After running rampant against Plymouth, Ben Garner’s Addicks came up short against a tricky Cambridge United side. KEVIN NOLAN rues some missed opportunities.
It was unrealistic to expect that Charlton would reproduce the panache they showed while demolishing Plymouth Argyle in midweek. Football doesn’t work like that, not often anyway and hardly at all when Charlton are involved. A kick in the teeth almost inevitably follows the kind of euphoria generated by Tuesday’s result. It goes with the territory.
Charlton’s dramatic fall from grace needs but also defies explanation. Passive to the point of inertia, they were as bland on Saturday as they were brilliant on Tuesday.
The second half, in particular, was an exercise in frustration as they struggled to contain a Cambridge side which were clearly delighted with a point but lacked the gumption to strike out for more. Having led at half-time, the Addicks’ share of the spoils smacked more of defeat. Against more ambitious opposition, that’s exactly what they would have suffered.
The visitors, no strangers to football’s dark arts, made their intentions clear without undue ceremony. Having won referee Carl Brook’s coin toss, they defied protocol and requested that their hosts attack their favoured home end in the first rather than the time-honoured second half.
Their statutory right, of course, but it irritated the locals and stated United’s intentions unequivocally. Beaten heavily in midweek while Charlton were outclassing Plymouth, Mark Bonner’s men were unwilling victims and planned to do anything, legal or otherwise, to assert their rights. And, to be fair, they’re a half decent team when their mind is put to it.
Charlton’s start to this crushingly disappointing game gave few signs of the tedium in store. They survived a first minute scare when Shilow Tracey’s fine cross was headed narrowly headed over the bar by Lloyd Jones before hitting back through Scott Fraser, who glanced Charles Clayden’s beautifully judged centre inches wide. When the lively Tracey made shooting space for himself but sliced wide, then Albie Morgan’s dipping free kick drew an outstanding save from Dimitar Mitov, it seemed we were in for an end-to-end tussle.
The exchanges were lively and included a perfectly judged pass from Morgan, which sent Jayden Stockley clear to drag a left-footed effort well wide of Mitov’s left post. It was far from a classic but was no shocker either and was decorated by a good goal five minutes before the break.
A bundle of energy as usual, George Dobson illustrated his dual value to Ben Garner’s side by breaking up an attack inside his own half before turning defence into attack by picking out Charlie Kirk alertly in motion down the left flank. Taking Dobson’s pass in stride, Kirk made ground and crossed accurately for Stockley at the far post.
Smart chest control set up a close range shot which was saved by Mitov but hung in the air long enough for Fraser to leap high and head simply into an empty net. At the time, a repetition of Tuesday’s tidal wave seemed on the cards. But how wrong we were.
Frankly, Charlton’s second half tactics were inexplicable. Against mediocre opposition, they put the brakes on and began that build-from-the-back routine, which has the same effect, at least from a personal point of view, of slate being dragged down a blackboard.
Almost in slow motion, the ball meandered from Joe Wollacott to either Ryan Innis or Eoghan O’Connell, out to Sean Clare or Clayden before making its way back, via Inniss or O’ Connell again, to Wollacott. Then repeat as necessary before booting it downfield. Far better, you might suppose, to employ the superior control of midfielders Morgan, Fraser and Dobson to protect the ball while moving it forward but it’s the modern way to pass backwards and sideways in a football version of Russian roulette, until the space diminishes and panic takes over.
Inniss and O’Connell, in particular, don’t appear to relish the responsibility and who can blame them? They’re defenders, as defined in their job descriptions, not midfield ballplayers. And Wollacott, an otherwise superb goalkeeper, might have an opinion on the subject. Shortly before the interval, he was almost caught in possession and cleared his lines with indecent haste.
Encouraged to believe they were in with half a chance, Cambridge drew heart from Charlton’s negativity and equalised before the hour. A threat to most League One defences, Sam Smith’s downward header from Adam May’s left wing cross was foiled by Wollacott’s improvised save with his feet. The rebound was returned by Tracey, whose effort on the run was heading off target until Harvey Knibbs turned it past Wollacott from three yards.
At which precise point, it might have been impossible to locate a Charlton supporter who was remotely surprised by the change in fortune – a change, in fact, which might have deteriorated from bad to worse had Wollacott not saved superbly from Knibbs’ low snapshot, then bravely recovered the rebound at the feet of a predatory Smith. United were more likely winners at that stage, a position of some strength but one which didn’t dissuade them from running through their customary repertoire of feigned injuries and snail-like substitutions.
Hard to understand, really. With an ounce more ambition, they could have returned to the Fenlands with all three, not just one, of the points on offer.
Charlton: Wollacott, Clare, Inniss, O’Connell, Clayden, Dobson, Kirk (Leaburn 72), Morgan, Fraser (Payne 72), Rak-Sakyi (Blackett-Taylor 62, Henry81), Stockley. Not used: McGillivray, Chin, Lavelle. Booked: Clare, Clayden. And, er, Garner.
Cambridge: Mitov, Williams, Digby, Jones, Brophy, Smith, Dunk, Okedina, Tracey (Ironside, 77), May, Knibbs. Not used: Mannion, Haunstrup, O’Neil, Lankester, Ibsen Rossi, Janneh.
Referee: Carl Brook. Att: 12,644 (792 visiting).
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