A 92nd minute goal by Dorian Dervite saw Charlton secure all three points against Bournemouth at The Valley tonight. Unfortunately for the second evening match in a row, I wasn't there to witness it. All set for an early start, I reached up for my Charlton top and my back went. Our Erith-born eldest answered my plea for help and using the skills acquired while working for St. John Ambulance got me fit enough to listen to the commentary.
For all the giving it large by Simon Francis before the game, there was no sign that the players were unwilling to play for José Riga. Bournemouth started the brighter, but Rhoys Wiggins and Lawrie Wilson were shutting them down well. In the last ten minutes the Addicks were definitely in the ascendancy. An injury to Callum Harriott in the 40th minute meant that Jonathan Obika came on and brought a switch to a 4-4-2 formation.
Charlton did well at probing and keeping possession in the second half. The allegedly useless Riga threw caution to the winds and brought on a third striker with Sordell replacing Green.
I know that in the summer there is probably a lot of diving off the Isle of Wight, but that doesn't excuse the referee ignoring the antics of Fraser. Riga had a word with the fourth official more than once, but shouts of 'Sacré bleu' made no impression. Instead Obika got booked for giving Fraser a diving opportunity.
Yann Kermorgant came on, but although there was warm applause, I would say that it was controlled, showing that the Addickted are starting to move on.
Poyet shot over the goal from a difficult position and with ten minutes to go it looked like the same old Charlton when two golden opportunities to score were missed: there were just two many Charlton players in the box. But then Dervitte did the business for Charlton, while Jackson picked up a yellow card for a late challenge as he defended the lead.
Charlton are out of the relegation places as they are ahead of Millwall on goal difference. They are five points behind Doncaster and Birmingham with three games in hand.
2 comments:
Sorry to hear about your back, Wyn. As a Charlton supporter of a similar vintage, the same thing happens to me every now and then. Still, a great win when we really needed 3 points. 5 points out of 9 and 3 clean sheets for the new boy. Not a bad start. Let's hope that we can keep it up through the more difficult fixtures that we now face.
Wishing you a speedy recovery, Wyn.
Post a Comment