The Addicks claimed victory in the last home match of another poor season. On a sunny day at The Valley, KEVIN NOLAN tried to look on the bright side.

The sheepish owners of a moth-eaten 15-13-16 record prior to this penultimate game, Charlton have lurched through another monotonous season with infuriating inconsistency. A spineless 1-0 submission to Bristol Rovers just six days after Shrewsbury Town were demolished 6-0 at The Valley rubber-stamped their chronic unreliability.

But at least Saturday’s visit by Port Vale gave them an opportunity to balance the slate and at the same time reinforce their claim to be considered the most dreary, mediocre team in League One.

Vale, meanwhile, arrived in SE7 trailing their hosts by 12 points but justifiably satisfied with their campaign to date. Promoted last term via the play-offs, their priority was consolidation of their achievement at a higher level.

That modest objective has been realised by 12 victories, among them a 1-0 conquest of the Addicks at Vale Park in November, a useful result which meant that revenge, as well as statistical levelling up, was on Charlton’s Saturday agenda.

The chips were down; there was everything to play for; losing was unacceptable. Well, that is a gross exaggeration but a surprisingly healthy crowd, with 996 of them housed in the Jimmy Seed stand, rose to the occasion.

It’s only fair to say that these sides, both of them League One also-rans, served up reasonable entertainment Only the extra edge in class, supplied principally by wide men Tyreece Campbell and Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, decided the keenly-contested issue in Charlton’s favour.

Both of them scored, Rak-Sakyi for the 15th time in a fruitful loan spell from Crystal Palace. The slimline winger notched another of his trademarked goals but it was Campbell, whose 14th minute opener did the early damage. Supplied by Albie Morgan to the right of Aidan Stone’s goal, the promising youngster efficiently found the far corner with a sweetly-placed strike.

The visitors were shaken but recovered well. It’s almost an article of faith that Charlton make heavy weather of breaking clear and winning comfortably. They were the better side but proved unable to prove the point before the interval, as the Valiants stayed in the game and gradually gained an ominous foothold. Daniel Butterworth’s weaving dribble produced a firm drive, which luckily was deflected to safety.

Vale captain Tom Pett was a busy influence in midfield as the visitors gave as good as they got, without making any clear-cut chances. When Rak-Sakyi doubled the Addicks’ lead before the hour, it briefly seemed that the issue had been sealed.

The coaching book on the elusive trickster surely stresses the importance of keeping him on his not-quite-so strong right foot whenever he embarks on one of his lateral solo runs from right to left.

Instead Vale, as have many defences before them, allowed the loanee space
to draw a left-footed bead and plant a crisp drive beyond Stone. His finishing is beyond reproach but it’s all but certain he’ll be doing his bit, if not for Palace, for some fortunate club at Championship level. He’s too good for League One.

Three minutes after Rak-Sakyi appeared to have put the game beyond the Burslem boys’ reach, Port Vale snatched an untidy goal and were back at the races. Substitute James Plant seized on the chaos caused by Mal Benning’s right-wing corner and bashed a loose ball past a blameless Ashley Maynard-Brewer. Nearly a thousand visitors behind the goal sensed a lifeline and kicked up a fuss, which was cruelly silenced by Miles Leaburn some 15 minutes later.

The strapping young kid hadn’t had so much as a look-in but like all natural strikers, bided his time and was ready when his chance arrived. Morgan’s persistence kept the ball alive and Leaburn pounced on Vale’s dithering and netted Charlton’ second clincher – or so it seemed at the time.

It was probably just as well that Terrell Thomas’s careless handling of Dennis Politic’s shot gifted the visitors a penalty in the last minute of added time – a few minutes later and It might have been interesting. Matty Taylor made easy work of converting the spotkick.

Whatever the merits of beating new boys Port Vale, it has at least given the Addicks the chance of improving their symmetrical 16-13-16 record. It hardly justifies writing home about, but there you go – there’s everything to play for at Cheltenham next Sunday. They beat Charlton 1-0 at The Valley in December and there’s no way they’re getting away with that. Go get ’em, lads.

Charlton: Maynard-Brewer, Clare (Egbo 78) Thomas, Hector (Mitchell 78), Dobson, Morgan, Rak-Sakyi, Fraser (Payne 78), Leaburn, Campbell (Henry 85), Sessegnon (Kane 85). Not used: Wollacott, Kanu. Booked: Dobson, Morgan, Hector.

Port Vale: Stone, Donnelly, Smith, Worrall, Benning, Proctor (Conlon 46), Ojo, Forrester (Taylor 46), Massy, Pett, Butterworth (Politic 72). Not used: Stevens, Holden, McDermott.

Referee: Carl Brook. Official attendance: 15,314 (996 visiting).

---

Kevin’s home match reports will continue on 853.london next season.

A dire afternoon at The Valley placed the focus on an opposition striker with something to prove. KEVIN NOLAN reports from The Valley.

Morecambe striker Cole Stockton’s 2022-23 season was nothing short of sensational. Scorer of 23 league goals in 44 appearances for a struggling team, he attracted covetous interest in the lower divisions and it was regarded as a coup for the Shrimps when his services were secured for the current campaign.

Last season’s haul included a variety of stunning goals as well as a number of the more mundane finishes on which centre forwards often place more value. He seemed set to take League One by storm this term but he arrived at The Valley with only five goals to his name although, ominously, one of them was the matchwinner in Morecambe’s 1-0 victory over Wycombe Wanderers last week.

Built like a pocket battleship, Stockton wears number 9 to the manner born. He can look after himself, as Charlton found out the hard way when he scored both goals in his side’s 2-1 win in SE7 last season and converted a vital penalty to help the Shrimps recover from a two-goal deficit to draw 2-2 at the Mazuma Stadium.

Out of favour recently, he returned in time to continue his personal vendetta against the Addicks with two more goals, the first of which showcased first his taste for the spectacular, followed later by the kind of finish more reliant on his poacher’s instincts.

Eight desultory minutes had slipped by, during which Stockton had barely featured. when he produced an opener of frightening power. Pouncing on Aaron Henry’s carelessness in possession, he bludgeoned a rising, 35-yard rocket into the right top corner. Goalkeeper Ashley Maynard-Brewer was beaten, as they used to say, all ends up.

Early in the second half, the uninhibited Scouser doubled his tally in more mundane style. Reacting to hesitation between Maynard-Brewer and centre back Michael Hector, he had enough speed to reach Jensen Weir’s low, diagonal ball and poke it over the line.

Cole Stockton – might be advisable not to mention the name around these parts for a while – not until a serious effort is made to recruit him anyway.

Stockton’s goals were punctuated by an equaliser in the first of three minutes added to the first period. Battling his way to the leftbyline, Jack Payne justified his retention after claiming the winner at MK Dons in midweek by improvising a hard, low cross into a congested six-yard area. Whether by accident or design, top scorer Jesurun Rak-Sakyi turned his 14th goal of a productive loan spell past Connor Ripley.

Equality at the interval was an undeserved bonus for the Addicks, who were a disorganised rabble during most of the opening 45 minutes. Their chronic inconsistency is, by now, an article of faith and it’s difficult to recall a foot that was put right.

They were victimised, to be fair, by inefficient referee David Rock, who showed little grasp of the admittedly unofficial advantage rule when Henry was clearly fouled by Jacob Bedeau. Whistling instantly, Rock failed to observe that Charlton had sliced through the visitors’ resistance and that Payne had netted from 10 yards. It would be some consolation to hear that the hasty official apologised to Dean Holden for his rookie error – heartening but unlikely.

After restoring the visitors’ lead, Stockton wasn’t quite finished for the afternoon. Just past the hour, he found space to unleash another ferocious drive from distance which, on this occasion, was saved at full length by Maynard-Brewer. Following up alertly, Weir made easy work of tapping home the rebound.

Languishing third from bottom of League One but easily the better of two substandard teams, Morecambe were the most recent recipients of the fabled helping hand which Charlton extend to the lower orders. Port Vale will be along next Saturday, expecting similar largesse.

Weir’s goal provided Derek Adams’ men with an important two-goal cushion which turned out to be vital. There were still eleven regulation minutes remaining when substitute Scott Fraser reduced the arrears by turning sharply on to Sean Clare’s hard cross and drilling a low shot beyond Ripley.

Those minutes – and six more added – applied belated pressure on the Seasiders but they emerged intact from one or two inelegant goalmouth scrambles before heading home with three priceless points.

Apparently unable to motivate his fading squad, meanwhile, Holden has a huge task ahead of him this summer. Drained by their inability to make a meaningful impression on a frankly ordinary division, the season’s end can hardly come soon enough for both players and fans.

Even his normally indefatigable skipper George Dobson is feeling the effects of a nine-month waste of time, youngsters like Miles Leaburn and Tyreece Campbell have wilted under the demands made on them and a crushing sense of anti-climax pervades The Valley.

Bright spark Rak-Sakyi will no doubt lead an exodus from the training ground and it remains to be seen whether the visionary young manager gets the help he needs to prepare a promotion-challenging group.

Without wishing to make it personal, it’s time for our wandering minstrel of an owner to hang up his guitar, put his hand in his pocket and lend an overdue hand. Or, better yet, sell the club and let someone else have a go. Preferably someone who doesn’t think it’s all about him, or her, but has a humbler attitude to a great club in need of loving care.

Charlton: Maynard-Brewer, Clare, Hector, Thomas, Sessegnon (Kanu 69), Dobson, Morgan, Payne (Campbell 61), Henry (Fraser 61), Rak-Sakyi, Leaburn. Not used: Wollacott, Kane, Egbo, Mitchell. Booked: Leaburn

Morecambe: Ripley, Gibson, Rawson, Crowley (Taylor 72), Stockton, Gnahoua (Delaney 86), Weir (Niasse 86), Bedeau, Cooney, Austerfield, Souare (Melbourne 52). Not used: Smith, Hunter, Simeu.

Referee: David Rock. Official attendance: 13,347 (220 visiting).

---

LIKE KEVIN’S REPORTS? SUPPORT THE CHARLTON CHAMPION

– Can your company sponsor these match reports? Get in touch

No, it’s not a mistake. The Addicks really did dish out a thumping at The Valley on Saturday – and in some style, too. KEVIN NOLAN has recorded this one for the history books.

Released from pressure and almost gambolling in an unfamiliar freedom to express themselves, Charlton crushed Shrewsbury Town during an unforgettable afternoon at The Valley.

Four of their six goals qualified as goal of the season candidates, the pick of them arguably that of Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, who skipped the light fandango through a devastated Shrews defence before nonchalantly flicking the Addicks’ third goal inside the left post with almost casual disdain.

Rak-Sakyi’s terpsichorean contribution, scored in first-half added time, added gloss to a team performance which combined corporate hard graft with breathtaking individual skill in removing Steve Cotterill’s over-achievers from the equation as serious contenders well before the break.

They had actually stayed in contention for almost a half hour before the first of Charlton’s three outstanding first half strikes began their destruction. The fleet-footed Crystal Palace loanee was directly involved in his side’s opener after being crudely brought down by Tom Flanagan slightly to the right of goal. With the 20-yard free kick clearly favouring a left-footed taker, Scott Fraser stepped up to pinpoint a superb delivery into the top right corner.

Flanagan was booked for his transgression, a caution which took on additional significance much later in a dramatic afternoon. In Sunderland’s colours, he deflected Patrick Bauer’s last-gasp play-off decider into his own net four years ago, so it’s safe to assume that Charlton rarely feature in his anthology of golden career moments. And it was to get worse when the defender usurped first use of the visitors’ showers.

While Dean Holden’s carefree chaps tore into the bewildered Salopians, their attacking verve was underpinned by outstanding defensive organisation and nous, at the heart of which were rock-hard centre backs Michael Hector and Ryan Inniss.

Even the early loss of Sean Clare was minimised by Steven Sessegnon’s understated contribution, while Terell Thomas was similarly sound at left back. In front of a pragmatic defence, skipper George Dobson was an indefatigable force of nature, his nuts-and-bolts endeavour indispensable if sometimes taken for granted.

This was a fully functional Charlton side which might have found its feet too late this season but offers hope for the future. Shame Rak-Sakyi won’t be around to lend a hand – or, to be more accurate – two magical feet.

Sandwiched between Fraser’s deadeye set-piece and Rak-Sakyi’s shimmering footwork, meanwhile, was the second of Charlton’s three-goal salvo. It was claimed by Albie Morgan, currently in the process of proving that his promising career, which seemed to have hit the buffers, is up and running again.

An assist must be credited to referee Bobby Madley, whose super-alert use of the unwritten “advantage” rule allowed play to continue when Fraser was brought down by Christian Saydee in the centre circle. Poised to blow for the foul, Madley instead spotted that Rak-Sakyi had picked up possession and fed Morgan inside him. Albie’s first touch wrongfooted Matthew Pennington and set up the fierce right-footed finish which scorched past a helpless Marko Marosi. The accurate shooting he shows during pre-kickoff drills has made his paltry goal tally hard to understand. Nothing ventured, etc… he should chance his arm more often.

Too often this season, Charlton have bossed games before the interval but failed to press home their advantage. Not this time, though. The visitors were swept aside by Holden’s insatiable terriers, among whom Miles Leaburn had yet to make an impression. It’s hard to keep a good man down, of course, and Leaburn duly joined the party with a quickfire double.

A minute past the hour minute, the young hotshot was found by Thomas’ raking pass through the middle, after Morgan’s foraging had won possession. Flanked by two attentive markers, he briefly considered taking them on before unleashing an unstoppable low drive from all of 25 yards, which left Marosi standing as it zipped inside the keeper’s left hand post. His fine strike put him into double figures for the season and was quickly followed by an 11th in more controversial circumstances.

Another of Charlton’s young guns, Tyreece Campbell, broke through Shrews’ tiring rearguard and cut back a precise pass for Sessegnon to shoot first time from inside the penalty area. One of a defensive phalanx seeking to charge down Sessegnon’s effort, Flanagan succeeded in blocking successfully – but with a hand, according to Madley.

The award of a penalty appeared, to be honest, harsh, but Flanagan might have known his luck would be out against Charlton. A second yellow card meant dismissal for the unlucky defender, which left the small matter of the spotkick to be resolved. After some unseemly gamesmanship from Marosi and his colleagues, not to mention apparent competition from Morgan, Leaburn showed admirable technique in dispassionately converting from 12 yards.

With Ashley Maynard underworked but anxious, no doubt, to preserve a clean sheet, the Aussie youngster was endangered only once when a scruffy goalmouth scramble ended with the ball ricocheting to safety off his crossbar. Shrewsbury’s impertinence was punished almost instantly by a sixth goal from an Addick most in need of a goal.

It was substitute Macauley Bonne who was ideally placed to finish clinically after Campbell’s blocked shot fell fortuitously at his feet. The ecstatic response of his colleagues was heartwarming evidence that team spirit remains high on Holden’s requirements.

The manager was no doubt pleased that this cakewalked victory gave him the opportunity to introduce Aaron Henry and Zach Mitchell for the last half hour. Both academy graduates were hugely impressive and, along with the uninhibited Campbell, provided more evidence that Charlton’s supply line of young talent is unrivalled. Maybe next year then… there’s always next year.

Charlton: Maynard-Brewer, Clare (Sessegnon 19), Hector (Mitchell 62), Inniss, Thomas (Bonne 72), Dobson (Henry 60), Morgan, Fraser (Payne 72), Rak-Sakyi, Leaburn, Campbell. Not used: Wollacott, Kanu. Booked: Dobson, Sessegnon.

Shrewsbury: Marosi, Leahy, Pennington (Bennett 76), Moore, Winchester, Phillips, Street (Bloxham 66), Dunkley, Saydee (Bowman 66), Shipley, Flanagan. Not used: Burgoyne, Craig, Barlow. Booked: Winchester, Saydee, Shipley, Flanagan (2 – sent off).

Referee: Robert Madley. Attendance: 13,241 (646 visiting).

---

LIKE KEVIN’S REPORTS? SUPPORT THE CHARLTON CHAMPION

– Can your company sponsor these match reports? Get in touch

The Addicks’ limp season stumbled on with a draw against relegation-threatened Accrington Stanley. KEVIN NOLAN was at The Valley.

Fighting for League One survival one place above the four-team drop zone, Accrington Stanley were good value for the point which keeps their hopes alive. That might, in fact, be damning them with faint praise because there were spells during this lopsided game when they looked likely to comfortably trouser all three points. Only inspired goalkeeping from Ashley Maynard-Brewer and their own faulty finishing thwarted that ambition.

A club that admirably defies predictions that see them relegated before the start of every season, Accies feature significantly in the sorry story of Charlton’s lacklustre campaign.

They were opening day opponents back on July 30, 2022 and shared a 2-2 draw which ended explosively. A healthy contingent of nearly 900 wayfarers were still raucously celebrating what seemed to an added time winner headed in by substitute Miles Leaburn when they were silenced by an almost instant equaliser from Stanley stalwart Sean McConville. As a harbinger of the disappointment in store over the next seven months, this fall from grace took some beating. On Saturday, even without the suspended McConville, John Coleman’s irreverent coupon-busters came very close to going one better.

To be honest, there was little in the opening exchanges to suggest that the visitors would be such problematic opposition. With Corey Blackett-Taylor terrorising right-back Mitch Clark along the left touchline, it promised to be a matter of time before the Addicks forged in front and the winger’s accurate cross, which a panic-stricken Mo Sangare headed against Toby Savin’s crossbar, seemed only a temporary reprieve for Stanley. Blackett-Taylor shot tamely at Savin before the tide turned and, not surprisingly, Accrington took the lead.

It was the besieged Clark who made the early running, with a perfect cross to pick out an unhindered Tommy Leigh at the far post. Leigh’s alert header back across goal left Shaun Whalley the simple task of nodding past Maynard-Brewer from six yards.

His rare goal marked his 100th appearance as an Accie but was promptly countered by an Addick, who not only scored his first ever senior goal, but made it one few onlookers would forget.

There was no logic or apparent justification behind the blockbuster unleashed by wing-back Steven Sessegnon from fully 35 yards and an unpromising angle. More than one home fan silently implored him not to shoot but the kid wasn’t having any of it. No deceptive dip or swerve but simply raw power propelled the right-footed screamer, which was still gathering pace as it ended its journey into the top right corner of Savin’s net. The keeper’s positioning might have been faulty but was also irrelevant. This one was unstoppable.

The smart money was on Charlton to draw inspiration from Sessegnon’s heroics and move out of reach in the second half. Which just shows how dense the smart money can be sometimes because Accrington were clearly unwilling to knuckle under. Leigh’s sharp overhead effort was alertly stopped by Maynard-Brewer but they were fortunate that Jack Payne’s low free kick passed untouched through the six-yard area when the slightest of touches would have restored Charlton’s lead. But the better chances began to fall to Coleman’s uninhibited, enterprising chaps.

It required a stunning double save from Maynard-Brewer, midway through the second session, to maintain parity. His full-length dive to his left kept out Whalley’s fierce drive but left him grounded as Aaron Pressley closed in on the rebound. The Scot’s follow-up effort was on its way past Maynard-Brewer until the instincts denied to us mere mortals enabled him to turn the dead cert over the bar. Given his chance by the freak injury suffered by Joe Wollacott, the young Aussie is undroppable right now.

Completely on top by now, Accrington came looking for the winner they desperately needed. Clever combination between substitutes Matt Lowe and Korede Adedoyin set up an opening which Harvey Rodgers turned past Maynard-Brewer but which was inelegantly cleared off the line by George Dobson.

The skipper’s determination not to be beaten was, as always, infectious. He was part of the defensive posse which closed around Adedoyin who, when clean through, inexplicably hesitated and disappeared under the weight of numbers.

In added time, the final chance fell to Dean Holden’s men. Sent through by Dobson’s fine pass, 62nd minute substitute Daniel Kanu failed to finish past the advancing Savin, who swatted his attempted dink aside and preserved a precious point for the battling Northerners. It had its value for Charlton also – defeat by Accrington would have furrowed brows in SE7 and made trickier next week’s trips to relegation-haunted Morecambe and Cambridge.

And that’s what this ungainly mess of a season has come down to. It makes a sound case for the benefits of amnesia.

Charlton: Maynard-Brewer, Clare, Ness (Thomas 85), Hector, Sessegnon, Dobson, Payne (Kanu 62), Kilkenny (Morgan 62), Rak-Sakyi (Campbell 71), Leaburn (Bonne 85), Blackett-Taylor. Not used: Wollacott, Henry. Booked: Dobson, Morgan.

Accrington: Savin, Clark, Whalley (Adedoyin 78), Leigh, Longelo (Nolan 87), Sangare, Rodgers, Pressley (Lowe 78), Martin, Conneely, Tharmer. Not used: Isherwood, Nottingham, Butler-Oyedeji, Fernandes. Booked: Rodgers, Conneely, Tharme.

Referee: Darren Drysdale. Official attendance: 11,972

Spring is coming but the mood over The Valley is still gloomy. KEVIN NOLAN assesses yesterday’s defeat to the league leaders.

The first of Charlton’s outstanding 15 fixtures of a gloomy, beige-hued season brought table-topping Sheffield Wednesday and their usual full complement of passionate support to The Valley on Saturday. Not surprisingly, League One’s champions-elect departed with all three points following a deceptively narrow win over Dean Holden’s men, who at least stayed in contention until erratic referee Benjamin Speedie called a halt on six minutes of added time.

Wednesday’s profitable afternoon received a further boost with the news that their closest pursuers Plymouth Argyle, who began the day on the same number of points (68), were hammered 5-2 by play-off chasers Peterborough United. Affable Owls manager Darren Moore smiled even more widely than he normally does. He has a game in hand to cheer him up even more.

Far removed from attractive issues such as promotion but still with a wary eye on the desperate relegation struggle below them, Charlton must amass at least 10 more points to ensure their safety. Solidly embedded in a no-man’s land of their own creation, their problems are intensified by the awkward reality that almost all of their upcoming 12 engagements feature opponents with urgent agendas at one end of the table or the other. Even mid-table mediocrity is a prize bitterly won.

The next two assignments make the point succinctly to Holden and his under-achieving charges. On Tuesday they travel to buoyant Peterborough, a venue where results have been disappointing to say the least. In their quest for a play-off spot, Posh will be fancying their chances against visitors they might assume have far less incentive than themselves. They will be led by Johnson Clarke-Harris, scorer of their goal in the 1-1- draw at The Valley on Boxing Day and two more against Plymouth. If Johnson doesn’t get you, chances are either Clarke or Harris will.

Four days after popping up to Peterborough, the Addicks will face Plymouth down in deep, dark Devon, where their hosts will no doubt be spoiling, not only to make amends for their spanking by Posh, but to avenge their 5-1 humiliation at The Valley back in August, at a time when Charlton were getting ideas well above their station.

Looking a little further ahead, the fixture list features game, at a more modest level, against Accrington, Morecambe and Cambridge, before none other than the ambitious Wycombe Wanderers visit HQ. All four of those games promise to be grimly contested but
perhaps we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

Let’s report ’em one at a time, as wisdom advises, and deal first with Saturday’s defeat by Wednesday.

Rank outsiders to upset Moore’s high-flying Owls, Charlton fought stubbornly but with little realistic hope of defying the odds. In fact, had their visitors converted several clear-cut first half chances, the issue, such as it was, would have been settled by half-time. Wednesday’s profligacy encouraged hope of a second- half recovery but indifferent finishing of their own settled the Addicks’ hash.

Superbly organised by Scottish maestro Barry Bannan, a mysteriously unpopular figure in these parts, the South Yorkshiremen moved smoothly into gear and made clear their aggressive intentions when Bannan curled an early effort against the left post. They remained level for just five more minutes before veteran defender Liam Palmer shot them into a lead with, improbably, the only goal of the game.

On the end of a fluent, passing sequence, which Jaden Brown completed with a sharp delivery to his feet, Palmer’s position of total solitude no more than eight yards from goal, will inevitably be the subject of heated debate at Sparrows Lane before the Peterborough trip.

It’s enough to note that his splendid isolation justified, for once, that frankly irritating cliche about “acres of space”. Palmer made the most of them and finished calmly past Ashley Maynard-Brewer.

The same Brown-Palmer combination sliced Charlton open again a few minutes later. An even better chance was laid on by Brown but, from the penalty spot, Palmer remembered who and where he was, causing him to shoot meekly at a grateful Maynard-Brewer. There was no way of knowing, at the time, that his jaw-dropping miss wouldn’t matter.

In total control, meanwhile, the visitors still needed a second goal to seal their superiority. They were denied by Lucas Ness’s critical challenge, which denied Josh Windass at point-blank range; then by Maynard-Brewer. who narrowed the angle to save brilliantly from Dominic Iorfa. The interval left the issue unresolved.

Having failed to trouble keeper Cameron Dawson during an opening session of utter subjection, the Addicks improved after the interval. Their first chance was created by Sean Clare, who won a shuddering challenge, before slipping Miles Leaburn through the inside right channel. The youngster’s first touch was perfect, his second pulled a low drive wide of Dawson but also wide of the far post. It was hardly a glaring miss but the kid should have, at least, employed the keeper.

The 57th minute introduction of Chuks Aneke for a subdued Gavin Kilkenny lifted local spirits and it was the newcomer who delivered Charlton’s first shot on target, an effort which caused Dawson little trouble, Nor did a drive by Clare, which passed harmlessly wide and it was left to Corey Blackett-Taylor to genuinely test the underworked keeper. Cutting in from the left, the winger’s powerful right-footed shot brought him down to save smartly at the foot of a post.

Before he departed on a stretcher with worrying hamstring trouble, Aneke forced a second save from Dawson, with Leaburn’s full-blooded attempt to net the rebound splendidly smothered by Iorfa.

But there was little else to prevent Wednesday from breaking a club record of 20 consecutive league games unbeaten. They’re a real football club with history and pedigree stretching back to 1867. Shame we’ll probably be parting company at the end of this soul-destroying season. Let’s hope we’ll be divided by one, not two divisions, when the dust settles.

After all, there’s only so much misery a man or woman can be expected to endure and League Two is too ghastly to contemplate. Ten more points – should be a cakewalk with 42 still at stake.

Charlton: Maynard-Brewer, Clare, Hector, Ness, Inniss, Kilkenny (Aneke 57, Payne 81), Rak-Sakyi, Fraser, Dobson, Blackett-Taylor, Leaburn (Bonne 75). Not used: Wollacott, Sessegnon, Morgan, Henry. Booked: Blackett-Taylor.

Wednesday: Dawson, Palmer, Brown (Adeniran 63), Vaulks, Iorfa, Bannan, Windass (Dele Bashiru (90), Byers, Famewo, Smith (Gregory 78), Flint. Not used: Stockdale, Bakinson, Hunt, Alimi-Adetoro. Booked: Palmer, Iorfa, Smith, Dawson.

Referee: Benjamin Speedie. Official attendance: 16,729 (3,153 visiting)

Addicks fans have that sinking feeling again. KEVIN NOLAN watched a desperate affair at The Valley.

In-form Charlton, well rested after triumphing at Exeter last weekend and boosted by four wins from their previous five games, were understandably confident of extending an encouraging run by defeating relegation-threatened Fleetwood Town at an expectant Valley on Saturday.

Beaten at home by lowly Burton Albion in their last league game, meanwhile, Scott Brown’s bhoys had qualified for the FA Cup fifth round by knocking out table-topping Sheffield Wednesday in a mild upset, but that hardly qualified as a reliable form guide. It was widely assumed that Wednesday had heavily prioritised their league campaign and were less than disappointed to lose last Tuesday.

Winners of only six league games this season but kept afloat by eleven draws, Town had managed only 31 goals but had shown signs of a stubborn streak by conceding just two more than that paltry total. Their 2-3 “goalfest” against Burton the previous weekend was clearly out of character for the Cod Army.

Huddled together for warmth in the Jimmy Seed Stand, 121 travelling fans gave a brave account of themselves but probably feared the worst. They haven’t exactly set League One alight on the road and their cheerful mood was a triumph of hope over experience.

As a quiet first half trudged along, with the Addicks proving no better – or indeed worse – than their Fylde Coast visitors, a splendid goal that was completely out of context withs its mundane surroundings illuminated the proceedings and sent a familiar, cold chill down local spines.

Abruptly shaken out of their cosy sense of superiority, home fans were startled but hardly surprised by the sudden turn of events.

Hurried off the bench as early as the ninth minute to replace his stricken captain Danny Andrew, defender Shaun Rooney settled down quickly, shored up the hole left by Andrew and found time to venture upfield to swell the numbers on setpieces. Stationed some 25 yards from goal as an inconclusive headed clearance reached him, the 26-year-old Scot unleashed an uninhibited half-volley which screamed into the top left corner with Ashley Maynard-Brewer airborne but hopelessly beaten by the sheer brutality of the strike.

Stung into action by the setback, Charlton sought instant reprisal. Skipper George Dobson, set up by Scott Fraser, curled a first-time effort narrowly over the bar before Fraser himself moved on to Gavin Kilkenny’s pass, shot on the run but was foiled by Carl Johnston’s heroic block.

The Addicks looked likely to take a one-goal deficit in with them at the interval until, in the last of five added minutes, a second goal which again belonged in a better game than this earnestly mediocre affair, drew them level.

Confirmed as on loan from Crystal Palace for the rest of the season, Jesurun Rak-Sakyi delights and frustrates in equal measure. His shimmering talent is undeniable but is often let down by poor choices. With a head of steam behind him, however, he’s a sight for red and white eyes, as he proved yet again while referee Carl Boyeson reached for his half-time whistle.

Picking up Sean Clare’s shrewd pass, Rak-Sakyi’s magic feet disposed of Scott Robertson’s challenge as he cut inside from the right, wrongfooted Town’s central defenders and dispatched an unstoppable drive past Jay Lynch. His wonderful, bravura goal appeared, at the time, to have set up the homeboys for a match-winning second half onslaught.

Seven minutes after the resumption, the Addicks instead found themselves trailing again. Their poor defending of setpieces, in this case Phoenix Patterson’s inswinging left-wing corner, was their all too familiar downfall. Hardly a shrimp but dwarfed by Ryan Inniss, Lucas Ness and their co-defendants, Harrison Holgate – a single, diminutive cod among several towering haddocks – leaped like a salmon and headed what turned out to be the match-winner into the centre of Maynard-Brewer’s net.

Surprisingly in front, Fleetwood produced a masterclass in the various methods of game management. The second period rapidly degenerated into an ugly series of stoppages, not all of them down to Brown’s men. As they regularly collapsed in simulated agony and pondered long and hard over such dilemmas as goal-kicks and throw-ins, they were assisted by the genuine injuries which afflicted their hosts.Lengthy treatment of injuries to Clare and Matt Penney led to their withdrawal and will present Dean Holden with selection problems for Tuesday’s trip to Forest Green Rovers.

In the shorter term, the late dismissal of Inniss sealed Charlton’s fate. Sent off for chopping down Harvey Macadam, the huge centre-back deserved his red card; no amount of Holden’s disingenuous defence that Ness was the last defender should deflect from the brutal truth that Inniss’s disciplinary record needs urgent improvement. He’s a good lad but he needs to calm down. There is still a season to complete and we’ll need all hands available to get through it.

Meanwhile, it’s on to Nailsworth to take on FGR. Should be easy… er, p’raps not.

Charlton: Maynard-Brewer, Clare (Sessegnon 61), Inniss, Ness, Penney (Campbell 81), Dobson, Fraser, Blackett-Taylor, Kilkenny (Aneke 66), Rak-Sakyi, Bonne. Not used: Wollacott, Thomas, Morgan, Payne. Booked: Fraser, Penney. Sent off: Inniss.

Fleetwood: Lynch, Andrew (Rooney 9), Wiredu, Mendes Gomes (Macadam 55), Robertson, Marriott (Hayes 66), Warrington, Holgate, Patterson (Nsiala 55), Johnston, Stockley (Omochere 66). Not used: McMullan, Dolan. Booked: Wiredu, Holgate, Johnston.

Referee: Carl Boyeson. Attendance: 12,436 (121 visiting).