Hardly in W.C. Fields’ class. It’s safe to say that none of the current crew adequately match their predecessors.

Already beset by injuries to key players this season, Powell was handed a further blow when midfield playmaker Dale Stephens withdrew shortly before kick-off with a hamstring twinge. Having lost experienced striker Ricardo Fuller during the Barnsley debacle, it seemed Stephens’ mishap was some kind of last straw. Rising boldly to the occasion, however, the beleaguered boss re-jigged his formation, handed three players full league debuts and was rewarded by a splendid team performance that deserved better than a draw

Powell’s master stroke was to deploy central defender Dorian Dervite as a defensive shield in front of his back four, where he stood out. Key interceptions, firm tackling and intelligent distribution helped the Addicks win the midfield battle. And when it mattered most, the powerfully built Frenchman also scored.

Other adjustments saw Chris Solly returned to right back, Lawrie Wilson pushed forward to replace Danny Green in right midfield, Cedric Evina somewhat belatedly trusted to solve the left back problem and willing grafter Rob Hulse making his first start up front. The effect was deeply impressive, though it didn’t prevent United taking an undeserved first half lead through a goal with a whiff of illegality about it.

Artful striker Luciano Becchio played his part, an unseen nudge on Leon Cort causing the outstanding centre back to miscue his headed clearance of Diouf’s free kick. Pouncing on the loose ball, David Norris drilled it beyond Ben Hamer’s left hand. The heroic Cort’s earlier block on Norris had preserved an equality which Johnnie Jackson might have restored immediately; the skipper drove Bradley Pritchard’s low centre wastefully wide of his target. As it turned out, the Whites led for less than a half hour, including the interval

Wilson, with Solly providing security behind him, was clearly enjoying himself further upfield. His carefully angled cutback five minutes after resumption was met on the run by Dervite, who skimmed a low 20-yard drive neatly inside the left post. It was no more than these spirited Addicks deserved.

When Hulse, wearied by his selfless running , was replaced by Bradley Wright-Phillips, the visitors came desperately close to netting all three points. Chances arrived thick and fast during a hectic last five minutes, the best of them created by Pritchard’s tireless industry for Wright-Phillips to unleash a ferocious volley which was netbound until Paddy Kenny conjured a spine twisting save. More disappointment for Powell, of course, but hopefully not enough to disturb his sleep. He needs his energy to plan next Saturdays’s daunting trip to Molineux.

Leeds: Kenny, Drury, Pearce, Lees, Green (White 64), Diouf, Brown, Norris, Byram, Varney (Tonge 64), Becchio (Gray 77). Not used: Ashdown, Kisnorbo, Pugh, Hall.

Charlton: Hamer, Solly, Cort, Morrison, Evina, Dervite, Wilson, Pritchard, Kerkar, Jackson, Hulse (Wright-Phillips 85). Not used: Button, Green, Cook, Hollands, Razak, Harriott.

Referee: N. Miller. Att: 17,484.

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Charlton 0 Barnsley 1 (Cywka 64).

Kevin Nolan reports from The Valley.

Nursing many a nasty withdrawal symptom, a bumper crowd welcomed football back to The Valley following the international break. Warts and all, it’s still the people’s game and the heartwarming response to Charlton’s latest football-for-a-fiver initiative proved again that a groundswell of local affection, if not recession-squeezed wallets, exists behind the club. Pity about this result but there’s something to be said for fans who can accept defeat with reasonable grace, swallow their disappointment and keep a stiff upper lip. Their restraint was admirable as the Addicks were comfortably beaten by visitors Barnsley, who turned in a textbook away performance. More about that in a minute but let’s digress first.

In its self-destructive way, football seems determined to squander the goodwill it enjoys at grass roots level. But before bringing grapes to its sickbed, take a look at rugby, so often held up as the model of self-discipline to which its implied social inferior should aspire. Bloody cheek. A glance at Paul Rees’ round-up column in the Guardian (15-10-12) might convince you that its author reported, not from a touchline, but from an embedded war zone.

In matter-of-fact terms, and with no hint of disapproval, Rees begins with a fist-and-knee assault on a grounded player by an opponent enraged by no fewer than three attempts to eye-gouge him (it’s all the go, apparently), as evidence of which his club offered post-game photographs. He continues with details of citations for biting (!) and stamping, before wrapping up his catalogue of villainy with a casual mention of a “dangerous tackle” which, in this context, seems positively Corinthian. Unless, of course, you were its unfortunate victim.

So while warring footballers swat away unconvincingly at each other like demented field mice, rugby’s bouncers get straight down to the maim event, then mitigate it by proudly pointing out that its perpetrators scrupulously help the referees to gather dental impressions, measure bootprints and take DNA swabs. While not disputing so much as one of their decisions. You have to admire their respect for authority.

Having said all that, though, the vast majority of yesterday’s magnificent attendance might willingly have swapped places with the gilded few enjoying rugby’s usual mayhem in the shires outside London. All but 1,227 hardheaded Yorkshiremen, who know a bargain at five nicker when they see one, suffered as the Addicks were handled with consummate ease by Keith Hill’s scandalously underrated side.

For this was no smash-and-grab raid. The Tykes were picture-perfect visitors, who kept their shape, passed crisply and intelligently, restricted their opposition to no more than a couple of half-chances, efficiently took one of their own and enjoyed a handy slice of luck, when referee Russell, though ideally positioned, sanctioned Chris Dagnall’s trip on Chris Solly inside the penalty area. They won virtually every second ball, kept on the right side of the law while running the clock down and left The Valley with three richly deserved points.

Ninety five minutes of largely ineffectual effort provided Charlton with no more than occasional scraps on which to feed. The first half fled by with only free kicks from Dale Stephens and Abdul Razak troubling Ben Alnwick. Stephens’ effort was pawed away with difficulty, while Razak forced a spectacular save from the flying keeper.

Barnsley were themselves only sporadically dangerous, with Ben Hamer stopping Craig Davies’ low drive, then awkwardly smothering Dagnall, as the forward made a mess of Davies’ dangerous cross. Fine blocks by Solly and Leon Cort, both on Davies, at least served notice that Charlton’s customary defensive defiance was intact. Their attacking options, meanwhile, seemed enhanced by the interval substitutions of Bradley Wright-Phillips (for Razak) and skipper Johnnie Jackson (for Danny Hollands).

Beaten four times previously this season, each time by a single goal, the Addicks survived until the 64th minute before succumbing. There seemed only minimal danger until Danny Green’s miserable failure to cut out Scott Golbourne’s pass allowed Polish midfielder Tomasz Cywka to cut in along the left byline before curling a superb shot across Ben Hamer into the top right corner. Some goal to settle a humdrum game.

Shortly after Cwyka made his dramatic intervention, Charlton’s best chance for equality disappeared in the instant that Russell decided that the typical forward’s challenge made by Dagnall, from behind on a flying Solly, was legal. It seemed an open-and-shut case for a spotkick to everyone else, including a mortified Dagnall, but Russell critically disagreed. Apart from a wild goalline scrimmage, during which Jackson almost bundled Lawrie Wilson’s cross past Alnwick, the struggling home side offered little, though substitute Bradley Pritchard’s snapshot brought an alert save from Alnwick.

A late booking issued to Wilson for diving and the potentially long-term injury sustained by Ricardo Fuller, after all three subs had been used, crowned a wretched afternoon for baffled boss Chris Powell. And, no doubt, persuaded many of those attracted back by the fiver deal that they’d been overcharged.

Charlton: Hamer, Wilson, Cort, Morrison, Solly, Green ( Pritchard 68), Hollands (Jackson 46), Stephens, Razak (Wright-Phillips 46), Kerkar, Fuller. Not used: Button, Evina, Hulse, Dervite. Booked: Stephens, Solly, Wilson.

Barnsley: Alnwick, Stones, Wiseman, Foster, Golbourne, Mellis Etuhu 89), Perkins, Cwyka (Hassell 90), Dawson, Dagnall, Davies (Harewood 90). Not used: Steele, Done, Rose, Kennedy. Booked: Golbourne, Dawson.

Referee: M. Russell. Att: 26,185.

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Blackpool 0 Charlton 2 (Cort 49, Solly 73).

Kevin Nolan reports from Bloomfield Road.

The timing, not to mention the importance, of this unexpected but no less welcome win on the road is impossible to overestimate. It improved Charlton’s record to an encouraging 12 points from 10 games and it’s generally accepted that ten is the minimum number of games on which any sensible prediction should be based concerning a team’s long term prospects.

Some overweight bloke in a pub somewhere said so and now it’s part of football folklore. Mind you, he probably has a point. Following the demoralising midweek loss to 10-man Watford, Charlton’s magnificent result can be added to the frequent shocks already reverberating through the early weeks of this most democratic of Championships. But though it was unpredictable, make no mistake, Charlton fully deserved to win. The parting shot of one disgruntled Blackpool supporter summed it up succinctly. “We were bloody second best everywhere it mattered”, he muttered to nobody in particular and it was hard to disagree. In fact, it made your reporter fairly blush with pleasure.

Though the Addicks’ success was based on sound, sturdy defending, this was no smash-and-grab raid. It’s just that the entire back four was outstanding and that from their ranks there emerged a heartwarming man of the match.

As Charlton have struggled to find their feet at a higher level, often unfair criticism has been levelled at new boy Lawrie Wilson since he stepped up to deputise for long term injury victim Rhoys Wiggins. At sunlit Bloomfield Road, with the winds off the Irish Sea at rest for once, Wilson answered his detractors with a display of class and courage.

When Blackpool manager Ian Holloway responded to falling behind to Carl Cort’s header shortly after the interval by rushing hot shot Thomas Ince into the fray, Wilson really came into his own. A previously subdued home crowd greeted their young star rapturously in the expectation that his pace and power would turn the tide. With six goals and as many assists in only seven games, Ince’s return from a brief injury absence was a problem that Charlton -and in particular their new right back – could have done without. But they -and he- coped admirably.

With a steady first half behind him, Wilson coolly popped the dangerous winger into his hip pocket and got on with the job of supporting substitute Bradley Pritchard up and down the touchline. In desperation, Ince tried his luck on the opposite flank, where he found the pickings just as paltry against the remarkable Chris Solly. Redoubtable defenders Cort and Solly even found time to visit the other end and score Charlton’s goals.

During an even first period, breakneck blocks from Solly and Michael Morrison denied first the dangerous Matt Phillips, then Neil Eardley as the overrated Seasiders passed their way forward ponderously but predictably. It’s not for us to advise Holloway but his side appears to be handicapped by a severe lack of pace. They threatened again when Gary Fletcher-Taylor’s enterprising 40-yard lob caught Ben Hamer off his line but grazed the crossbar; just before the break, Phillips cut inside Solly to force Hamer into a low, diving save at his left post. It was Charlton, though, who came closest to retiring with a lead.

A brief cameo of Ricardo Fuller’s repertoire saw the savvy old pro win a right wing corner off Stephen Crainey. Meeting Salim Kerkar’s inswinging delivery ahead of his marker at the near post, his powerful header beat Matt Gilks but rebounded to safety off the underside of the bar. It seemed at the time that the visitors were out of luck again.

Four minutes into the second half, however, the Addicks were deservedly in front. From a left wing corner won by Kerkar off Eardley and taken by Dale Stephens, Cort outjumped Alex Baptiste and headed downward on one bounce into the roof of the net.

Ince made his first meaningful contribution with a cleverly volleyed snapshot but Hamer beat it clear with two firm hands. Paul’s talented kid threatened again but Solly typically blocked his close range effort almost at source.

Idolised by Charlton fans for his polished defending, Solly scores, it’s fair to say, irregularly. A close range strike at Leyton Orient a couple of years ago was a personal milestone but remains his first and only goal for the club. The rising drive which returned Stephens’ blocked shot, then curved in flight before nestling neatly under the angle of bar and right post, was totally different gravy. It not only sealed the Addicks’ vital victory but sent a sizeable contingent of travelling fans into rhapsodic salute. Something about him being only five foot three but better than John Terr-ee. And, er, a reference to his blankety blank quality. You couldn’t make it up. Except they did.

Blackpool: Gilks, Earley, Evatt, Baptiste, Crainey, Osbourne (Dicko 67), Gomes (Ince 53), Ferguson, Taylor-Fletcher, Matt Phillips, Delfouneso (Kevin Phillips 62). Not used: Sylvestre, Cathcart, Halstead, Angel.

Charlton: Hamer, Wilson, Cort, Morrison, Solly, Green (Pritchard 20), Hollands, Stephens, Razak (Dervite 80), Kerkar, Fuller (Hulse 84). Not used: Evina, Wright-Phillips, Wagstaff, Button.

Referee: Geoff Eltringham. Att: 13,482.

Kevin Nolan’s Match Report is brought to you in association with , 294 Burnt Ash Hill, London, SE12 0QD.

Charlton 1 (Fuller 35) Watford 2 (Hoban 29, Abdi 70).

Kevin Nolan reports from The Valley.

The loss of a game surely targeted as winnable was a bitter pill for Charlton to swallow last night. And their mood won’t be lightened when they face the uncomfortable reality that a potentially decisive advantage was contentiously handed them by Premier League referee Mike Dean shortly before the interval.

A fairly even first half was winding down when U-21 Italian international Fernando Forestieri turned sharply infield from the the right byline under the watchful eye of Salim Kerkar, before losing his footing and measuring his length perhaps a little too enthusiastically. From this observer’s admittedly distant vantage point, neither dive nor foul was obvious, but, much closer to the action, Dean had no such doubt. Already booked for encroaching on a Kerkar free kick, Udinese loanee Forestieri was issued his marching orders for simulation. So often out of luck this season, Charlton had been handed a massive break which, unhappily, they subsequently spurned.

Nothing in a relatively routine first period had set the scene for such added time drama. Not much worth noting, in fact, had happened before Michael Morrison was rightly penalised for manhandling Forestieri, his excessive physicality providing the opportunity for 17-year old Chelsea loan prodigy Nathaniel Chalobah to hoist a free kick into a congested penalty area. An almost imperceptible brush off Kerkar’s hip, again correctly spotted by eagle-eyed Dean, conceded the visitors a right wing corner, which Chalobah swung outward and Tommie Hoban headed home with the help of a deflection.

Boosted by their success, Gianfranco Zola’s curious combination of talented foreign strangers had been hitting an impressive stride. Dismissed a couple of years ago by deeply unpleasant West Ham owner David Sullivan for being “too nice” – hardly an accusation levelled at Sullivan himself – Zola’s perceived “softness” is exaggerated, though it’s hard to recall the diminutive genius ever resorting to anything underhand. He will certainly be remembered with affection long after Sullivan has disappeared back into Daily Sport’s woodwork. They say you only miss what you’ve got when it’s gone. An exception will be made in his case.

From the away dug-out, Zola was ideally positioned to appreciate, if not applaud, the beauty of Charlton’s somewhat unexpected equaliser. From left to right, Dale Stephens’ geometrically calculated diagonal pass demolished Watford’s central defence, leaving an alert Ricardo Fuller to compose himself before slotting past an oncoming Manuel Almunia. Both metronomic assist and appropriately cool finish would have left Zola purring under different circumstances.

Using their numerical advantage, the Addicks set about their depleted visitors after the break. Fuller’s typical persistence created an opening, through which Bradley Wright-Phillips burst to sting Almunia’s palms, then Fuller turned sharply again to thread his strike partner through but Wright-Phillips, under pressure from the ominously named Brazilian Neuton, scooped his shot over the bar. A stream of one-way traffic ended with Fuller forcing another smart save from Almunia at the keeper’s near post.

Forestieri’s controversial departure had clearly inconvenienced the Hornets but they kept their heads and remained dangerous on the break. With 20 minutes remaining, they lifted the siege and regained the lead.

Irritating though it was to home fans, Dean was actually spot-on with most of his decisions. He called it right again when ruling that Leon Cort’s muscular challenge on Troy Deeney was illegal. From the resultant free kick, conceded some 20 yards to the left of Ben Hamer’s goal, Swiss midfielder Almen Abi, yet another of in-the-know Zola’s shrewd loan acquisitions from Udinese, curled a sumptuous shot into the top left corner.

The Addicks were stunned but gamely battled away. There wouldn’t be many Bob Dylan fans among them but it might interest them to hear the peerless old trouper maintaining that “the only thing I knew how to do was to keep on keepin’ on”, then putting his money where his mouth is by continuing to tour regularly in the autumn of an unforgettable career. Still forever young after 50 years in the big league.

In the short term at The Valley, Chris Solly crossed, Cort headed down but Stephens blasted a last chance over the bar. Over the longer haul, the Addicks must keep the faith, stick together and soldier on. It’s not dark yet. It’s getting there. But it’s not dark yet. Certainly not for Dylan. And, just as hopefully, not for Charlton. Relegation is unthinkable. Brings you out in sweats.

Charlton: Hamer, Wilson, Cort, Morrison, Solly, Green (Hulse 79), Hollands (Pritchard 79), Stephens, Kerkar, Fuller, Wright-Phillips. Not used: Button, Evina, Wagstaff, Razak, Dervite. Booked: Morrison, Green.

Watford: Almunia, Hogg, Hall, Neuton (Ekstrand 75), Pudil, Chalobah (Doyley 90), Hoban, Abdi, Cassetti, Deeney (Iwelumo 90), Forestieri. Not used: Bond, Yeates, Murray, Vydra. Booked: Forriestri, Pudil, Neuton, Abdi, Almunia. Sent off: Foriestri.

Referee: Mike Dean. Att: 15,585.

Kevin Nolan’s Match Report is brought to you in association with , 294 Burnt Ash Hill, London, SE12 0QD.

Charlton 1 (Jackson 27) Blackburn Rovers 1 (Etuhu 16).

Kevin Nolan reports from The Valley.

Makers of their own misery, Blackburn Rovers, or Venkys (India) Ltd as they are better known, arrived at The Valley one item light in the baggage they’ve lugged around with them for nearly two years now. Overnight, it was announced, their tormented manager Steve Kean had left the club, his departure as clouded in controversy as had been his wretched time in charge.

Kean’s questionable ability as a manager had long since become irrelevant alongside the shameful treatment he regularly received from fans and owners alike. A few hundred of the former were on hand yesterday to gloat over their triumph in ridding themselves of their detested quarry; the latter were keeping a rare silence, with even garrulous spokesman Shebby Singh chickening out of comment. Pity the poor sod who follows Kean into this hen coop.

Buoyed by last week’s win at Ipswich, Charlton boss Chris Powell had problems of his own. Already deprived of injured stalwarts Rhoys Wiggins and Yann Kermorgant, he was further rocked by the last minute withdrawal of virus victim Ricardo Fuller. The subsequent second half hamstring tweak sustained by goalscoring captain Johnnie Jackson was almost a straw too many.

Powell solved the loss of Fuller by recalling Danny Hollands and pushing Jackson into that mythical “hole” behind hardgrafting Bradley Wright-Phillips. This tactical newspeak was once clarified by England U-21 manager Stuart Pearce, who explained that “Sturridge played more as a striker, dropping off in behind.” It really couldn’t be clearer. Do keep up.

After 90 spirited minutes, Powell could take heart in the response he received from his depleted squad. Until his untimely departure, the irrepressible Jackson was in fine form, shaking off the disappointment of a 26th minute missed penalty with the perfect riposte of a 27th minute equaliser. His zesty replacement, Bradley Pritchard, contributed manfully to the second battering, which had Rovers hanging on for a point they hardly deserved.

It was not part of the plan, of course, to concede the visitors an early lead. Apart from a snapshot dragged across goal by a lively Salim Kerkar, the opening exchanges had been perfunctory until a fine diamond-shaped bout of passing, finished off at the sharp end by strikers Jordan Rhodes and Nuno Gomes, carved out the chance hammered past Ben Hamer by muscular midfielder Dickson Etuhu. Claims that the scorer was offside were made more in hope than anger.

Stung by the reverse, the Addicks trailed for less than a quarter hour. Carl Cort had already powered Danny Green’s great cross narrowly over the bar when Morten Gamst Pedersen and Scott Dann ganged up illegally to prevent the big centre back from connecting with an accurate free kick from Lawrie Wilson (more encouragement for Powell from this improving newcomer). Local heads dropped as Jackson’s firm penalty was saved by Paul Robinson’s trailing legs but the taker’s chagrin and the keeper’s jubilation were almost as quickly reversed.

Rovers’ defence had shepherded the rebound out of play on the relative security of the right touchline but Green’s long throw instantly put them back in trouble. A scuffed clearance was returned by Hollands’ bouncing volley and involuntarily turned past Robinson by an unspecified part of Jackson’s physiogomy, or “fizzog” old-timers used to call it.

Green’s heartening pick-up in form, meanwhile, was gathering pace. His cutback cross was met by Kerkar but blocked by Gael Givet before the winger’s clever footwork created space for an unlucky drive against the right post.

With the bit between their teeth, Charlton overcame the loss of Jackson to dominate the second period. A flurry of chances commenced with Paul Robinson clawing Cort’s header off the line, then intensified as Kerkar’s free kick was headed goalward by Michael Morrison and deflected to safety off an unwitting Wright-Phillips. Enjoying the run of the ball, Nunes interrupted the one-way traffic to shoot inches too high but the Addicks continued to call the tune, with only Robinson’s outstanding goalkeeping standing between them and a vital victory.

Robinson’s instinctive reaction to keep out Green’s typically long range rocket was special enough. But his athletic added-time save which conjured Wright-Phillips’ acrobatic overhead effort over the bar reminded us of a time when he protected England’s goal. Odd that his understudy at Ewood Park is one Jake Kean. Bit of an unfortunate surname, Jake. No relation, we take it. But keep a bag packed just in case.

Charlton: Hamer, Wilson, Cort, Morrison, Solly, Green, Hollands, Stephens, Kerkar (Evina 90), Jackson (Pritchard 53), Wright-Phillips. Not used: Button, Wagstaff, Cook, Smith, Dervite.

Blackburn: Robinson, Orr, Givet (Hanley 46), Dann, Olsson, Lowe, Murphy, Etuhu, Pedersen, Nuno Gomes (Dunn 73), Rhodes. Not used: Kean, Nunes, Formica, Rochina, Ribeiro. Booked: Murphy, Lowe.

Att: 17,169. Referee: Darren Deadman.

Kevin Nolan’s Match Report is brought to you in association with , 294 Burnt Ash Hill, London, SE12 0QD.

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.

Kevin Nolan’s Match Report is brought to you in association with , 294 Burnt Ash Hill, London, SE12 0QD.

Derby County 3 (Ward 7,64 pen, Bryson 53) Charlton 2 (Green 70, Kermorgant 73).

Kevin Nolan reports from Pride Park.

Reduced to familiar desperation and shameless timewasting, Derby County became the latest of Charlton’s conquerors to greet the final whistle with the relief shared by the survivors of Rorke’s Drift. Okay, this wasn’t as important but you get the Drift.

At the City Ground recently, Nottm Forest dramatically degenerated into a haggard shadow of a side that had effortlessly dominated all but 15 minutes of a one-sided game. To a lesser extent at The Valley last Friday, Crystal Palace, though clearly the better team, were grateful for a last-ditch goalline clearance, not to mention a wrongly disallowed “goal”, in protecting their hard-won advantage.

The point is, of course that although both Forest and Palace buckled under late pressure, they had already done enough to win. So too did Derby County, who clung on to a 3-0 lead, generously donated to them by their victims. It becomes essential for Charlton to make these plucky rallies unnecessary by simply getting about their business earlier. Their early passivity must give way to a more up-and-at-’em spirit from the off. Otherwise, a long gruelling season looms before them. As, actually, it already does.

It hardly needs pointing out that the Addicks must also address the chaotic defending which practically gift-wrapped victory for County. The opener, crisply volleyed by Jamie Ward in the 7th minute, can probably be excused, though Michael Morrison’s clearing header lacked power and direction. The second half goals, however, were criminal acts.

Ward’s strike should have been promptly doubled but Connor Sammon, slipped through cleverly by Craig Bryson, haplessly shovelled his shot over the bar. The irrepressible Ward then linked intelligently with Will Hughes before hitting the sidenet from an acute angle. The visitors’ listlessness, meanwhile, lifted briefly when Gareth Roberts hacked Johnnie Jackson’s netbound header off the line.

With dreary predictability, Charlton’s already bleak prospects nosedived beyond redemption early in the second half. Two further goals, both of them comically donated to the Pride Park cause, made their plight hopeless. Not completely hopeless, as it turned out, but pretty grim.

The first of them was a disaster for Dale Stephens, the main object of speculation during August’s transfer window. A proposed transfer to Aston Villa, whose manager Paul Lambert astutely nurtures lower league talent, promised to cap a meteoric rise for the former Bury midfielder. But the move fell through amid rumours that Charlton’s hardball bluff had been called by Villa. Left out of the Forest fixture to recover from his disappointment, Stephens has cut a distracted, detached figure since the controversy.

Frequently guilty of giving the ball away on Tuesday evening, Stephens capped – if that’s not an ill-chosen word- an absentminded contribution with an errant backpass, pounced on by Sammon but alertly blocked by Ben Hamer. Picking up the loose ball, Hughes set up Bryson for a scruffy finish at the far post.

Restored to the line-up in favour of the overwhelmed Brady Pritchard, meanwhile, Danny Green is another enigmatic performer with a point to prove. His clumsy challenge on Ward, while covering Lawrie Wilson inside the area, wasn’t an ideal way to go about it and was rightly ruled illegal by on-the-spot referee David Phillips. Ward’s successful penalty seemed no more than a coup-de-grace at the time but, as the late drama unfolded, proved to be the winner, though not before Green proceeded from villain to hero in turning this one-sided game on its head.

The suddenly irresistible winger delivered an opening shot across County’s bows with an expertly delivered cross, which Yann Kermorgant twisted to head narrowly over the bar. But the goal that reduced Charlton’s arrears was something special.
With a reputation for explosive, long distance shooting, Green provided hard evidence by accepting Stephens’ routine pass, advancing into range, then detonating an unstoppable 30-yarder into the far left corner. His spectacular strike galvanised the Addicks and inspired Green to terrorise the suddenly rocky home defence. Making mincemeat of its cover, he burst to the right byline and speared a low cross to the near post, where Kermorgant capably sidefooted home.

Abruptly, the Rams’ superiority was exposed as bogus. Panic paralysed them, as their erstwhile victims set about them. They were clinging on like drunks to a gatepost by the time substitute Salim Kerkar directed Green’s last gasp corner goalward but Charlton’s frustration was exacerbated by right back John Brayford, who was tactically positioned under the bar to clear.

Now ensconced in the bottom three, Charlton have been served notice that this tough Championship campaign bears little resemblance to the league, through which they marched triumphantly last season. The fightback starts now. At fellow strugglers Ipswich on Saturday. It might be still September but that’s a relegation six-pointer. And you’re in trouble until you get out of it.

Derby: Fielding, Brayford, Keogh, O’Connor (Buxton 82), Roberts, Coutts, Bryson, Hendrick (Robinson 89), Hughes, Ward, Sammon. Not used: Jacobs, Legzdins, Doyle, Gjokaj, Freeman. Booked: Bryson, O’Connor.

Charlton: Hamer, Wilson, Cort, Morrison, Solly, Green, Stephens, Hollands (Kerkar 60), Jackson, Wright-Phillips (Fuller 60), Kermorgant. Not used: Button, Evina, Pritchard, Smith, Dervite. Booked: Stephens.

Att: 20,063. Referee: David Phillips.

Kevin Nolan’s Match Report is brought to you in association with , 294 Burnt Ash Hill, London, SE12 0QD.

Charlton 0 Crystal Palace 1 (Dikgacoi 51).

Maintaining his urbane and affable persona in the aftermath of defeat by bitter rivals Crystal Palace, a smiling Chris Powell was the very model of diplomacy in masking his disappointment. What you saw was what you got – but not what he felt.

Charlton’s fiercely competitive boss is clearly no believer in that guff spouted by Rudyard Kipling about treating triumph and disaster as peas from the same pod. For Powell-and all football managers- winning is everything, losing a festering heap of nothing. The draw offers a face-saving third outcome, of course, one overlooked by Kipling and one which, but for an ill-judged first half offside flag, would have eased Powell’s mind somewhat.

Palace edged an uneventful opening half hour, while neglecting the importance of turnng their marginal control into tangible reward. They were the better side, though, with the Addicks’ prospects hardly improved by the loss, on 22 minutes, of foot injury victim Rhoys Wiggins. Lawrie Wilson replaced him, with Chris Solly switching to left back, where he inherited from Wiggins the unenviable task of subduing Palace’s brilliant right winger Wilfried Zaha. Charlton’s nuggety defender made a fair fist of it.

In the early going, the visitors had gone close through Yannick Bolasie, who fired Zaha’s cute cutback wastefully over the bar, then even closer when Leon Cort hacked Owen Garvan’s unconvincing effort off the line, again from Zaha’s intelligent probing; Bolasie was equally off target after cutting inside Wilson.

At the other end, Bradley Wright-Phillips came within straining inches of converting Bradley Pritchard’s dipping cross at the far post before, just past the half hour, becoming the centre of a controversy which rubbed salt into Powell’s painfully concealed irritation.

Cynically fouled by Mile Jedinak as he escaped the Australian’s attentions dangerously close to goal, Wright-Phillips appeared to have delivered the perfect riposte moments later. Losing his marker as Cort nodded Wilson’s flighted free kick back from the far post, the slim marksman buried an emphatic header past Julian Speroni; his celebrations were instantly stifled by an offside verdict which must charitably be excused as an honest mistake. TV replays clarified later that Cort was indisputably onside, as was Wright-Phillips, lent legitimacy by the prone figure of Darcy Blake, who had lost his footing and lay clearly goalside of the “scorer” as Cort headed forward and the striker made his move.

Calm and collected, Powell graciously accepted the apology of the offending official but quietly made the point that, at 1-0, the direction of this important game would have been altered. His equally youthful opposite number, Dougie Freedman, tentatively agreed but just as quietly observed that “some you get, some you don’t.” With Yann Kermorgant’s contentiously disallowed effort against Hull City still fresh in his memory, Powell would be forgiven for wondering whether he had somehow missed a turn. Anyway, Freeman got this one and, for a second time, Powell didn’t. That’s just how it’s going for Charlton at the moment.

Relieved by the escape, the Eagles got on top. Zaha drove wide, then Bolasie dragged a low shot across goal. Johnnie Jackson’s free kick provided Speroni with a little exercise before the interval but the momentum was with the confident visitors. Shortly after the break, they grabbed the lead their superiority had been threatening.

A spate of right wing corners, swung in wickedly by Garvan, proved Charlton’s undoing. The latest of them was headed back deliberately by Damien Delaney, skilfully chest-controlled by Kagisho Dikgacoi and lashed violently past Ben Hamer. Once again, though for different reasons, the celebrations behind the away goal were mighty.

Powell responded by introducing Ricardo Fuller for a strangely muted Jackson, with the newcomer making an immediate impact. Meeting Wilson’s precisely angled pass from the right byline, Fuller blazed an acceptable chance wide. He was wayward again when heading Solly’s cross past the left post, before sending a wildly deflected drive against the bar, with Speroni grasping at air. As the Addicks desperately tightened the screw, Palace wilted as Forest had done in similar circumstances two weeks ago.

Once again, unhappily, the Addicks came up short, certainly through no fault of Hamer’s. Joining the onslaught as Dale Stephens prepared a last gasp corner from the left, the keeper met the inswinger with a firm header, which beat Speroni but not Garvan, who capped an influential contribution by alertly clearing off the line. The never-say-die Hamer was far from finished, sending the rebound over the bar with an ambitious, overhead effort, adding to the frustration piled on over 18,00 of the fans inside The Valley. This defeat was a disaster and if Rudyard Kipling was still around, most of them would have been happy to explain why. Bloody poets. Never in touch with real life. Get down the football, mate. Then you might know what you’re talking about.

Charlton: Hamer, Solly, Cort, Morrison, Wiggins (Wilson 22), Pritchard (Green 77), Stephens, Hollands, Jackson (Fuller 58), Wright-Phillips, Kermorgant. Not used: Button, Dervite, Kerkar, Smith. Booked: Wilson, Stephens.

Crystal Palace: Speroni, Blake, Ramage, Delaney, Parr, Dikgacoi, Jedinak, Zaha (Ward 90), Garvan, Bolasie (Williams 74), Murray (Wilbraham 87). Not used: Price, Moxey, Moritz, Goodwillie. Booked: Jedinak, Bolasie, Murray.

Referee: A. Bates. Att: 21,730.

Kevin Nolan’s Match Report is brought to you in association with , 294 Burnt Ash Hill, London, SE12 0QD.

Nottingham Forest 2 (McGugan 18, Hutchinson 75) Charlton 1 (Camp o.g.88).

Kevin Nolan reports from the City Ground.

Beaten comfortably despite the deceptively narrow scoreline, Charlton were handed another reminder that the Championship will present a far stiffer challenge than League One, through which they cruised last season. There’s a world of difference in the levels which makes the nature of this defeat- as much as the defeat itself- a matter for concern.

During the first half at the City Ground, they chased shadows as Forest effortlessly passed, moved and hogged possession. Pushed firmly on to the back foot and unrecognisable from the eager, energetic side that took the fight to Birmingham City in their opening away game, the Addicks were as much surprised as grateful to retire at half-time only a goal down. A goal which, incidentally, was warmly disputed.

At the break, Forest themselves might have rued the lack of killer instinct which had let their hapless victims off the hook. The 8th minute miss by Adlene Guedioura was typical of their profligacy. Set up by Andy Reid’s astute cutback from the left byline, the Algerian international blasted wildly against the crossbar.

Guedioura’s blushes were spared less than ten minutes later when his side grabbed a slightly contentious lead. In an innocuous scuffle with Simon Cox on the left touchline, Chris Solly’s six-of-one offence was no more illegal than Cox’s half-dozen-of-the-other riposte. What should diplomatically have been a Charlton throw was ruled, by easily influenced referee Graham Salisbury, to be a Forest free kick, which is where setpiece specialist Lewis McGugan came into his own. McGugan’s right-footed delivery zipped through a congested penalty area, deceived a distracted Ben Hamer and found the bottom far corner.

The goal was no more than dominant Forest deserved, though they proved reluctant to build on the advantage. McGugan went close with a quickthinking snapshot, which deflected off Leon Cort, wrongfooted Hamer, but flew wide. Another effort from the talented midfielder was fielded competently by Hamer before the break.

Having failed to “turn up”, Charlton had completed the first period without troubling Lee Camp. A minute after resumption, Jordan Cook’s low drive at least caused Camp brief embarrassment but there was little else to worry Forest. Instead, the Trentsiders turned the screw again, with Guedioura’s vicious drive deflecting to safety off a colleague, before Cox broke away to shoot tamely at Hamer. Their lack of ruthlessness was leaving them vulnerable, even to toothless opposition such as this when they apparently moved into clear water with a brilliant, though again slightly controversial, second goal.

If Solly’s earlier “offence” was deemed illegal, then the hefty challenge from Dexter Blackstock which flattened Rhoys Wiggins simply had to be outside the law. Not so, ruled Salisbury, and Blackstock certainly made the most of his leniency. His adroitly scooped pass was skilfully controlled on his chest by rampaging right back Sam Hutchinson and slotted coolly past the advancing Hamer. At last Forest – and their increasingly anxious supporters – could relax. Or could they?

Danny Haynes had already replaced Cook in a bid to add extra pace but it was the 81st minute introductions of Salim Kerkar and Ricardo Fuller, which sent shock waves coursing through suddenly spooked Forest.

Powerful and experienced, Fuller terrorised the Midlanders. His breathtaking control of a huge Hamer punt announced his arrival before, with three minutes of normal time remaining, he was the catalyst in reducing the newly galvanised visitors’ arrears. Perfectly positioned as Solly sprinted on to Yann Kermorgant’s through pass, the seasoned veteran hit the right post with a firm header; the rebound struck Camp’s leg on its way back and dribbled over the line.

Camp’s inadvertent own goal panicked his side. From complete control, they were reduced to an anywhere-will-do rabble, hanging on for dear life to a victory which had seemed a matter of routine until self-doubt riddled their ranks. They were living on their nerves as Fuller broke through weak challenges on the right byline and crossed for Kerkar to volley against Daniel Ayala’s body, with optimistic appeals for a penalty rightly dismissed by the ubiquitous Salisbury. No chance of this pedantic official righting two earlier wrongs with a book-balancing third intervention in Charlton’s favour. Too much to ask. Not that they really deserved a break anyway.

Nottm Forest: Camp, Hutchinson, Ayala, Collins, Halford, McGugan (Moussi 83), Guedioura, Gillett, Reid, Coppinger (86), Blackstock, Cox (Sharp 80). Not used: Evtimov, Harding, Moloney, Majewski. Booked: Giedioura, Blackstock, Cox.

Charlton: Hamer, Solly, Cort, Morrison, Wiggins, Pritchard, Hollands (Kerkar 81), Cook (Haynes 59), Jackson, Wright-Phillips (Fuller 81), Kermorgant. Not used: Button, Green, Wilson, Dervite. Booked: Hamer, Morrison, Jackson.

Referee: Graham Salisbury. Att: 19,745.

Kevin Nolan’s Match Report is brought to you in association with , 294 Burnt Ash Hill, London, SE12 0QD.

Charlton 0 Hull City 0

Kevin Nolan reports from The Valley.

In the aftermath of their brief, unequal struggle in the Premier League, Hull City have comfortably found their feet back in the Championship. A respectable 11th position in 2010-11 was improved by a solid 8th placed finish last season – eight points short of the play-offs. As an accurate gauge of Charlton’s credentials at this higher level, the Tigers fitted the bill perfectly.

Still unbeaten after three stern tests, the Addicks can be pleased with this hard won point. They might, in fact, have grabbed all three but for the intervention of an over-zealous linesman, whose hasty -and, frankly, incomprehensible offside flag- denied them a second half winner. In a game of inches, this boss-eyed decision was miles out.

The naked eye suggested- and subsequent TV evidence established- that Bradley Wright-Phillips was clearly onside when he bustled possession away from a startled Abdoulaye Faye before having his shot alertly parried by Ben Amos. From the edge of the penalty area, Yann Kermorgant efficently speared the rebound into the centre of Amos’ goal but had his celebrations cruelly cut short. Football’s masonic secrecy denied us an explanation at the time, while the Football League show typically tackled the issue by sidestepping the incident later on; controversy is anathema to Maniche and the gang. They were similarly reticent in dealing with Joe Dudgeon’s arms-aloft handling of Bradley Pritchard’s shot in the late going. Least said, soonest mended, that’s their watchword.

That’s not to deny that City were well worth their share of the spoils. Fluent, organised and confident, they were a different breed altogether from last season’s petrified League One sides, whose preoccupation it was to stifle enterprise in search of survival. The Humbersiders might well have won this lively game if they hadn’t encountered Ben Hamer in sparkling form.

Slow to win grudging acceptance at an initially reluctant Valley, after Rob Elliot chose lucrative obscurity at Newcastle over hard graft at home, Hamer was a vital cog in Charlton’s title-winning machine. As an English-born goalkeeper, his rich promise at this higher level will hopefully remain a well-kept secret until one of our Continent-obsessed Premier League managers comes to his senses.

Cool and composed, Hamer began a fine afternoon’s work by denying Sone Aluko at close range. Played through by Corry Evans, the elusive Nigerian drew a bead on the near corner but by “making himself big”, the 24 year-old blocked the shot, with Nick Proschwitz making a hash of converting the rebound.

In City’s goal, meanwhile, young Manchester United loanee Amos was proving equally difficult to beat. His early sprawling save from Wright-Phillips crisp drive was bettered by the effort he produced to deny the luckless Kermorgant in the 37th minute. Meeting Johnnie Jackson’s low centre on the volley, the Frenchman’s whiplashed volley was screaming inside the left post until Amos plunged full length to save. At both ends, we were being treated to goalkeeping of outstanding quality.

Acquired from Glasgow Rangers in the wake of the Scottish giants’ fall from grace, Aluko was a mobile handful. Immediately after the break, a magnificent tackle by Rhoys Wiggins was required to halt the Nigerian striker in his tracks. A minute later, the disallowed “goal” took the wind out of the Addicks’ sails but, in a torrential downpour, the exchanges between these well-matched sides continued unabated. In Wagnerian harmony, thunder crashed, lightning flashed but the action raged unabated. Betrayed by the suddenly treacherous conditions, big Leon Cort slipped momentarily but recovered to dispossess Proschwitz. With the Addicks weakening, Robert Koren’s volley slipped past the right post as the Tigers got on top.

Deep into added time, the visitors were denied twice, nay thrice, by Hamer. The double save which kept out substitute Jay Simpson and Aluko was stunning; responding to Simpson’s low point-blank effort, Hamer could do no more than instinctively beat the ball to Aluko’s feet; throwing out a reflex left hand, he miraculously diverted the dead cert follow-up past his left post. Confirmation of his heroics to a gobsmacked crowd was provided by the award of a corner; most of them were searching for the ball in the net. Hamer’s safe handling of Simpson’s last gasp shot on the turn was routine by comparison. It ensured the goalless draw which was no more than two fine young goalkeepers deserved. Charlton have stepped up in class and are coping well. Could have been even better, though, but for that interfering linesman!

Charlton: Hamer, Solly, Cort, Morrison, Wiggins, Pritchard, Hollands, Stephens, Jackson. Kermorgant, Wright-Phillips. Not used: Sullivan, Dervite, Green, Kerkar, Cook, Wilson, Smith.

Hull City: Amos, Rosenior, Faye, Chester, Dudgeon, Evans, Bruce (McShane 63), Koren, McKenna, Aluko, Proschwitz (Simpson 72). Not used: Oxley, Stewart, McLean, Cairney, Olofinjana.

Referee: Simon Hooper. Att: 16,202.

Kevin Nolan’s Match Report is brought to you in association with , 294 Burnt Ash Hill, London, SE12 0QD.