EFL League One
The Valley, Charlton
Admission: Season Ticket
Programme: £3.50
Attendance: 13,241 (646 away)
The latest instalment of the Addicks' meandering towards the end of the season with nothing to play for in the third tier of English football took place today, for a game against, with all due respect to the visitors, was hardly one to make the mouth water, but did have something riding on it, it Charlton were to have serious ambitions for a top ten finish. That certainly is a goal far below what most Charlton fans were hoping for last summer, but during what has turned out to be yet another rather chaotic season on and off the field, it would represent something of a decent achievement now.
Following Charlton home draw against Wycombe Wanderers last Saturday, Charlton found themselves just inside the top half of the table, in twelfth place, following 12 wins and 13 draws from 38 league games, and were in decent form, unbeaten in their last four games, following two away wins and two home draws. The Valley has hardly been proving a fortress though, with the last win at home coming over two months ago now, against Barnsley in mid January. Today's visitors were in tenth place, six points ahead of Charlton, and with a game in hand, so the Addicks really would need to win today to have realistic hopes of hunting down that top ten finish. Shrewsbury had won 16 and drawn seven of their 37 league games. Their midweek game was postponed, and their form has been mixed, losing at Ipswich in their last game, but had picked up 7 points from three games prior to that.
A match report can be viewed by clicking here , and also copied and pasted below.
Brief video highlights can be viewed by clicking here.
Kevin Nolan’s Valley View: Charlton Athletic 6-0 Shrewsbury Town
No, it’s not a mistake. The Addicks really did dish out a thumping at The Valley on Saturday – and in some style, too. KEVIN NOLAN has recorded this one for the history books.
Released from pressure and almost gambolling in an unfamiliar freedom to express themselves, Charlton crushed Shrewsbury Town during an unforgettable afternoon at The Valley.
Four of their six goals qualified as goal of the season candidates, the pick of them arguably that of Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, who skipped the light fandango through a devastated Shrews defence before nonchalantly flicking the Addicks’ third goal inside the left post with almost casual disdain.
Rak-Sakyi’s terpsichorean contribution, scored in first-half added time, added gloss to a team performance which combined corporate hard graft with breathtaking individual skill in removing Steve Cotterill’s over-achievers from the equation as serious contenders well before the break.
They had actually stayed in contention for almost a half hour before the first of Charlton’s three outstanding first half strikes began their destruction. The fleet-footed Crystal Palace loanee was directly involved in his side’s opener after being crudely brought down by Tom Flanagan slightly to the right of goal. With the 20-yard free kick clearly favouring a left-footed taker, Scott Fraser stepped up to pinpoint a superb delivery into the top right corner.
Flanagan was booked for his transgression, a caution which took on additional significance much later in a dramatic afternoon. In Sunderland’s colours, he deflected Patrick Bauer’s last-gasp play-off decider into his own net four years ago, so it’s safe to assume that Charlton rarely feature in his anthology of golden career moments. And it was to get worse when the defender usurped first use of the visitors’ showers.
While Dean Holden’s carefree chaps tore into the bewildered Salopians, their attacking verve was underpinned by outstanding defensive organisation and nous, at the heart of which were rock-hard centre backs Michael Hector and Ryan Inniss.
Even the early loss of Sean Clare was minimised by Steven Sessegnon’s understated contribution, while Terell Thomas was similarly sound at left back. In front of a pragmatic defence, skipper George Dobson was an indefatigable force of nature, his nuts-and-bolts endeavour indispensable if sometimes taken for granted.
This was a fully functional Charlton side which might have found its feet too late this season but offers hope for the future. Shame Rak-Sakyi won’t be around to lend a hand – or, to be more accurate – two magical feet.
Sandwiched between Fraser’s deadeye set-piece and Rak-Sakyi’s shimmering footwork, meanwhile, was the second of Charlton’s three-goal salvo. It was claimed by Albie Morgan, currently in the process of proving that his promising career, which seemed to have hit the buffers, is up and running again.
An assist must be credited to referee Bobby Madley, whose super-alert use of the unwritten “advantage” rule allowed play to continue when Fraser was brought down by Christian Saydee in the centre circle. Poised to blow for the foul, Madley instead spotted that Rak-Sakyi had picked up possession and fed Morgan inside him. Albie’s first touch wrongfooted Matthew Pennington and set up the fierce right-footed finish which scorched past a helpless Marko Marosi. The accurate shooting he shows during pre-kickoff drills has made his paltry goal tally hard to understand. Nothing ventured, etc… he should chance his arm more often.
Too often this season, Charlton have bossed games before the interval but failed to press home their advantage. Not this time, though. The visitors were swept aside by Holden’s insatiable terriers, among whom Miles Leaburn had yet to make an impression. It’s hard to keep a good man down, of course, and Leaburn duly joined the party with a quickfire double.
A minute past the hour minute, the young hotshot was found by Thomas’ raking pass through the middle, after Morgan’s foraging had won possession. Flanked by two attentive markers, he briefly considered taking them on before unleashing an unstoppable low drive from all of 25 yards, which left Marosi standing as it zipped inside the keeper’s left hand post. His fine strike put him into double figures for the season and was quickly followed by an 11th in more controversial circumstances.
Another of Charlton’s young guns, Tyreece Campbell, broke through Shrews’ tiring rearguard and cut back a precise pass for Sessegnon to shoot first time from inside the penalty area. One of a defensive phalanx seeking to charge down Sessegnon’s effort, Flanagan succeeded in blocking successfully – but with a hand, according to Madley.
The award of a penalty appeared, to be honest, harsh, but Flanagan might have known his luck would be out against Charlton. A second yellow card meant dismissal for the unlucky defender, which left the small matter of the spotkick to be resolved. After some unseemly gamesmanship from Marosi and his colleagues, not to mention apparent competition from Morgan, Leaburn showed admirable technique in dispassionately converting from 12 yards.
With Ashley Maynard underworked but anxious, no doubt, to preserve a clean sheet, the Aussie youngster was endangered only once when a scruffy goalmouth scramble ended with the ball ricocheting to safety off his crossbar. Shrewsbury’s impertinence was punished almost instantly by a sixth goal from an Addick most in need of a goal.
It was substitute Macauley Bonne who was ideally placed to finish clinically after Campbell’s blocked shot fell fortuitously at his feet. The ecstatic response of his colleagues was heartwarming evidence that team spirit remains high on Holden’s requirements.
The manager was no doubt pleased that this cakewalked victory gave him the opportunity to introduce Aaron Henry and Zach Mitchell for the last half hour. Both academy graduates were hugely impressive and, along with the uninhibited Campbell, provided more evidence that Charlton’s supply line of young talent is unrivalled. Maybe next year then… there’s always next year.
Charlton: Maynard-Brewer, Clare (Sessegnon 19), Hector (Mitchell 62), Inniss, Thomas (Bonne 72), Dobson (Henry 60), Morgan, Fraser (Payne 72), Rak-Sakyi, Leaburn, Campbell. Not used: Wollacott, Kanu. Booked: Dobson, Sessegnon.
Shrewsbury: Marosi, Leahy, Pennington (Bennett 76), Moore, Winchester, Phillips, Street (Bloxham 66), Dunkley, Saydee (Bowman 66), Shipley, Flanagan. Not used: Burgoyne, Craig, Barlow. Booked: Winchester, Saydee, Shipley, Flanagan (2 – sent off).
Referee: Robert Madley. Attendance: 13,241 (646 visiting).
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