Brief video highlights can be viewed by clicking here
Kevin Nolan’s Valley View: Charlton Athletic 1-2 Peterborough United
The Addicks’ alarming decline continued with defeat at home to Peterborough on Saturday. KEVIN NOLAN reports.
Saturday’s already daunting visit of automatic promotion candidates Peterborough United was ominously impacted by Charlton’s unstable performance in the Potteries a week ago, where they leaked three equalisers, the third of them almost inevitably conceded in second half added time. Oddly enough, their frailty was hailed by Michael Appleton as a triumph over adversity.
“From a resilience point of view”, he remarked , “they’re a group that never knows when they’re dead. They keep getting up. That last bit sums them up in a nutshell. We concede a third goal to go 3-3 and then it’s literally never say die. They don’t give up on things.”
Appleton’s curious comments rather glossed over the uncomfortable truth that his side’s alarming defensive weaknesses effectively deprived them of two valuable points. It was Port Vale, not his wasteful Addicks, who came from behind on three occasions and whose “never say die” spirit was rewarded by an added-time equaliser.
From Charlton’s point of view, it was hardly ideal preparation for the visit of Darren Ferguson’s promotion-seeking Posh blokes. And for 46 one-sided first half minutes, that’s how it played out.
Without the dangerous presence of Corey Blackett-Taylor, the victim of an unspecified transfer-window ailment, Charlton spent the first half dancing to their visitors’ inventive tune but somehow reached the interval only one goal in arrears. They negotiated a quiet opening, during which Ashley Maynard-Brewer’s flying save from Josh Randall’s shot-cum-cross provided fleeting excitement, but spent much of their time thereafter chasing the shadows trailing behind clearly superior opponents.
When Kwame Poku cut inside to shoot narrowly wide of the far post and was later denied a point blank shooing chance by Lucas Ness’s headlong block, interval equality seemed likely. Just short of the half hour mark, however, top scorer Ephron Mason-Clark put that notion to bed.
United’s marksman was picked out at the end of a flowing movement by Ricky-Jade Jones, who skilfully laid Harrison Burrows’ left wing cross into his stride. With the home defence in disarray, Mason-Clark curled a first-time shot beyond Maynard-Brewer and neatly inside the right hand post.
With the deadlock – such as it was – broken by Mason-Clark’s expert strike, the Addicks seemed in imminent danger of being routed before the break. But their elegant guests seemed content with their narrow lead and the first half ambled along without further incident. Four minutes into the second period, Posh were made to pay for complacency, a development which no doubt irritated their demanding manager.
The sheer exuberance of interval substitute Daniel Kanu made an immediate difference. Replacing an out-of-touch Tyreece Campbell , Kanu exploded into furious action after running on to George Dobson’s raking long pass. His left-wing cross deflected off Ronnie Edwards, and was scuffed further on its way by debutant Tyreeq Bakinson, before fortuitously reaching Alfie May at the far post. Nodding home his 20th goal of a prolific season was routine work for Charlton’s arch predator and his side were dramatically level.
Less than five minutes later, it was even possible to wonder whether this was one of those days when football’s natural order was in for a rude shock.
There was no rhyme and little reason why United failed to convert one of four whirlwind chances which backed up on each other inside 10 seconds of knockabout activity.
Jones began the sequence by cutting in from the right to aim for the far corner. His low drive was kept out by Maynard-Brewer’s instinctively deployed right foot; the Aussie keeper covered himself in further glory by brilliantly foiling Randall’s attempt to convert the rebound but was a helpless bystander as Poku bashed United’s third effort against the crossbar. From a far from impossible angle wide on the left, Randall crowned Peterborough’s outbreak of finishing futility by driving haplessly into the side netting.
Relieved, if not stunned, to have escaped unscathed, Appleton’s men almost immediately came close to punishing Posh’s profligacy. Terell Thomas should have made more of Dobson’s accurate free kick but, from six yards range, headed harmlessly into Jed Steer’s hands. This time, it was Charlton’s turn to rue the squandering of a golden opportunity as Mason-Clark claimed his second goal with a quarter of an hour remaining.
Given disastrous space to cut in from the left, the double barrelled sureshot moved over the 18-yard line, drew a careful bead and sent a perfectly aimed low drive unstoppably into the far corner. It was finishing of the highest order but the Addicks had not quite shot their bolt and Lloyd Jones ballooned substitute Louie Watson’s inviting free kick over the bar.
The last word was left to May, who flicked Tennai Watson’s low centre across goal but wide of Steer’s right-hand post.
On an afternoon where three freshmen Addicks made their debuts – Conor Coventry replaced Bakinson while Lewis Fiorini took over from an exhausted Dobson – losing to smooth operators like Peterborough hardly qualifies as a disgrace.
But surrendering no fewer than three leads to far less talented Port Vale, not to mention conceding yet again in added time, certainly does. And no amount of wishful thinking changes that perception. Or does it? Discuss!
Charlton: Maynard-Brewer, Tennai Watson, Jones, Ness, Edun, Dobson (Fiorini 84), Tyreece Campbell (Kanu 46), Bakinson (Coventry 76), Chem Campbell (Louie Watson 46), Thomas, May. Not used: Isted, Asiimwe, Anderson.
Peterborough: Steer, Katongo (Crichlow 87), Burrows, Edwards, Knight, Mason-Clark, Poku (Ajiboye 67), Randall (De Havilland 84), Jones, Kyprianou, Collins. Not used: Talley, Fuchs. Mothersille, Fernandez.Referee: Sam Purkiss.
No comments:
Post a Comment