EFL Championship
The Valley, Charlton
Admission: Season Ticket
Programme: £3.00
Attendance: 16,424
This game was originally scheduled to be played on Saturday, but Fulham's progression to the FA Cup Fourth Round meant that this fixture had to be rescheduled, eventually being brough forward by three days.
Midweek fixtures at The Valley are never ideal for me these days, having to leave work half an hour early, travel for over two hours and take my seat minutes before kick-off. And it is fair to say I made the journey with some degree of trepidation, given Charlton's poor run of form, and the visitors up in third place. But the mood in SE7 certainly lifted today when it was announced that manager Lee Bowyer had finally signed a long term, 3 year contract, although the wait for badly needed squad reinforcements was still ongoing, with the need compounded by one of the star performers during the first half of the season, Conor Gallagher, being recalled by Chelsea to be sent straight back out to Swansea City. Since Charlton's last home game, they lost 2-1 at Preston North End, despite taking an early lead, with scorer of Charlton's winner in the League One Play-Off Final last May, Patrick Bauer, scoring the winner for Preston. And so it meant that Charlton had picked up just two points from their last five league games, and one win from 17 league games. Yet thanks to a fantastic start to the season, Charlton remained five points clear of the relegation zone, following seven wins and eight draws from 28 league games. Following relegation from the Premier League, Fulham went into this game in third place, following 14 wins and six draws from their 28 games, and had won their last two league games, and a FA Cup 3rd Round tie at Premier League outfit Aston Villa. So, a tough game in store for Charlton, although hope could be found in Fulham's two star attacking performers, 18 goal Aleksandar Mitrovic, and Anthony Knockaert, would both not play due to injury. Also, a few more players would be returning from injury, Josh Cullen, Tomer Hemed and Erhin Oztumer named in the starting line up, with star turns Lyle Taylor and Johnny Williams on the bench. As well as being a London derby, this match would have an extra edge with former Charlton favourite Scott Parker returning to The Valley as manager of the visiting team. When the two clubs met at Craven Cottage in October, the game ended in w 2-2 draw.
A match report of this game can be found by clicking here, and video highlights by clicking here.
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