Early lead turns into defeat

Charlton suffered a cruel blow as they were defeated by two late goals at the DW Stadium this afternoon, but Wigan had dominated the second half.

The new look Charlton with a diamond formation faced Wigan Athletic at the DW Stadium this afternoon. Sordell scored a goal for Charlton after three minutes after he sprang the offside trap, leaving him to beat the keeper which he did with great coolness.

Wiggins went down and required treatment, his right leg giving him discomfort. The Lactics put in a shot on target from Watson but Thuram-Ulien punched it away. Lennon came on to replace Wiggins. It started to rain heavily, having been a drizzle at the start of the match and the wind increased. It was grim ‘oop north. Chris Powell was wearing a wooly hat and tracksuit. Lennon blocked a shot at the expense of a corner.

Lennon put the challenge in the ball out of play, but the Wigan player trod on the upper part of his ankle and the youngster went down. Wigan put in a shot across the six yard box, but none of the home players could make contact. Lennon was back on his feet, Johnnie Jackson meanwhile helping the defence. Wood put in a good challenge at the expense of a corner which was unproductive.

A free kick for Wigan by Watson was awful and more suited to egg chasing. Charlton won their first corner of the afternoon which was taken by ‘Astrid’. Somehow Wood headed the ball clear. ‘Gucci’ rushed forward and put in a shot which was pushed away by the keeper. He then put in another which beat the keeper and hit the crossbar.

A Wigan corner was headed over. Poyet put in a great diagonal ball to Sordell but he wasn’t able to make use of it. Wigan attacked, but Lennon made a good challenge in the penalty area on McManaman. The resultant corner for Wigan was unproductive.

Charlton counter attacked and Sordell gave the ball to the lively Gucci, but Wigan held their line. A hard shot from Sordell deflected off a Wigan player, leading to a Charlton corner which was unproductive. The referee had a word with Lennon about a challenge. Wigan had two bites at the free kick, the second one leading to a corner. Morrison got his head to it and Charlton won a free kick.

Cousins turned provider for Sordell, but the keeper got there first as the striker tried to get round him. A few boos could be heard from the home support. McManaman hit the crossbar for Wigan in their best chance. Sordell went down holding on to his right shin, but signalled to the bench that he was ok. McManaman put in another shot which was wide and went into the Charlton fans.

Chris Powell told the constantly involved Sordell to calm down. Powell and Rosler had a little hug. Two minutes were added on. Beausejour fouled Cousins as he got away, the Wigan player being booked. There was poor movement by the forwards for the free kick. Thuram-Ulien punched the ball away, but Wigan won a free kick to the right-hand side of the D, but the wall did its job. Wigan attacked again and Thuram blocked an attempted shot with his leg.

HT: Lactics 0, Addicks 1

Wigan won an early free kick, a Wigan player turned the ball into the net, but the linesman raised his flag, the referee had a chat with him and decided that the goal would not stand. It was a tight decision.

Wigan were applying pressure and Charlton needed to weather the storm. Cousins shot over. Wigan made a double substitution, bringing on Fortune and their Chelsea loan player. McCann and Maynard went off.

Wigan had plenty of possession in the first quarter of an hour of the second half, but were not able to make use of it. Thuram-Ulien went down to his right to save from Watson. The Chelsea substitute was booked.

The Lactics won a corner off Nego. After subsequent play, Thuram-Ulien had to block the ball at his near post for another corner. Thuram-Ulien punched the ball away and Cousins cleared it further. Lennon was booked for a foul. The Fortune header from the free kick was wide.

’Astrid’ put in excellent ball to Sordell, but the move ended in a Wigan goal kick. Thuram-Ulien punched the ball out again when perhaps he should have collected it and gave away a corner. The keeper collected the ball and cleared. A shot from Watson was blocked by Wood. A shot from McClean was deflected for a corner. The ball was put over.

Pritchard came on for Sordell and went out to the right. McArthur went off for Wigan and Gomez came on. Wigan won a free kick close to the corner flag. The ball was cleared off the line by Wood and taken away by Poyet.

Fortune advanced, but Morrison stood his ground. Charlton were starting to defend a little too deep. Jackson got the last touch on a header, giving Wigan a corner, but the ball was cleared back to the home keeper.

Pritchard won a corner for Charlton. ‘Astrid’ was taken off. He had been helping ‘Gucci’ out in attack and Dervite came on for the last ten minutes. The ball was eventually collected by the Wigan keeper.

Nego put too much power on the ball as he tried to set up ‘Gucci’. Lennon conceded a corner. Charlton cleared, but were forced to defend again. Wigan won yet another corner which led to a second. Thuram-Ulien punched the ball away for a third corner. Fortune just headed a ball over.

Pritchard conceded a free kick. Wigan got the equaliser through Fortune with two minutes of normal time left. Morrison brought down Gomez on the edge of the ‘D’. The home fans had really come alive. The ball from Gomez went in to make it 2-1 with two goals in two minutes.

Can I recommend the match report by Chris Powell's Flat Cap who was there and writes to a very high standard: Flat Cap. He took plenty of positives out of the performance, especially that of Poyet.

He does, however, criticise the keeper for his unwillingness to catch the ball, and the sale of Alnwick may turn out to be a mistake. However, the Fooball League Paper this morning gives him a 7 and says that 'he produced some agile stops.'