About Me

Old Coulsdon, United Kingdom
An acquired refugee from the days of exile at Selhurst Park, my first game being a dreary 1-1 draw with Millwall. I followed the team back to The Valley, and have now been with them for over twenty years. You will find me in the Rose of Denmark or in the Lower West. Follow me on Twitter @DeepestDarkest1

Sunday 26 February 2012

Charlton 2 Stevenage 0

His head was down as he vanished into the dugout, and he barely acknowledged the pats on the back from Powell and Dyer amongst others. He was being lauded from the North Stand, but Wright-Phillips didn't even glance over. He knew that he had fashioned no fewer than six nailed on chances today, and that the one that did go in via a sizeable deflection off Henry, was likely in retrospect to be attributed as an own goal. He also knew that earlier in the season he would have been taking the matchball home for a richly deserved hat trick at least.

I cannot remember a time when the Charlton faithful were so patient with a misfiring striker, as we are with our current number ten. I hope the support continues as apart from putting it in the net, Wright-Phillips is doing everything else superbly well. The fact that he was still despondent despite having notched his first goal (hopefully) since last November, shows how much he cares.

If he wants a reminder in clinical finishing, he should spend some time with the defence at Sparrows Lane this week, and Morrison in particular. His half volley for the first goal was clinically efficient, and had a "pick that one out" quality about it. Day in the Stevenage goal could only watch helplessly as it hit the top corner of his net. Oh, and while he is at it, Wright-Phillips should also watch Solly as well.

Yesterday saw a terrier like performance of some quality, and a never say die attitude from Solly, that made him my man of the match. One passage of play in particular stood out for me. Late on in the second half, our diminutive number twenty decided he was going to take the ball off Aneke, who for the sake of this story is about one and a half times the size of our right back. Snapping at his ankles, Solly did a full circumnavigation of the Stevenage man, niggling at him all the way round. It was a tour that ended with the ball in Solly's possession, and the man mountain dumped on his back. Alright, so a free kick to Stevenage was the end result, but there was no fear or doubt in Solly's mind at all. It was like watching a feisty little dog attacking a particularly large and juicy bone, and there was no way Solly was walking away without his hard earned prize.

Stevenage should be congratulated for what they have achieved this season, but Charlton made them look both toothless and ordinary yesterday. As the Covered End chanted that we are better than Spurs, the team from Hertfordshire will find out next week if they are as well. They aren't of course, and neither are we, but I wish them well. Meanwhile, we have a trip to Chesterfield on Tuesday as the relentless round of games continues. We have shown we can beat the top teams around us, but we must do the same to those who have a fight of their own to conduct at the other end of the table. Hat trick for Wright-Phillips maybe?

No comments:

Post a Comment