EFL League One
The Valley, Charlton
Admission: Season Ticket
Programme: £3.50
Attendance: 12,328 (400 away)
For the third midweek in a row, I would have to head up to The Valley after work. But the previous two journeys up to SE7 have been surprisingly enjoyable, to the extent I was looking forward to this game, despite the prospect of again not getting home until after midnight, "on a school night".
After a dismal run of form for the Addicks, which saw no win in eight games resulting in a tumble towards the relegation places, the last fortnight has seen quite a remarkable turnaround. Three wins in a row, a 4-2 win at home to Exeter City, followed by an even more remarkable 3-0 win against Portsmouth at The Valley, and then on Saturday picking up an excellent an 0-1 victory away at Shrewsbury, lifting the Addicks up to seventh place in the table, just one place or two points off the play-off positions. And hopes were certainly high that that run could be extended this evening.
Milton Keynes Dons have been one of the surprise packages of this season, although not in the way they would like, as they came into this game bottom of the table, after only narrowly missing out on automatic promotion last season by just a point, and then bowing out in the semi-finals of the play-offs. But they came into this game in poor form, losing all five of their league games so far in October. Their overall record has seen them won just three and draw one of their 14 league games.
An official match report of this game can be read by clicking here, or copied and pasted below :-
Video highlights can be viewed by clicking here
Kevin Nolan’s Valley View: Charlton Athletic 0-2 Milton Keynes
The wheels fell off Charlton’s mini-revival last night with defeat at The Valley. KEVIN NOLAN was there to see it.
Charlton’s three-game winning streak, which had featured two buccaneering victories at The Valley, came to a shuddering halt on Tuesday evening, destroyed by a savvy Milton Keynes side which included in their ranks a contingent of Dad’s Army recruits.
Each of the old ‘uns made a significant contribution to a result that lifted MK off the foot of the League One table.
The seemingly endless one-club career of Dean Lewington, 38, has seen this estimable old pro add a few pounds here and there as he approaches 900 appearances.
He marshalled the visiting defence as they easily mopped up Charlton’s lumbering forays, hardly breaking sweat while calming nerves and smoothing one or two rough spots. Never ruffled, rarely in a hurry, he’s a chip off the still-functioning block which is his dad, the former Fulham midfielder Ray.
Ahead of Lewington in the heart of midfield, much-travelled Bradley Johnson, 35, put himself about, kept the ball moving – something Charlton miserably failed to do – and stepped up, with 12 minutes remaining, to put the seal on MK’s perfect evening by curling a magnificent free kick into the top right corner from fully 25 yards.
That Scott Fraser’s tackle on Dawson Devoy seemed eminently fair was clearly of no concern to the grizzled veteran.
A comparative fledgling at 31, Will Grigg struck the bar in the first half but was largely anonymous until midway through the second session.
Under Eoghan O’Connell’s thumb, he was freed from the Irishman’s grip when referee Neil Hair ruled that Ryan Inniss’ clumsy challenge on Louie Barry occurred inside, rather than quite obviously, outside Charlton’s penalty area.
From 12 yards, he made no mistake and celebrated with all the pent-up frustration he has no doubt nursed since being part of the Sunderland team which had their hearts broken by the Addicks three years ago. Revenge was long delayed but tasted no less sweet for that.
It came as a surprise to realise that Josh McEachran is still nine months short of his 30th birthday. He’s been around forever and has seen a fair bit. Probably in the early twilight of an up-and-down career, he can still produce an occasional killer pass, as he demonstrated with the glorious through ball which sent Barry goalside of Inniss to earn the contentious spot kick.
Insult was added to injury when a second yellow card brought dismissal for Charlton’s mammoth defender. For their part, Charlton were dreadful. Their manager Ben Garner’s puzzling decision to replace left back Steven Sessegnon with Sean Clare was hardly responsible for their turgid, laboured performance but it scarcely helped.
The uncomplaining Clare soldiered on but was clearly uncomfortable in his unfamiliar position. In front of him, young Tyreece Campbell did his best but was clearly out of his depth. He was replaced at half-time by Jack Payne with, it should be said, no marked improvement in quality.
On the opposite flank, meanwhile, Jesurun Rak-Sakyi was his, by now customary, mixture of mercurial ability and self-indulgent flashiness.
Wedded to the notion that playing from the back is the key to success, the Addicks struggled instead to cross the halfway line. The ball made its meandering way via Joe Wollacott to Inniss, square to O’Connell, back to Inniss, then for variety out to Clare or Mandela Egbo. Back again to Wollacott and repeat the process.
A total absence of momentum or pace made it easy for MK – even allowing for the old bones in their line-up – to insert spanners into their creaking works.
In an atmosphere more suited to a funeral parlour than the home ground of promotion aspirants, the first half petered out in subdued silence. Only when Nathan Holland outwitted Clare on the right byline before setting up Grigg to hit the woodwork was there even a hint of excitement.
It was quickly followed by the excellent, full-length save Wollacott made to deny Johnson’s well-struck effort to convert the rebound. The interval came as welcome relief to all but 400 of a disbelieving crowd.
🗣 'The game changed on the decisions but we needed to have more cutting edge'
Ben Garner on tonight's defeat to MK Dons.
🔴⚪️ #cafc pic.twitter.com/pQtRzNSzzA
— Charlton Athletic FC (@CAFCofficial) October 25, 2022
The opening stages of the second session offered false hope of improvement. During an all too brief flurry, Charlie Kirk’s low cross critically eluded both Payne and Jayden Stockley before Rak-Sakyi’s fierce drive was beaten clear by Jamie Cumming.
But the burst of aggression fizzled out and Wollacott was again called into action to keep out Holland’s accurate shot. Back went the Addicks into their cramped, crabbed shell, in thrall to a style which clearly doesn’t suit them but is all the rage these days.
The visitors found them easy to handle and fed on their errors. The penalty and the free kick which decided the issue were both harsh but were also the direct consequences of Charlton’s hubris. These were not the up-and-at ’em tactics that routed Exeter and Portsmouth, nor were they the pragmatic methods which registered their first away win of the season at Shrewsbury.
This was recourse to the unimaginative drawing board on which Charlton constructed a string of seven league games without a win.
Bang-in-form Ipswich are next up at The Valley on Saturday. If the Addicks get it right, they might have a surprise waiting for them because Garner’s men are just daft enough to see them off.
Might be an idea to stop horsing around in their own penalty area, though. Just saying…
Charlton: Wollacott, Egbo, Inniss, O’Connell, Clare, Rak-Sakyi , Dobson (McGrandles 82), Fraser (Morgan 80), Campbell (Payne 46), Kirk (Sessegnon 72), Stockley (Aneke 72). Not used: McGillivray, Thomas.
Booked: Inniss (2)-sent off.
Milton Keynes: Cumming, Lewington, O’Hora, McEachran (Burns 86), Grigg (Eisa 79), Holland, Johnson, Barry (Devoy 75), Harvie, Lawrence (Smith 85), Jules. Not used: Ravizzoli, Tucker, Dennis.
Referee: Neil Hair. Official attendance: 12,328 (400 visiting).
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