Monday 1st January 2024, Kick-off 15.00
EFL League One
The Valley, Charlton
Admission: Season Ticket
Programme: £3.50
Attendance: 13,955 (1,070 away)
A match report can be viewed by clicking here, also copied and pasted below :-
Brief video highlights can be viewed by clicking here
Kevin Nolan’s Valley View: Charlton Athletic 1-2 Oxford United
Boos rang out around The Valley as Charlton slumped to defeat on New Year’s Day. It’s time to stop making excuses, writes KEVIN NOLAN.
Different day! Grounds for cautious optimism! But the same result! Charlton’s seventh one-goal defeat of the season was sealed, yet again inside the last five minutes, by a wonder strike from possibly the least likely outfield player to score.
The Addicks can’t buy a break but the process has become stuck on a loop lately and the excuses are becoming tissue-thin.
A third consecutive defeat means Charlton haven’t tasted success since two penalties helped them overcome relegation candidates Cheltenham Town 2-1 on November 28th. A run of three draws has maintained their position of mid-table security but nothing can be taken for granted. With promotion revealed as no more than a fool’s pipedream, the priority should now switch to ensuring that they kick off next season as members of the third rather than the fourth tier of the English league pyramid.
The alternative is unthinkable.
Michael Appleton’s struggling side didn’t deserve the smattering of booing which sent them on their way to dressing room sanctuary. They had battled gamely against better opponents, never gave up and, as already stated, were deprived of a point by a bolt from the blue. But the atmosphere at the Valley these days is beginning to tilt from tolerant to mildly toxic.
It’s a racing certainty that Oisin Smyth has never struck a football as lethally as the wickedly deceptive bombshell he exploded past Ashley Maynard-Brewer precisely when Oxford were beginning to run out of inspiration. Picking up Cameron Brannagan’s square pass, the Ulsterman dug the ball out from under his feet and let fly from 25 yards. Charlton’s masked goalkeeper did marvellously well to come close to making contact with Smyth’s swerving missile but frankly stood no chance.
In fairness, it needs to be said that there was a new mood of determination and spirit running through the side named by Appleton. Their customary pre-game huddle no doubt focused on the crying need for bloody-minded commitment and a resolve to make things as awkward as possible for playoffs-bound United. Courageous early blocks by Michael Hector and the inevitable George Dobson reinforced the message.
An early goal rewarded their uninhibited attitude. Chem Campbell’s audacious ball theft off Ruben Rodrigues and exchange of passes with Dobson unhinged the right side of the visitors’ defence and the skipper’s pass gave Corey Blackett-Taylor the scope he needed to attack right-back Ciaron Brown on the outside. Blackett-Taylor’s fierce drive was bravely parried by James Beadle but Campbell took a touch before rifling the rebound past the former Addicks keeper.
It was a dream start for the buoyant home team and they eagerly sought to consolidate their advantage. Campbell and Blackett-Taylor combinedagain but Beadle saved brilliantly after Blackett-Taylor cut inside and unleashed with his more favoured right foot. Beadle’s defiance signalled the end of Charlton’s brief purple patch and Des Buckingham’s unruffled side began to find their feet. A splendid save by Maynard-Brewer from Rodrigues temporarily checked their progress, as did another heroic block by Hector to thwart Brannagan, but the breakthrough became inevitable.
Before the Addicks capitulated, however, more enterprise from Blackett-Taylor set up a chance for Daniel Kanu, which was headed off Brown and out for a fruitless corner. Two minutes later, the U’s equalised.
A searching pass from Rodrigues sent Finley Stevens through a yawning gap on the right, with Tayo Edun toiling in the wingback’s wake. Before reaching the byline, Stevens whipped over a hard, low cross which Mark Harris anticipated at the near post and turned efficiently past Maynard-Brewer. His well-taken leveller meant that the Addicks had a minimum of 68+ minutes to negotiate on their way to a valuable point, an achievement denied them by a strike of monumental quality. As usual, they entered the closing stages of their quest before they capsized. But capsize they did — as usual.
As their heroes battled against the tide, they were inspired by the indomitable Dobson, whose remarkable ability to hoover up possession in the most unlikely circumstances threw a spanner into Oxford’s machine. The Valley clung to the hope that an apparently unstoppable trend could be halted.
A tenacious Tennai Watson lent stout support to his captain, while Hector and Lloyd Jones gave heart and soul to the cause. It all ended in yet more disappointment but, on this occasion at least, Appleton’s men gave everything they had and were simply beaten by a better side. No disgrace in that, of course, but the buck has to be stopped somewhere. And we all know where it always ends!
Charlton: Maynard-Brewer, Tennai Watson (Thomas 82), Jones, Hector, Edun, Dobson, Tyreece Campbell, Blackett-Taylor (Fraser 82), Chem Campbell (Rylah 90), Kanu (Casey 88), Anderson. Not used: Walker, Louie Watson, Asiimwe. Booked: Jones, Anderson.
Oxford: Beadle, Brown, Moore, McEachran (Bodin 60), Brannagan, Harris, Bennett, Smyth, Stevens, McGuane (Gorrin 90+1), Rodrigues. Not used: Eastwood, Mills, Henry, Woltman, Gatlin O’Donkor. Booked: McEachran, McGuane.
Referee: Alex Chilowicz
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