'We Only Want One Goal'

That was the chant of Leeds fans as today's fixture drew to a close and Charlton obliged within the minute through a match winning goal that was announced as being scored by Akpo Sodje. Sodje claimed it and got a yellow card for his celebrations, but it turns out it was an own goal. The win kept Charlton's slim hopes of automatic promotion alive, although it would take an unlikely combination of results to achieve it. But the Addicks demonstrated that they have the skill and commitment to take on the best teams in the league.

Sodje nearly made a fatal error at the beginning of the match and Randolph made a great save. Frazer Richardson tore at the Leeds defence and Charlton won a corner. A second followed shortly afterwards. Racon was called on for some good defensive work.

Semedo was down for a long time and referee Lee Probert allowed the game to continue. Borrowdale provided a good ball forward. Leeds put in a good strong shot and Randolph saved well. Burton won the ball well under pressure.

Charlton had dominated the first quarter of an hour, but Leeds managed to get back into the game more, making use of space on their right. Fortunately, their shooting was wayward. Leeds were given a rather dubious free kick in a dangerous position at an angle to the D. All that seemed to have happened was that one of their players ran into one of ours, but in the event the move ended in a Charlton free kick.

Burton and Sam combined well. Burton put in a good effort from a tight angle. The referee called the captains together after there had been a few arguments. Danger in front of goal lead to a rather doubtful Leeds corner, but Burton was able to clear.

A Leeds corner led to a break involving Lloyd Sam, producing a Charlton corner. Christian Dailly provided good defensive work. A forward run by Sodje led to a Charlton corner. Sam Sodje was given a yellow card for a foul. Leeds charm merchant Bradley Johnson was booked. Three minutes of time were added on.

Half time: Addicks 0, Whites 0

Randolph collected well from an eary attack. Semedo was confident in defence. Lloyd Sam won Charlton a corner, but Racon blasted the ball over. Burton lost possession and Randolph had to save on the line.

A shot from Racon was pushed away by the keeper and a follow up by Semedo was saved. Burton won Charlton a corner. Sam Sodje had a chance to score, but the ball ended up on top of the net. Charlton won another corner through Forster, but the move ended in a Leeds free kick for a push. Semedo was given a yellow card for dissent.

Leeds took off ex Livingston comedy turn Robert Snodgrass and brought on out-of-forward Jermaine Beckford who is going on to greater things. On 68 minutes Phil 'Must Go' Parkinson made a bold move, using all three substitutions. Burton, Forster and Racon came off and Akpo Sodje, Mooney and Reid came on. This change unsettled Leeds who had got used to the pattern of the attack.

A shot from Lloyd Sam was just over. Semedo did well in defence. Leeds took off Andrew Hughes and brought on Mike Grella who has scored five times this season. As the Leeds fans sang 'we only want one goal', Charlton scored a scrambled goal. It turned out to be an own goal, but I have heard two different versions from the media of who did the honours. Anyway, it was in the back of the net.

Reid hit the woodwork from a free kick following a deliberate handball which earned a yellow card. Five minutes on time were added on and Randolph made another great save. Shane Lowry received a yellow card for fouling Mooney but the subsequent free kick by Bailey was poor. After the usual agonising delay, the whistle blew and the celebrations could begin.

Ivy the Terrible has awarded the Silver Bone to Jose Semedo. It was a tireless performance by the Portugezer who not did his part in defence and midfield but also forged forward in defence. Darren Randolph made some superb saves to keep a clean sheet. Rumour has it that he may be departing for a higher level club which would be a shame as he has been looking beter than Elliot. Sam Sodje made a serious error at the start of the match and just missed a chance to score, but otherwise he defended valianty. Christian Dailly was a rock at the heart of the defence, Frazer Richardson was really up for it against his old club and tore into the Leeds defence more than once, as well as combining well with Sam. Gary Borrowdale was very solid and put in one or two excellent passes forward, although we did seem a bit exposed on our left in the first half. Sam had an excellent game and used his nifty footwork against the Leeds defence. Bailey was committed and involved, although he did give the ball away dangerously once through a slack pass. Racon> put in some decent defensive work and at times had to fend off as many as three players in midfield. He also had a go at goal, albeit unsuccessfully. Burton was repeatedly pushed in the back and held back but go no protection from the referee. He found some of the long balls difficult to connect with. Fosrter showed some nice touches but was never dominant in attack. Reid posed a real attacking threat when he came on and asked some questions of the Leeds defence. Mooney at least unsettled Leeds with some of his runs. Akpo Sodje didn't create a great deal, until the vital goal.

Juneau the Soccer Cat gave the Hiss of the Match to the heavy shower of rain which soaked us as we waited for a train.

Crowd rating The bumper crowd of 23,198 was a little quiet in the second part of the first half when Charlton faded a little, but was otherwise strong. 8/10

Semedo is staying insists Parky

Phil Parkinson has insisted that he has no knowledge of rumours that Millwall hater Semedo is going to Bristol City, while conspiracy theorists who drew attention to Racon's absence from the bench last night now have their answer: he has gone to France because of a family bereavement. More here: Rumours

The End of the Pier Show

Ivy the Terrible and Juneau the Soccer Cat

This blog has been effectively back for some time and we shall be carrying on. The one slight change will be in the format of match reports. Ivy the Terrible will continue to provide match analysis and Juneau the Soccer Cat the Hiss of the Match. However, we will not provide a detailed account of the match, but rather an overall summary, picking out any highlights. After all, if you want detail of the 'Charlton won a corner and it was cleared' sort you can find it on the official website. Actually, our corners have been more productive recently.

Tomorrow is a special day at Charlton as it is the 17th anniversary of our return to The Valley. It is also the 35th anniversary of the day I met my wife.

The match we played against Southend on 5th March 1996 is warning about reading results off the table. As I recall, this midweek match had originally been postponed because of the icy condition of roads around The Valley.

Southend went ahead on 34 minutes, followed by goals on 52 and 53 minutes to complete the rout. However, we went on beat Millwall 2-0 on the following Saturday. We finished 6th at the end of the season, but if we had beaten Southend we would have been 4th and would not have faced the Glaziers in the play offs.

One concern tomorrow is the absence of Semedo. Some think that he does not contribute all that much because he is not conspicuous. I think that he is the fulcrum of the side and his likely replacement by Spring does not put a spring in my step.

Gary Poole (remember him?), now selling property to footballers in Spain, reckons that Charlton should win, although their youth may tell against them: Shrimpers

Anthony Grant returns from suspension to replace the suspended Jean-Francois Christophe in midfield for Southend.

Terriers confident of getting all three points

Huddersfield Town are confident of securing all three points at The Valley tomorrow and thus taking what they regard as a 'major scalp'. This view held by a number of teams of the match against Charlton as the equivalent of a cup final doesn't help us at all. However, it is evident that the Terriers are not going to play for the draw, so that should make for a higher quality game than against Oldham: Scalp

Striker Robin Simpson (thigh) and Tom Clarke (knee) are not available, but the Terriers are travelling south with what they regard as a strong squad.

With Semedo hopefully back tomorrow, I would stick with the 4-4-1-1 formation as I don't think we have a viable 4-4-2 to start with. McLeod unsettles the opposition with his pace, but Shelvey unsettles them in other ways and McLeod misses sitters in front of goal. Tuna is a work in progress and McKenize is not fully match fit.

I find this a difficult match to forecast, although some other bloggers have settled on 2-1 which seems reasonable. However, it could be 2-1 in the other direction and I will settle for another draw at 1-1.

Jimmy Seed's old club

Clapton Orient (as it then was) was the club where Jimmy Seed began his managerial career on £12 a week. Arsenal planned to buy the club and turn into a nursery club but the Football League ruled the move illegal - a mistake in my view. The Gliksteens had an association with the club before becoming involved in Charlton and this is how Seed came to Charlton and turned them into a real force in football.

All 3,000 away tickets have been sold for tomorrow night's League 1 clash. Not so long some of the Addickted were forecasting relegation to League 2 because of Parkinson's alleged tactical ineptitude. These were the same people who said we wouldn't sell 5,000 season tickets or get 10,000 in The Valley.

Now, after two league wins, the gloom has turned into euphoria. It truly is the goldfish syndrome. Let's hope expectations are not dashed.

In the Premiership, there were really three types of teams. The top four plus the 'nearly men' hoping for a Uefa cup place. Then there was the mid-table mediocrity league, at one time including Charlton. And finally the relegation league.

In League 1 there are really two sorts of clubs. Those that might at least hope for a play off place or just fall short (Charlton). And those who could be sucked into a relegation battle as the season wears on, a category that includes Orient.

I would like to have gone to the Matchroom Stadium. Apparently, a block of flats has been built in one of the corners of the away end and the inhabitants can exchange cheery greetings with the normal handful of fans. They may have a shock tomorrow night.

Llera was dimissed by some fans as a carthorse after the Wycombe game, but he has shown that he is a battler. If he is not fit we face a problem at centre back. Moving Youga across might seem the solution as Basey can stand in for him. But Youga's error proneness is a problem in that position and we also lose our ability to maraud down the left. One could pull back Semedo, but he is inclined to commit one foul too many in that position.

Solly came on for Llera at Hartlepool. Could Richardson move across and Solly play on the right? There is Mambo, but this is a game and a position that demands experience.

If you are going, enjoy the game! The phrase 'Enjoy the game' is used by agreement with Reg Varney Enterprises, purveyor of football clubs to the gentry.