Charlton Athletic 1 v 2 Brighton and Hove Albion

Tuesday 23rd February 2010
Football League 1
The Valley, Charlton
Admission: £17.00 (North Stand Upper)
Programme: £3.00
Attendance: 17508
Match Rating: 2

It was the case of return of the prodigal son this evening…after being a season ticket holder at Charlton for many years and a few wretchedly dire performances too many from the Addicks, this was my first return to The Valley since allowing my season ticket to lapse at the end of last season. Some things never change…a dire midweek performance at home against a team, on paper at least, Charlton really should have beaten.

I purchased my ticket from the Charlton website – not particularly necessary these days with every game being well below capacity, but this does ensure that I could choose exactly where I wanted to sit – in the Upper North Stand, behind the goal, with an excellent view of the pitch, although as is common in the North Stand, the seating is cramped and uncomfortable. The Valley is an excellent facility these days, at least on three sides, which all have modern grandstands with excellent views and nothing to obscure the view of the pitch. However the fourth side, behind the goal which accommodates away supporters is certainly showing its age and looks somewhat out of place compared with the other stands.

Charlton would have had to be considered favourites going into this game, up in fourth place in the league and with Brighton struggling in the relegation zone. However that does not tell the true story about the current form of the two sides with Charlton having recorded just one win in their last six games, all against very average opposition, whereas Brighton were unlucky to lose to Norwich and even more unlucky to concede a last minute equaliser at Leeds, and are certainly a much improved outfit since Gus Poyet took over.

On a cold, wet and misty evening, which claimed most non-league games in the south-east this evening, the pitch was in, by modern standards, a poor condition, in places extremely muddy causing the ball to hold up markedly. The game started as might be expected, Charlton having most of the possession although Brighton always looked moderately threatening whenever they ventured forwards. On the half hour, shortly after Charlton had two shots blocked in quick succession, Brighton's Spanish full-back, Inigo Calderon stormed forward from inside his own half almost unopposed before unleashing a powerful low drive to the keeper's right from 20 yards out, helped by a sizeable deflection off of the Charlton defender, Miguel Llera. The second half followed a similar pattern to the first, Charlton having more possession and some good chances to score without ever really looking convincing, whilst Brighton sporadically looked dangerous on the break. On 78 minutes, Brighton seemingly put the game beyond doubt, when a poor clearance from the Charlton keeper, Rob Elliott, was seized upon and Elliot Bennett fired home a powerful drive into the bottom corner from 25 yards out. Charlton managed to pull a goal back through Akpo Sodje, when he latched on to a long ball and poked past the Brighton keeper. However, this was almost the last kick of the game and on the final whistle, the Charlton players were subjected to a chorus of loud boos, which seemed fair after a performance that seemed to lack passion, cohesion and concentration. As a result of this game, Charlton lost further ground on the automatic promotion places, whereas Brighton pulled out of the relegation zone.