We are staying up!

That was the chant of Charlton fans after the Addicks secured an emphatic 3-1 victory over Watford at The Valley last night through two goals from Callum Harriott and one from captain Johnnie Jackson to secure Championship survival.

Early on, Hamer had to slide out to block Deeney after a long ball caught out the defence. Harriott had fired over an early chance from eight yards, although it probably took a deflection. Jonathan Bond, the youthful Hornets keeper, palmed away a Jackson header before Harriott opened the scoring in the 22nd minute, gathering a pass from Jordan Cousins out on the left before hitting a 20-yard drive across keeper Jonathan Bond and into the far corner. Harriott had a swarm of Hornet defenders around him but persevered to put the ball in the net. Sceptics said that he would not have scored with Almunia in the Watford goal, but Almunia wasn't there and Harriott did score, so I am not too bothered about that 'what if' scenario. It was a powerful low drive from the 20 year old.

Hamer had to deflect a Bekalem header from a corner on to the bar. The charm merchant was lucky to still be on the pitch at half time after he had floored Wilson with an elbow.

A patched-up Watford side, struggling with injuries and suspension, drew level after the break when Deeney smashed in his 24th goal of the season with a spectacular volley which left Hamer with no chance. This move started when the referee failed to notice a blatant handball against Charlton. Two Watford fans managed to get out of the Jimmy Seed stand and were ejected. The Hornet fans were noisy all evening, even chanting on the way to the station as they celebrated their mid-table finish.

But 10 minutes later Charlton were back in front when Jackson took Morgan Fox's left-wing cross on his chest - and although the midfielder's initial effort was blocked by keeper Bond, he managed to nudge in the rebound, a typical Jackson effort, just when it was needed. Seven minutes later, Harriott volleyed in his second goal, the best goal of the evening, a great effort along the ground.

Charm merchant Riera had been engaged in a tussle with Lawrie Wilson all evening and a foul on Poyet led to a red card, but he was very reluctant to leave the pitch, arguing with the referee. There was quite a lot of cynical fouling by Watford with substitute Ranegie fouling Solly more than once, but it was not noticed by the officials who seemed a bit out of their depth.

Watford got the ball in the net in time added on, but it was disallowed.

Watford manager Beppe Sannino said before the match that all his players were 'under exam' in this match, but it was the Charlton players who passed with flying colours. Addicks fans going to Blackpool on Saturday can now enjoy a day by the seaside.

What the fate of José Riga will be remains uncertain, but he has done a decent job for us and deserves our thanks. I think that he has got the team playing better with less hoofing of the ball and more precision passing. Roland's message in the programme was singularly uninformative, simply repeating what he has said before.

My luck held when after the train from Charlton was delayed by 'disruptive passengers', I managed to just catch the last northbound Bakerloo Line train with a sprint down the long corridor at Charing Cross.

Sadly someone in the East Stand required urgent medical attention for a heart attack and the concourse had to be closed at half time while efforts at resuscitation continued. Quick instinctive action by an off duty fireman helped him initially and I understand that he is now in intensive care. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Player ratings

Ivy the Terrible has awarded the Silver Bone to Callum Harriott. A lot of the Watford shots went high and wide, but when he was called into action Hamer did well. However, I wish he wouldn't keep blaming his defenders. Morrison was solid, except when a header put Charlton into trouble when he should have headed back to Hamer. Dervite played well, once again getting the ball out of defence effectively. Solly had another good game and received warm applause on his late substitution. Fox once again showed what an accomplished youngster he is. Jackson played his part well. Cousins got muscled out on occasions. Wilson was the target of cynical fouling which is a kind of tribute to the threat he poses. Poyet was targeted for fouling, but once again showed his sublime skill. Unfortunately, I do not think I will see him playing for Charlton again. Sordell tried hard, but was often the lone man up front surrounded by three defenders. He got warm applause when he was substituted. Obika livened things up and contributed to the Harriott goal. Piggott put himself about in the short time he was on. Hughes got a cameo to say goodbye to the Valley pitch as a first team member (no doubt he will have a continuing role at the club) but got a harsh yellow card for his trouble.

Rescue Cat Reg has awarded the Hiss of the Match to the obnoxious Riera who is on loan from Galatasary.

Rick Everitt gives his appraisal of last week's game and a surprisingly generous tribute to José Riga here: Rick from Ramsgate. But then the Rickster was forecasting relegation earlier in the season.

Interest in Wiggins

Richard Cawley of the SLP has reported that there is transfer interest in currently injured left back Rhoys Wiggins, particularly from Bolton Wanderers. Wiggins has a buy out clause in his contract in the event of relegation.

Morgan Fox is shaping up well at left back, but Wiggins has a great ability to get forward and penetrate opposition defences which is something we need.

Will Hornets have a sting?

Charlton badly need a win or at the very least a point against Watford at The Valley tonight. The Hornets are currently 13th in the table and 12th in the form table. The match is meaningless to them, but in the same situation we would go out and try to play and we would expect Watford to do so if they were away at Millwall.

Watford's away record in terms of wins is actually worse than ours, four against five, but they have secured more draws (ten against six). They have also scored a lot of goals away from hone, 34, which is more than Burnley. No doubt top scorer Troy Deeney played a part there with 23 goals to his credit this season.

Our record against the Hornets is not good. Charlton have won only one of the last 10 meetings in all competitions, drawing five and losing four. Their only win since 1996 was 4-3 at Vicarage Road in the Championship last season. Watford are unbeaten in the last four meetings at The Valley, winning the last two. Charlton's last home win was 2-1 in the old Division One in August 1995.

I hope that Chris Solly is able to play, and if he is, I would want to see Lawrie Wilson in front of him.

Odds are: Charlton 5/4; Draw, 12/5; Watford, 21/10.

Despite tube strike disruption, I plan to be there (goodness knows when I will get home). Come on you Reds!

Pope gets manager's blessing

York City have kept fourteen clean sheets in their last sixteen games and a lot of the credit goes to Charlton loan keeper Nick Pope. The Minstermen have enjoyed a revival which has put them in the play off places after Pope arrived in the nick of time in January.

Manager Nigel Worthington commented, 'Nick's been an absolute revelation to us. At 22 he's barely started his career, but his performances for such a young man have been exceptional, really authoritative. That's a big part of why we crossed that fine line of turning draws into wins.'

Could Pope take over in the Championship next season if Hamer leaves? Probably not, although he would arguably be up to League 1 standard if the Addicks were relegated. But would he want to be No.2 to Hamer or a new keeper?

Not the best of days

Not only did Charlton lose 1-3 at home to Blackburn, but signalling problems at Watford (a bad omen?) meant that I didn't get home until 9.30 p.m., hence no report last night. The various permutations of our fate are now difficult to work out. It really depends on whether Doncaster can secure a point away at Leicester and whether we can get a point from our last two games. It might be possible to lose both to Watford and at Blackpool and survive, but really we need at least a point on Tuesday evening.

Up until Blackburn's first goal, I thought that we were playing quite well and at least holding our own, although across the match as a whole we tended to be out muscled. I thought that Hamer could have done better to stop the ball going between the post and his hand. We then had a chance to get back in the game through the penalty. There was some confusion about who was going to take it, in part I think because Paul Robinson saved one from Jacko last year. Marvin Sordell stepped up and sent the ball down the middle, which would work with your average keeper who tends to dive to left or right, but not with a former England keeper. It wasn't a great penalty, but it was also a good save.

In the second half the first of two goals from headers went in, then Sordell gave us some hope with what was a good goal. However, when Blackburn's second goal went in, we had a mountain to climb and the players looked increasingly demoralised and tired.

I also thought that throughout the games we wasted our set pieces. Our corners never led to scoring opportunities and our free kicks never threatened. More later.

Match analysis

Once again Ivy the Terrible has awarded the Silver Bone to Diego Poyet. It wasn't his best performance, but he used the ball wisely and was active in defence and in setting up attacks. Understandably enough, he is waiting until the end of the season before deciding whether to commit to Charlton. Hamer could not have done anything about two of the goals, but was often too slow and hesitant in kicking the ball out. Fortunately I rarely dream at Charlton, but last night I dreamt that he had kicked the ball out of touch, a realistic enough dream. He made one excellent save from a point blank header from Gestede on 92 minutes. Morrison found the Rovers forward line a handful, but dealt well with Gesteede. Dervite brought the ball out of defence well to start attacks. On 21 minutes he dealt with Olsson's teasing cross well, clearing it to safety. He also cleared a strike from Rhodes off the line, but Cairney was then able to convert. He must be signed up for next season. Fox was constrained by a rather harsh yellow card, but his quick throw in provided the assist for the goal. Solly played well, but was tested by Craig Conway. Cousins was uncomfortable out of position but provided a good pass in the build up to the penalty. Harriott was quite lively and useful and I was surprised that José Riga substituted him, even if there were instances of poor decision-making. Ajdarevic put one good shot in on goal, but seemed uncertain where to position himself. He is not as good as he thinks he is. Jackson tried hard, but not always to great effect. Sordell, now our leading scorer, put in a determined and energetic performance. Reza is too selfish with the ball, he needs to pass to others. Church was energetic and relatively ineffective as always. Petrucci made no perceptible difference.

The officials had a good game, so Rescue Cat Reg has given the Hiss of the Match to Network Rail for delaying his evening meal.

'Must win' fixture for Blackburn

If they are to sneak into the play offs, where they are three points behind Reading, tomorrow's fixture at The Valley is a 'must win' game for Blackburn Rovers. However, they have been beset with inconsistency all season which reflects the challenge of rebuilding with a young squad: Rovers

Blackburn are currently 2nd in the form table while Charlton are 16th. This reflects a good run of away form for Rovers who have been unbeaten in their last five away games.

Charlton have, however, started to find the back of the net. One can speculate about the reasons for Marvin Sordell's recovery of form. I would agree with those who say he is not a very good player, but I am quite happy if he starts scoring for us at this stage of the season. Fans from Charlton and Bolton were engaging in mutual appreciation of the player on the way back from the Bolton gave as they formed a Marvin Sordell fan club.

If Charlton could win tomorrow, they would be as good as safe. Even a draw would be helpful, given the games that teams around us have. Reading will want to win at Doncaster to sustain their play off challenge and it is difficult to see Barnsley winning at Boro or Blackpool at Wigan. QPR versus Millwall could be a draw as could Birmingham versus Leeds.

I am going for a 2-1 win for the Addicks. Odds are: Charlton 7/4, Draw 23/10, Blackburn 6/4.

The final Voice of the Valley of the season will be on sale around the ground: Voice of the Valley

New pitch application

The club has made an application to Greenwich Council to install a new pitch which would have under soil heating. 3G appears to be being considered, but this may be just for the pitch surrounds as it cannot currently be used for the playing surface. However, it is likely to be approved by the football authorities in the longer run.

The full application is here: Pitch

This is a welcome sign of investment by the new regime.