Football League One
Crown Ground, Accrington
Admission: £20.00
Programme: £3.00
Attendance: 2,265 (678 away fans)
Match Rating: 3
As I approach completion of the 92, this was a Charlton away day that I looked out for on fixture release day, when it came as a big relief that it the game was scheduled for a Saturday, and outside of the winter months, to enable me to tick off the furthest ground I had not previously visited of the 92.
Having set off from home at just before 6 to arrive in Bromley in time for the Charlton coach leaving at 7.40, some heavy traffic on the A1 following an accident around Doncaster meant that we arrived at the ground at just after 2. The stadium is quite attractively decorated around the outside with club signage, but there are just various small buildings and huts housing the club shop, ticket and programme sales, which is the first indication of what a small ground this is, very much having the feeling of being a non-league ground - which in fairness is exactly what it was up to 2006, and the level of support Accrington attract has not really made any expansion particularly necessary or urgent. Visiting fans are allocated quite a large uncovered terrace behind one of the goals - so it was a considerable relief that it did not rain today. Facilities in the away end are pretty basic, with a bar housed in hut more common to sell programmes from, a larger burger van/trailer, and toilets provided in portakabins. Behind the other goal there is a covered terrace, whilst along one of the lengths, there are two stands joined together offering seating with quite a low relief and having about a dozen rows at most. The remaining length is something of a building site at the moment, with only the foundations and metal supports in place, after the previous stand along that length was demolished during the summer and will be replaced with a modern all-seater stand later in the season, and which looks like being a similar in size to the other stands within the ground. After Football League clubs voted to end the compulsory issuing of match day programmes over the summer, it was a small relief that Accrington do indeed still produce programmes. And it was a decent publication too, 64 pages in full colour with plenty to read.
With Charlton still being owned by the disinterested Roland Duchâtelet, after a takeover looked tantalisingly close during the close season only for the trail to go quiet, it has been difficult to feel that optimistic about the season ahead, with a threadbare squad depleted further by long term injuries and with a couple of notable exceptions, bolstered mainly by young loan signings. But the one shining light is the manager Lee Bowyer, who somehow seems to have injected some belief into the squad, resulting in optimism levels rising higher. After losing at Sunderland 1-2 on the opening day after conceding a goal deep into added on time having led at half time, Charlton scored a winner in added on time last Saturday, gaining a small amount of revenge against the team that knocked them out of the play-offs season, Shrewsbury. Although Charlton lost 3-0 at MK Dons in midweek, it was a reserve team that took to the field in that game. Having been promoted last season, Accrington came into this game with a similar record to Charlton, losing their opening game at home to Gillingham 0-2, before beating Bristol Rovers 1-2 away. They also had a disappointing time in the League Cup, listing 6-1 at Mansfield. Technically, today would be the first time that Accrington Stanley had ever played against Charlton Athletic, although the previous incarnation of Accrington Stanley played Charlton in an FA Cup tie back in 1924.
On a very overcast afternoon, the game was quite even in the opening stages, and it was Charlton who took the lead on 15 minutes, when left back Lewis Page crossed the ball beautifully from the left, and Karlan Ahearne-Grant headed the ball from a central position past the keeper and against the underside of the bar, and the linesman ruled that the ball bounced just over the line before bouncing out. Charlton then went on to have a good spell, and within a couple of minutes, Grant fired a low shot from outside the area which went just wide of the post. Accrington did not really threaten for most of the half, but their best chance came in the final minute, Billy Kee sending a glancing header just wide of the far post.
Charlton continued to have the better of things in the second half, having a few unthreatening attempts at goal before, on 73 minutes, George Lapslie drove through the midfield from the centre circle to the penalty area before laying the ball off to Grant who dribbled well past a couple of defenders before striking a shot which hit the near post but as the angle was tight, he probably should have tried to find a team mate. That was to spark the hosts into life, who upped their game and were the better side for the remainder of the match, on 78 minutes the equalised. After Sam Finley sent in a low cross into the box and after an initial shot by Sean McConville was blocked, and then Offrande Zanzala's shot was well parried by keeper Dillon Phillips, Jordan Clarke fired the ball across the keeper and into the net. Accrington then looked the more likely to nick a winner, although both sides had half chances, but it was Charlton who had the final chance of the game with the last kick of the game when Grant struck a free kick from 30 yards, but the ball went just wide.
A point apiece was probably a fair result overall, with neither side doing enough to deserve the win, and a point will probably be valuable to Accrington in their surely inevitable battle against relegation, and a welcome point from a trip to the north for Charlton, for whom mid-table obscurity surely beckons.
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