Kevin Nolan’s Valley View: Charlton Athletic 2-1 Barnsley
An entertaining match at The Valley helped the Addicks see off lingering fears of a humiliating resignation from League One. KEVIN NOLAN pays tribute to the man behind the turnaround.
An irresistible combination of hard toil, team spirit and occasional brilliance saw Charlton burst through the 50-point barrier popularly accepted as a guarantee against relegation from League One.
A heady performance stunned promotion play-off probables Barnsley, who arrived in SE7 boasting a scarcely believable away record that had seen them beaten only once, the solitary reverse being at Derby back in November.
No doubt expecting to brush the Addicks aside, Barnsley walked into a buzzsaw of a home side in which every starter and four effective substitutes distinguished themselves. In front of an appreciative crowd, the Addicks, to a man, chased every cause, however lost it seemed, and drove their elegant visitors to distraction.
To their credit, the Tykes stayed in the game and were always in contention. But this was Charlton’s day and anything but victory would have been a travesty.
Having paid tribute to the corporate effort on show, singling out individuals for praise might seem invidious but there were several undeniably outstanding contributions which went over and above what was required. In Michael Hector, George Dobson and Alfie May, Charlton were well served by an impressive spine — the essential basis of every successful football team.
There was a time earlier in this depressing season when the experienced Michael Hector appeared to lose his way. Unnerved, perhaps, by the regular errors made by his teammates, he suffered a crisis of confidence and came in for more than his fair share of criticism.
Under Nathan Jones’ stewardship, he has shown the leadership of which he was always capable. Firm in the tackle, commanding in the air and ruthless when required, against Barnsley the big centre-half displayed all the defensive talents for which he was recruited.
In the centre of midfield and indeed wherever else he was needed, George Dobson was a tower of strength. Like Hector, he has weathered brickbats from a corps of fans who simply don’t “get” him, but he was a force of nature in this taming of the Tykes. His tackle count was phenomenal, his distribution all but faultless. He is simply incapable of anything but 100 per-cent effort. Plus he can play a bit.
Leading Charlton’s attack was the inimitable Alfie May, who began this game with 21 league goals from 38 appearances.
By the time referee Benjamin Speedie called a halt to eight interminable added minutes, May had added two more to that total. Unfortunately, he had already been replaced by Tyreece Campbell and was unavailable to take the penalty awarded when goalkeeper Liam Roberts clumsily hacked down young Campbell. Chuks Aneke took over spotkick duties and was thwarted by Roberts.
May had done the damage by then with a pair of superb first-half strikes, but richly deserved his first hat-trick for the Addicks.
Aneke blew the opportunity to settle his side’s nerves but conducted a personal masterclass in game management, which made the eight added minutes almost enjoyable. If there’s a dark art, of which the big man is unaware, it hasn’t been dreamed up yet. He’s a master of chaos.
The South Yorkshiremen actually started brightly and should have gone in front as early as the fourth minute, when John McAtee ran on to Jordan Williams’ lofted delivery and lobbed Harry Isted as he left his line. The ball took an age to land but eventually cleared the bar to local relief.
McAtee’s near miss assumed added significance when the first of May’s goals fired his side in front. Stepping up to take the 19-yard free kick, awarded for Jamie McCart’s foul on Karoy Anderson, the busy goal machine left Robert standing with a deadly accurate strike to the keeper’s unprotected side. It’s been a long time since Charlton converted a free kick.
Josh Earl’s magnificent block to deny Daniel Kanu a point blank shooting opportunity kept the visitors in the hunt until they equalised before the half-hour mark. Adam Phillips was nerveless from the spot after Kayne Ramsey was ruled to have handled his cross inside the penalty area.
The Tykes came immediately close to snatching the lead when an anonymous Devante Cole wastefully headed Philips’ accurate cross over the bar, and again as Josh Earl sent Luca Connell’s free kick crashing against the woodwork.
May duly punished their profligacy before the break. The early running was made by Macaulay Gillesphey, whose low ball in was astutely dummied by Dobson. That allowed May to cut in from the left, through a wrongfooted defence, to set up a wickedly whiplashed right-footed drive into the far corner.
It was a goal which combined inspired imagination and clinical execution and was scored by a master of his craft.
To the consternation of an encouraging Valley crowd, their heroes squandered several chances to seal the issue, with Kanu heading Dobson’s pinpointed cross too high and May hitting the bar with a clever effort. Though Aneke’s penalty miss briefly shredded nerves, there was no call for panic.
Actually, the Addicks cruised over the line and reached the magical 50 points target with some style. Which is where Nathan Jones re-enters the narrative.
When Jones assumed control from the emotionless Michael Appleton in January, he inherited a bewildered group of aimless players who were in serious danger of relegation to League Two. His first priority was to avoid that unthinkable fate and he set about his task pragmatically and single-mindedly.
Jones made Charlton hard to beat and wasted no time in apologising for his methods. His first mission was duly accomplished and Saturday’s cockle-warming performance made it clear that there’s far more to come from this touchline zealot.
All he needs is love — and a little patience.
Charlton: Isted, Thomas (Bakinson 88), Hector, Small, Gillesphey, Anderson, Coventry, Ramsay (Edmonds-Green 58), Kanu (Aneke 66), May (Campbell 88), Dobson. Not used: Maynard-Brewer, Ladapo, Lualua. Booked: Thomas, Dobson, Anderson.
Barnsley: Roberts, Williams, Russell (Cosgrove 69), De Gevigney, Cadden, McCart, Phillips, Earl (O’Keefe 69), Cole (Jalo 78). McAtee, Connell. Not used: Killip, Kane, Grant, Cotter. Booked: Phillips, Earl, McAtee, Connell.
Referee: Benjamin Speedie.
