EFL Championship
The Valley, Charlton
Admission: Season Ticket
Programme: £3.00
Attendance: 17,848 (2,340 away)
So, the day finally arrived when, after four seasons without a Charlton season ticket, I would return. My absence had been due to a combination of factors - initially wanting a break to enjoy more regular groundhopping, and then I became ever more disillusioned with the club under the erratic (to put it kindly) ownership of Roland Duchatelet as the atmosphere became ever more toxic. However, Lee Bowyer has injected plenty of the feel-good factor back into the club over the last year, which culminated in the remarkable play-off final victory back in May. Partly seduced by that, and also a very reasonable price of £220, I decided to buy a season ticket for this season, choosing a spot towards the back of the lower tier of the Covered End - newly renamed after previously officially being known as the North Stand.
It has certainly been an interesting time for Charlton since that glorious play-off final win at Wembley in late May. The elation soon have way to concern that most of the squad would be out of contract during the summer, and the club being paralyzed in terms of progress thanks to Duchâtelet's inability to sell the club as he insists he wants to and keeping the playing budget to the absolute minimum, and for a short time, it even looked manager Lee Bowyer would not have his contract renewed as the club announced they were unable to agree terms. The next morning he was, but it was an episode that encapsulates the farcical nature of Duchâtelet's ownership. And since then, things have actually looked increasingly positive for the club, as Bowyer and Head of Recruitment Steve Gallen have slowly but surely accumulated an impressive batch of generally young, hungry and skilful players, to offer hope that survival in the Championship would not be fanciful thinking.
Those feelings were reinforced with a terrific win at Blackburn Rovers on the opening day of the season, Ben Purrington and Lyle Taylor getting the goals in a 1-2 win. Stoke, who finished in 16th place in their first season back in the Championship following relegation from the Premier League, lost their opening fixture 1-2 at home to QPR.
On a mainly overcast afternoon, but with the odd rain shower, the opening 20 minutes were quite even, but on 25 minutes, Charlton took the lead. Jonathan Leko, who had only signed on loan on Thursday, chipped a diagonal ball to Lyle Taylor by the outer corner of the penalty area, who then cut inside before smashing the ball from the edge of the area past Jack Butland, who might have done better as the ball almost went through him. Stoke came close in the 34th minute when Scott Hogan's strike hit the cross bar via a deflection, but they were level on 37 minutes. A ball forward was headed into the path of Tom Ince, who ran forward before thumping the ball home from 25 yards, beating Dillon Phillips at his near post. Similar to Charlton's goal, it was a very, very good strike, but the keeper probably should have done better. Stoke went on to have a good spell, and hit the woodwork again just before half time, Lee Gregory's shot taking a deflection before hitting the far post.
So 1-1 was the half time scoreline, and the game was evenly poised, with a feeling it could go either way. There were plenty of nervy moments at the back, with dangerous passes across the back that could so easily have been punished, and for some reason the defenders played several difficult passes back to keeper Phillips, almost seemingly beckoning a repeat of the back pass calamity at Wembley. Whilst Stoke always looked dangerous on the break, Charlton mostly controlled the second half, and went back into the lead on 75 minutes, Chuks Aneke receiving the ball 12 yards out, before calmly striking the ball into the net through a crowd of players. Stoke then almost equalised for a second time, but Stephen Ward blazed the ball over the bar from a good position, before Charlton made sure of the three points on 83 minutes. A corner was played low to Taylor at the near post, and he flicked the ball to new loan signing from Chelsea Conor Gallagher, and he struck the ball into the top left corner with a good finish. Stoke were a beaten team now, as Charlton saw out the remaining time quite comfortably.
So Charlton made it two wins from two to open their Championship campaign, certainly not the start to the season I would have predicted, and is a fabulous effort from a club that is, probably quite rightly, one of the favourites for relegation. But there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the season ahead, with a young, hungry and energetic team of players. There will be tougher days to come, particularly when injuries start to bite and the younger players may well struggle for consistency over a season, but there is every reason to believe that Charlton are far from nailed on for a desperate fight against relegation this season
Video highlights of this match can be viewed by clicking here
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