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| Its a Marathon, not a Sprint |
The game at the Valley may have been an ugly affair but Charlton fans are used to that and it's three more points in the bag for the team. Amazingly, our tally of 61 points and ninth position has only now just secured our place in the Championship for next year with two games remaining. This shows you just how competitive things are in this league and will lead to a real dog fight over the night fortnight from the teams below us. According to the Football League show there are no less than 15 clubs still in the mix to go down.
Excellent reports of the match can be found on the official Charlton site and my fellow bloggers shown on the right but as always I offer my thoughts on a few moments during the match.
Earlier in the day Dean Saunders had said that Wolves were the in form team having won eight points in fifteen games. He conveniently forgot that Charlton also had the same tally. Wolves had previously lost to Huddersfield but had impressively beaten Hull in their last game on Tuesday, so the Valley faithful were wondering which team would turn up.
On nine minutes young Callum Harriott showed us why he is an automatic pick for the first team with a magnificent dribble of the ball down the left wing. He is also now linking up nicely with Rhoys Wiggins in the manner that Jackson so capably did in last year's successful league one season, and lead to the build up for our winning goal.
There was a slight comedy moment on ten minutes when the Wolves physio appeared to pinch and hide the ball as it came off the pitch so he could attend to an injured player. Unfortunately it looked like Andrew Hughes ongoing injury problems caught up with him at the same time and he was substituted by on loan Gower. After a few dodgy touches he found his form and linked up well in midfield.
Karl Henry almost provided the goal of the day to embarrass Charlton and Ben Hamer in goal when his 45 yard kick hit the crossbar.
There was another odd moment when a free kick was given and the ball stopped right by the Linesman (they will always be a "lino" to me rather than an assistant referee) but miles away from any player and who then refused to kick the ball back. This meant a comical wait for the Wolves goalkeeper to walk 25 yards to retrieve the ball right next to the official. I know it's somewhere in the rules but it really looks like a "Jobsworth" to me when this happens and I wonder if anyone can explain the reason behind this bizarre practice?
Our 2-1 win was like the dogged and scrappy wins of old with a well deserved lead, being taken back by some sloppy defending and goal keeping only for a last gasp winner from a Charlton super substitute. Sounds familiar?
Like cigarette packs, our season tickets really should carry a health warning on them that watching the Addicks is not good for your health, especially when there are six minutes of additional time against a team scrapping for their Championship status. The number of times fans had to gasp and cringe in the game, I'm surprised that we don't have more casualties amongst the supporters from heart palpitations and other related ailments. I jest of course and its all worth it when you walk away from the ground with a smile on your face.
Previously I have argued that Fuller needs to start to get the best out of him. However, he looked a little tired on Saturday's game and given the impact that Obika has made in the last few games by scoring our winning goals, he deserves a chance to show us what he can do for the final two games. Let's see if Chris Powell agrees.
No match photos from me today so I leave you with a picture of Sunday's marathon which went off peacefully.
Excellent reports of the match can be found on the official Charlton site and my fellow bloggers shown on the right but as always I offer my thoughts on a few moments during the match.
Earlier in the day Dean Saunders had said that Wolves were the in form team having won eight points in fifteen games. He conveniently forgot that Charlton also had the same tally. Wolves had previously lost to Huddersfield but had impressively beaten Hull in their last game on Tuesday, so the Valley faithful were wondering which team would turn up.
On nine minutes young Callum Harriott showed us why he is an automatic pick for the first team with a magnificent dribble of the ball down the left wing. He is also now linking up nicely with Rhoys Wiggins in the manner that Jackson so capably did in last year's successful league one season, and lead to the build up for our winning goal.
There was a slight comedy moment on ten minutes when the Wolves physio appeared to pinch and hide the ball as it came off the pitch so he could attend to an injured player. Unfortunately it looked like Andrew Hughes ongoing injury problems caught up with him at the same time and he was substituted by on loan Gower. After a few dodgy touches he found his form and linked up well in midfield.
Karl Henry almost provided the goal of the day to embarrass Charlton and Ben Hamer in goal when his 45 yard kick hit the crossbar.
There was another odd moment when a free kick was given and the ball stopped right by the Linesman (they will always be a "lino" to me rather than an assistant referee) but miles away from any player and who then refused to kick the ball back. This meant a comical wait for the Wolves goalkeeper to walk 25 yards to retrieve the ball right next to the official. I know it's somewhere in the rules but it really looks like a "Jobsworth" to me when this happens and I wonder if anyone can explain the reason behind this bizarre practice?
Our 2-1 win was like the dogged and scrappy wins of old with a well deserved lead, being taken back by some sloppy defending and goal keeping only for a last gasp winner from a Charlton super substitute. Sounds familiar?
Like cigarette packs, our season tickets really should carry a health warning on them that watching the Addicks is not good for your health, especially when there are six minutes of additional time against a team scrapping for their Championship status. The number of times fans had to gasp and cringe in the game, I'm surprised that we don't have more casualties amongst the supporters from heart palpitations and other related ailments. I jest of course and its all worth it when you walk away from the ground with a smile on your face.
Previously I have argued that Fuller needs to start to get the best out of him. However, he looked a little tired on Saturday's game and given the impact that Obika has made in the last few games by scoring our winning goals, he deserves a chance to show us what he can do for the final two games. Let's see if Chris Powell agrees.
No match photos from me today so I leave you with a picture of Sunday's marathon which went off peacefully.
