Slam Dunked

Brighton & Hove Albion 2 -2 Charlton Athletic

This week it was our turn to be denied three points in the dying moments of the match as Lewis Dunk's looping header grabbed a late point for The Seagulls. This time last week of course we were enjoying the flip side as Vetokele's late strike earned a point at Huddersfield.

Brighton Away
Normally I really look forward to away days but a trip to Brighton isn't as an enjoyable away day as it should be. Why?!?! Previous trips to Brighton used to involve being in a temporary built stand around a running track and the pitch being yards away from the away fans, now is the opposite with The Amex stadium being one of the nicest grounds in the league. But for me there is a snag, the ground is in the middle of nowhere and to get to the ground you either have to be ferried in on one of the park and ride coaches, pay to park near,  or drink in Brighton to then leave over an hour before kick off to queue up at the station to get on a packed train towards Falmer where the ground is situated. Not ideal and I cant imagine Brighton fans enjoy this commute to their matches although in their case anything is better than playing football at a athletics stadium.

The afternoon started for me with us drinking and eating around 30 mins away from the ground & then driving and hoping to park in Stanmer Park located near the ground. Due to my Dad not listening to directions we ended up right next to the ground and after asking a steward if he could direct us to Stanner Park he described it being "such a ball ache to get to" he would allow us to park in a road overlooking the stadium for free! (Thank you Mr parking steward). So after meeting friends we ended up getting into the stadium around 40 minutes to Kick off.

Approaching The Amex

Again as on previous visits to The Amex Brighton try and make the away fans feel quite welcome with Charlton badges dotted around the concourse, their staff donning Charlton polo tops & mini posters thanking us for travelling so many miles to the ground. I remember Reading doing similar thing last season too which again is a nice initiative for the clubs to do. As we were early managed to have a few beers before hand priced at a hefty £4.20 a pint and was able to put my flag up in a decent spot again thanks to some helpful Brighton stewarding.

As we took our seats a few minutes prior to kick off noticed there was one change from the side that drew at Huddersfield the fit again Stephen Henderson replacing Pope in between the sticks.

Henderson
Solly
Ben Haim   
Bikey                                                               
Wiggins
Gudmundsson
Jackson (C)
Buyens
Cousins
Vetokele
Tucudean

The teams makes there way out

On our two trips to the The Amex we hadn't scored...Were we going to break that record today? Well the answer to that question was going to be answered very quickly! Within three minutes we took the lead through in form striker Igor Vetokele, Yoni Buyens ran through the middle then dinked a ball over the top to Vetokele who then cut inside his then attempted pass to Tucudean bounced back to him which saw him take a touch and then rifle a drilled shot into the bottom corner of Brighton keeper Stockdales goal. What a start! Met by chants of IGOOOOR IGOOOOR! 0-1







They always say your most vulnerable to concede after you've scored and that very nearly happened on loan Liverpool midfielder Teixeira had just Henderson to beat but the new Charlton keeper stood tall and produced a fine save to turn it round the post!

To be honest at an away ground behind the goal singing and cheering on your team it's quite hard to notice as much as the games action as usual, so apologies if I missed anything key out or my players reviews arent accurate I was shouting and singing a lot as usual! Brighton were dominating possession but our defence was very organised and on any rare occasions the defence was breached Ben Haim and Solly were there with some vital interceptions and clearances.

The best chance of the half fell to midfielder Colunga as a Brighton corner was flicked on from Dunk to an unmarked Colunga but from a few yards out he fired wildly over the bar. The half time whistle came with overall Brighton having most of the first half but with Charlton's defence remaining resolute, but The Addicks leading thanks to Vetokeles 4th of the season.

The second half saw the introduction of striker Simon Church who was a like for like replacement for Tucudean who I assume had a knock. A different sub from Peeters as we have seen him opt to bring on Moussa instead of Church in previous games, but maybe this time Peeters saw Church's work rate as a factor in him being brought on. The half started as the first half ended with Brighton pressure and the busy Mackail-Smith swivelled in the box and saw his half volley just go wide of the post.

Charlton corner in the second half

Brighton were pressing more with shots from Bennett & Teixeira not troubling Henderson in the Charlton goal. We made our second sub 15 minutes into the half with Cousins being replaced by Wilson & Lua Lua replacing Mackail-Smith for Brighton. Brightons pressure paid off when a corner from Holla headed powerfully into the top corner of the goal a fine header from Dunk but poor zonal marking from The Addicks. 1-1


Brighton continued to attack & Lua Lua who always looks a threat whenever he plays against us had two shots on goal one producing a decent save from Henderson. But surprisingly it was Charlton who struck next against the run of play and it was all down to the work rate of Simon Church, he nicked the ball from a Brighton throw jinxed his way down the byline cut a fine ball into Vetokele who then with a sublime piece of quick footwork lost the defender and with Stockdale approaching he fired a hard shot against the post and into the net! What a lovely finish from Vetokele and great hard work from Church in providing it sent the travelling fans into mayhem & Vetokele lapped it up with a Balotelli esque celebration.1-2

Straight away Hyypia sent on new striker Sam Baldock in search of an equaliser & Peeters sent on Fox for Gudmundsson to shore up the midfield. Charlton looked comfortable then and were playing some nice football. A nice passing move from The Reds found Church in the box he went down but The Referee booked the Welsh international for diving. A Charlton corner then was headed wide by Bikey where he really should of done better.

Jackson applauding the away fans before he takes a corner

The game entered into stoppage time and Brighton won a corner which saw their keeper Stockdale come up, the corner was too long but was picked up by Lua Lua who dinked a fine ball into the unmarked Dunk whose powerful header looped over Henderson and into the back of the net off the underside of the bar. Heartbreak for Charlton as although Brighton's dominance they rarely troubled the Charlton goal and gutting to concede so late in the game. Dunk scored an unlikely brace both from set pieces! Final Score 2-2

The players clap the fans at the final whistle

Again Peeters always gets the whole of team to applaud the travelling fans which is good to see, although hard for Ben Haim who clearly was distraught at conceding the late goal great to see his passion & that he really cares for the cause. Peeter's did walk straight over to Henderson to have a few words of what he felt he could have done better with the late equaliser.
My short reviews on player performances although not too accurate from being behind the goal!

Henderson - Didn't have much to do really on his return to the team made a fine save early on, but on second viewing of the late equaliser he was well off his line and was at fault as Dunks header looped over him into the net.
Solly - Thought Chris had a good usual solid game from him, especially what I saw when Brighton attacked towards our end in the first half.

Ben Haim - A very good performance from Tal who in the first half made some vital interceptions and clearances and kept Brighton at bay.
Bikey - Didn't really notice Bikey that much really but he for one will be annoyed that both goals came from set pieces but as we do the new zonal marking from corners its hard to pin point exactly who was at fault. He was strong as ever in tackle and again stopped Brighton troubling the goal.
Wiggins - Again another player who wasn't noticed that much but again played his part in a solid defensive effort.
Cousins - Jordan had a poor game lots of wayward passes from him and poor touches saw him lose the ball often. This saw him replaced by Wilson early in the second half. Cant be too harsh on Jordan as again left midfield is not his position.
Buyens - Really impressed with Buyens again his constant work rate is great to see and played a part in the first goal.
Jackson - Johnnie didn't have the best of games lost the ball quite a few times but he did always work hard to win it back.
Gudmundsson - Looked lively early on but then faded as the game went on.
Tucudean - A quiet first half from him which unfortunately saw him subbed at half time which I assume was down to him having a knock.
Vetokele - Man of the Match 2 shots 2 goals and both finished so clinically. What a signing he's proved to be the second goal was genius great footwork and a fine finish.
Church - Often at the forefront of anger from Charlton fans he came up with a fine performance, really worked his socks off and provided a fine assist for Vetokele's second.




Afterwards quite a few hundred Charlton fans congregated on the concourse and had a few drinks in the bars whilst waiting for the crowds to disperse as Brighton leave there bars open after the game. This also gave opportunity to discuss the game, we all agreed that we would have taken a point before the game just gutting the way it come about. But what an improvement! In April we were thrashed 3-0 here where as this season we were minutes away from three points.


Home Fans - There were just over 24 thousand Brighton fans in attendance which is a great turn out from them. Not too much noise from them other than spurts of Seeeaaagulllls & Albioooon Albioooon.


Away Fans - Shame we couldn't sell out the away end but a decent following of 1992 fans who made good noise throughout the match especially in the latter stages to spur the team onto victory.

Moment of the Match - Has to be Vetokele's second goal, a lovely finish which sent the away end into delirium at a time in the game where Brighton were on top.

Moan of the Match - Although a wonderful stadium £32 for a ticket is too much and i hope they get charged the same at The Valley, I think the price put a lot of Charlton fans off but I must say that if the unthinkable happens and we get promoted this season the price of  a away ticket in the premiership is almost double that & I'm sure those fans will be turning up then.




Overall I did enjoy the day and despite the last minute agony there is a lot to be excited about, again remember last season we got thumped where as we came here this season played well &  we so nearly snatched three points although a draw was a fair result. Looking forward Big Bob would have been disappointed to concede from two set pieces but other than that there is not too much to work on.

We now head into the international break unbeaten & there is two weeks until our next game against managerless Watford who have also started the season well and sit in second position.




Will it be a busy day tomorrow in the transfer window deadline day? Maybe another striker will be drafted in which may see Pigott head out on loan hopefully to a League one side where he could do with some much needed playing time and hopefully can prove his ability.

Who would've have taken unbeaten so far and to have found a new hitman in the shape of Vetokele! Even after a late setback we can take hope from a good performance and you can sense good times are coming! COME ON YOU REDS!

Peeters Sends Rams To Slaughter

Charlton Athletic 3-2 Derby County 19/8/14

Tuesday night down The Valley saw new manager Bob Peeters continue his fine home form with a 3-2 win against promotion hopefuls Derby County, that's 3 out of 3 now for Big Bob in the space of a week, one that saw us through to the next round of the cup and the other two saw us beat two teams widely picked for promotion this season.

My afternoon and trip to to The Valley started early for a Tuesday night game, as I had a friend with me who was a Derby fan & we decided to have some grub at the O2 before getting the short bus trip into Charlton. I have often been to the O2 with friends before a home game and would recommend it as you have such a wide selection of bars and restaurants to choose from and you rarely find it ever that busy at the times we go before matches - unless of an evening game if they have an event on. We went for a Nando's and then after got the short 10 minute bus ride to Charlton Station where we enjoyed a few drinks with mates before the game.

As i said my friend was a Derby fan and he was quite cautious coming into the game after they have made a indifferent start to the season, narrowly beating Rotherham at home on the opening day and drawing away to Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday. He again like a few pundits are stating at the moment that we may well be underestimated by a lot of teams this season and could cause a surprise this campaign. Again the mood was buoyant in the Charlton camp following an unbeaten start and of course Saturdays last gasp victory.

We made our way into the ground with around 10 minutes to kick off taking my seat in a different spot from the Wigan came on Saturday as I had a few friends with me. The teams made there way out onto the Lush Valley surface on a fine Tuesday evening.

The team news saw two changes to the Charlton side but no real surprises really as Henderson had picked up a knock on Saturday & due to Solly's ongoing knee troubles he simply cannot play three matches in seven days. It was no real surprise to me also as I saw them both entering Nando's before the game. So the starting line up was .
Pope
Gomez
Bikey
Ben Haim
Wiggins
Gudmundsson
Buyens
Jackson (C)
Cousins
Tucudean
Vetokele

So again was great to see promising youngster Joe Gomez get his first ever league start at the age of 17 after an impressive debut last week against Colchester, Gomez being preferred to Wilson at right back who now is more comfortable in his right wing role & Gomez in front of Loic Nego who surely now cant have much of a future left at the club? The other change was young keeper Nick Pope in between the sticks after such a great season for him at York last season, fans had big prospects to see him giving his chance this season.

KICK OFF

The game started and started well for the home side with Charlton's silky passing and the constant threat of Gudmundsson proving a real thorn to the Derby defence. Johann had a shot saved early on, but he was having an impressive start linking up well with his wonderful array of passing and movement. Charlton's bright start resulted in an early goal for The Addicks after ten minutes, Jordan Cousins pacy run down the left saw him pass a low ball into George Tucudean who superbly swivelled and fired a hard low shot past Rams keeper Lee Grant. A fine finish from the Romanian bagging his first for the club and in fine style. 1-0

Former Dutch impressionist Schteve McClaren

After the goal Derby began to wake up with midfielder Bryson testing pope and Derby's slick one touch possession footbal started to see fruition. Charlton were still coming forward with again Gudmundsson proving lively and linking up well with Gomez at times, and Yoni Buyens had a rebound effort fired wildly over. Unfortunately after that we began to sit back and rest on our lead and let Derby come at us, no real pressure being put on from the defence letting them walk it up the half way line before anyone put on any means of pressure.

 Last seasons top scorer Chris Martin causing problems with a few shots on goaland proving to be a target man in there team playing off him. You could sense this pressure and fine passing could lead to a goal & sure enough it did, after 30 minutes a low pass into the box saw Bryson dummy the ball expertly which allowed Jamie Ward to collect and fire home a powerful shot into the top corner from the edge of the box 1-1

It was a shame we conceded like that as we just kept dropping back and letting them have too much time on the ball, but in fairness Derby play off finalists from last season have a well organised team and there qualities were shining through so we cant be too despondent so far. Tucudean was having a good game and was not afraid to come back and win the ball which resulted in a bad late foul from Bryson which saw him receive a yellow card and in turn saw George have some lengthy treatment. It didn't seem like Charlton had learnt from there lesson as we still sat deep and allowed Derby a lot of time which  resulted in a decent save from Pope from a fierce Bryson shot.

The fourth official put up 4 minutes of stoppage time and as the game was heading to a well balanced draw at half time a long route one kick from Pope saw a flick on from Vetokele into the feet of Tucudean who danced his way around two Derby defenders with some lovely footwork into the box.. It looked like he had taken it too far and should have shot earlier but was then bundled over by a Derby defender and the Referee duly pointed to the spot. From where i was sat it did look fortunate but looking at the replays since The ref had no choice but to give a penalty. Yoni Buyens stepped up after his spot kick success v Colchester. And here was the result of that penalty from where i was sat.

What a cool finish again from the spot from Buyens and what a time to score just on half time to send us 2-1 up at the break.

The second half saw Tucudean unfortunately after a promising first half replaced, maybe due to the big knock he took from earlier, on came Franck Moussa fresh from Saturdays winner! And for Derby young star Will Hughes was replaced by another upcoming star Omar Mascarell on loan from Real Madrid. The second half started as well as the first half started for The Reds as a great move saw Moussa tamely shoot wide. Moussa's pace was causing Derby a problems as he forced their defence into a poor back pass which Veotkele ceased upon and a good run saw his shot well saved from Grant.

Wilson came on to replace Cousins who had a good first half but had faded out with the fresh legs of Wilson required. Again Moussa was proving to be a nuisance as he won a free kick on the edge of the box which Johnnie Jackson stepped up only to fire narrowly over the bar.

The Charlton pressure finally paid off, Moussa ran down the wing made his way into the box but his cross was over hit only for Jackson to retrieve it and his lovely deft cross found Wilson who flicked on and some great reactions from Vetokele headed into the net and gave Charlton a well earned two goal cushion 3-1.

The scenes around The Valley were jubilant songs of "Were Charlton Athletic were top of the league" which indeed we were. Three could have easily been four has the energetic Gomez sprinted down the wing to find Wilson whose pass allowed Vetokele to turn in the box but he took too long to fire away his shot shooting into the hands of Grant. With five minutes to go in typical Charlton style we were not allowed to sit comfortable and with our two goal lead as the ball fell to Ward again on the edge of the box and he fired in a low shot which crept through the legs of Pope. Really felt for Pope not what you want on your full debut for the club. 3-2

Bikey clearing in the last few mins

So we were all set for a nervy last five minutes! But were we really? Well no, although Derby pressed Charlton's defence was solid and Pope stood up and was counted with some good takes from some inviting crosses. The relief at the final whistle was great and saw Big Bob running and punching the air in joy as he saw his team pick up 3 out of 3 home wins in seven days. Great to see Bob's passion at the final whistle as he applauded the fans on his way off and the tunnel jump duties were taken by debutant Gomez and captain Jackson and Vetokele with a joint effort.

Player Performances
Pope  - Was great to see Pope start and as you'd maybe expect had a nervy game with some poor kicking and unfortunately the error for the second goal. But he did really command his area well with some good takes from crosses and there was some good shot stopping early on. Really hope the late error doesn't knock the big mans confidence as i can see him becoming a top keeper at this level.
Gomez - What a talent we have here! On his full league debut he impressed again defended really well and wasn't afraid to come forward. Please sign a 10 year contract Joe!
Bikey - He impressed again although Martin did provide him with a few problems up top, but none of them resulted in Derby creating a chance from it. He made some crucial clearances late on.
Ben Haim - A really good performance from Tal made some good blocks and clearances and seems a lot more confident.
Wiggins - He was relatively quiet I thought, hasn't really got going this season yet but then again didn't really do much apart from quite a few crosses coming in from his side, but this was down to a fine performance from Derbys full back Christie who i thought was there best player
Gudmundsson - What a first half he had! He really bossed the play for Charlton something we really missed last season. He takes the ball to the defence and also sprays some wonderful passes around too.Just his shooting to work on now! He kind of takes up a free role at times which really helps too. He faded a bit in the second half but still for me he was my man of the match.
Jackson - Really impressed with JJ last night he made some crucial tackles great blocks and well and truly got stuck in especially in the second half where a lot of people would say he fades.A real captains performance which led the team to victory.
Buyens - Another great performance from Yoni who never seems to tire up and down the pitch breaking up play and playing some great football. And we seemed to found a natural penalty taker now too a fine pen into the top corner.
Cousins - Seems to be really growing into his role of left wing with some great runs down there, faded in the second half and was replaced by Wilson
Tucudean - After apparently being jeered from some fans on Saturday came up wtith a fantastic performance a fine finish and assisted the penalty decision with a fine solo run. Unfortunately he had to come off at half time. Hope his knock isn't too bad.
Vetokele - He looks like he is really settling in well, his pace and trickery created a few chances for himself and his flick on led to the penalty decision. A great reaction header provided the crucial third.
Moussa- Came off the bench and really looked lively, loves running at defended and causes problems with his pace.
Wilson - Another energetic display from Lawrie who got forward and defended well.
Fox - Came on late to help Wiggins with Derby's promising right side of Christie & Russell.

Derby fans in good numbers

Away Fans - Derby brought a really good crowd down for a Tuesday night game in the Capital an attendance of 1434 who made themselves heard well at times, although I don't see why an away side need to bring a drum to make noise. The creator of the chant "Since I was Young" Would of had a proud night if he would have been in attendance at The Valley as both teams had a sing off the song.In the top part of the stand also is a massive flag which a fan takes to every game & at home games its gets surfed around the ground - In relation to that it would be great to see our Killer flag brought back one day soon!

Home Fans - The Valley was in decent voice last night as I always like the atmosphere of a game under the lights brings. The new full sections of the far East stand made themselves heard too which added to the atmosphere. Lets hope we can hear "Were Charlton Athletic were top of the league" A lot more this season!

Moan of the Match - Goes to my friend who sat behind me who never stopped taking the mick of what my moan of the match would be! Ha ha in all seriousness My moan would be how apparently Tucudean was jeered and fans already concluding the striker is no good for the club, how you can judge that already from a striker new to the league let alone the country is beyond me. Really glad he silenced them yesterday with a fine finish.

Moment of the match - Vetokele putting us 3-1 up saw The Valley go wild and was great to see the team all celebrating together.

Overall what can i say?!?! WOW! What a start! It's only four games into our season so lets all keep our feet on the ground but things really do look promising. Big Bob has got us playing some fine football and there are some real exciting players to match with Bob looking to add to that also. Really see signs of some play and players we really missed last season with the likes of Gudmundsson and Vetokele providing some much needed excitement! Unfortunately I cannot make the next two matches away at Hudderfield and the cup match at Derby so safe journey to all making the trips and make sure to be Loud and Proud!

Things do look promising at the moment after beating these two teams tipped for promotion! Lets hope this form continues into our next two games! COME ON YOU REDS.

Deja Mou

Charlton Athletic 2-1 Wigan Athletic     August 16th 2014

Was it a case of Deja Vu at The Valley yesterday afternoon?
Well who remembers February 1st 2014? Charlton surrendered there one goal lead to Wigan at the DW stadium as two blundering errors from Yohann "Safe Hands" Thuram in the dying moments of the game.
Or back to last week for example when Charlton's one goal lead again was shot down in the dying moments of the game from a DEFLECTED shot from Tommy Smith giving Brentford a share of the spoils. Well as my old mate Justin Timberlake states "What goes around comes around" And football is no different in that respect as we saw yesterday at The Valley, as Franck Moussa's DEFLECTED shot in injury time looped over the despairing Scott Carson and gave Charlton all three points.

My day started by getting to Charlton around just after 1 and having a drink with mates in the Liberal Club. A lot of fans hadn't seen the new look Charlton side yet but were excited about what they had heard so far following a decent start to the season. The Liberal Club got quite full as usual towards kick off with most punters watching the early kick off game with another new manager for this season Louis Van Gaal not getting off to the best of starts on his home league debut at Old Trafford. Could our new manager get off to a better start in his first home league debut?

Entering the ground and up the stairs into my seat and it was back to reality.. Saturdays 3 o clock back again in SE7!

View From my seat

Pitch looking great, new astro turf around the pitch & my favourite addition of the club crest donned just to the side of the halfway line pictured above ^.
The Addicks lined up unchanged from the draw against Brentford.
Henderson
Solly
Bikey
Ben Haim
Wiggins
Gudmundsson
Jackson(C)
Cousins
Buyens
Tucudean
Vetokele

Unchanged team and you cant complain with that really although some players may have not played that great against Brentford but we didn't lose so Peeters decided to keep with an unbeaten side so far. Wigan boasted plenty of experience in there side with former Charlton player of the year Scott Carson in goal & others such as Fortune, McArthur & Andrew Taylor. Wigan tipped by many for promotion this year were to be strong opposition on our first home match.

Wigan started the game the brighter of the two sides with some nice passing and quick one touch football, with McArthur having a early effort at goal that didn't really trouble the keeper. But eight minutes in with Charlton not really creating much until then a nice across field pass by Gudmundsson found Cousins cutting in from the left side to fire a beautiful effort into the top corner of the Wigan goal nothing keeper Carson could do. A sublime strike from Cousins one that i never thought he was capable of! 1-0

Wigan then began to press more as you would expect with Fortune proving lively up top with a few shots & other moves came from a few free kicks and corners mounting pressure on the Charlton goal. Wigan had never scored at The Valley in there four meetings at the ground, but that all changed when a perfect ball from McAthur was misjudged by Wiggins it was collected well by McManaman who cut inside and fired a shot from a tight angle under the body of Henderson. Henderson would've been very annoyed to get beaten from an angle like that and Wiggins likewise to allow him to cut inside, but none the less a good finish by the lad 1-1

After that Charlton began to press again and Cousins got in the same position as where he opened the scoring and tried to replicate that on two occasions only to fire over both times. Gudmundsson was proving a nuisance down the right side and forced referee Andy D'Urso to brandish a yellow card on defender Taylor for a late nick at him. This season is seeing us play a lot more football on the deck and some great passing found Rhoys Wiggins in the box only for his shot to be straight at keeper Carson. There were other efforts from Vetokele & Gudmundsson but unfortunately tame efforts left the score at half time level. An encouraging display against promotion hopefuls Wigan 1-1

Into the second half and Wigan brought on old head Maloney on to replace Riera in the middle of the park.

The action from the second half

Both teams had spells of pressure early on in the second half, Wigan with an early corner and free kicks but to no avail. Gudmundsson again trying the keeper from Long range for Charlton with Carson having to produce a decent save, and he had to alert again tipping a Vetokele effort round the post. In the 60th minute saw the introduction of new midfielder Franck Moussa replacing Tucudean who had a quiet game, the sub meaning Charlton changing formation to to a 4-5-1 esque style.

Moussa ready to come on

Unfortunately Charlton were forced into another change when keeper Henderson suddenly went down injured when play was down the other side of the pitch and he had to be taken off which saw the introduction of youngster Nick Pope.Charlton were certainly on top, working well on the break, Gudmundsson and Buyens really working well in the midfield. Then came the introduction of Lawrie Wilson fresh from his brace in the week, and him and Solly quickly combined for Gudmundsson only for him to take his time and see his effort blocked.

Moussa then grew into the game and his run down the right side led him to shoot but not making keeper Carson work in the goal.

The best chance of the game then fell to striker Igor Vetokele in the final ten minutes he turned his defender with just the keeper to beat through on goal but Carson was alert and on his toes and stood up well and saved the strikers effort, a real chance for us which he maybe should have put away. Was our hopes for a perfect home start fading away?

As the game went into the 5 minutes of injury time Charlton pressed and a quick one two from Moussa and Vetokele saw Moussa shoot from the edge of the box his shot took a big deflection off  Wigan Defender Rob Kiernans leg and in what seemed slow motion the ball looped over Scott Carson into the Covered end goal & sent the Valley into wild celebrations. Bob Peeters ran around punching the air and near to the Wigan bench ( more on that later) and Moussa lapped up the applause of surely an opening home victory. Indeed that was the final score and a perfect ending for Peeters and his men to kick off the new home campaign with three points. Final Score 2-1

Celebrations at the final Whistle

My views on player performances..
Henderson - Thought Henderson had a poor game, he will be very annoyed letting them score from the angle they did under his body too & his kicking was very poor yesterday giving Wigan opportunities to come forward straight from his kicks. He had started his Charlton career well up til then and in the second half did improve only then to pick up an injury, hopefully not out for long but i have not seen the prognosis yet.
Solly- A usual solid display from Chris coming forward really well and linking up well with new winger Gudmundsson
Bikey - Another top performance by the beast! He certainly doesn't take any prisoners and reminds me at times of Jorge Costa, he really bullied players off the ball. The only thing next for Bikey would be to be more of a threat from corners.
Ben Haim - Really impressed with him, I would've brought Morrison into the team but Peeters kept with the same pairing and Ben Haim had a much improved spell with some vital interceptions and came forward well with it too.
Wiggins - A very poor first half from Rhoys with McManaman causing him a lot of problems especially with the goal too. Second half was improved and he came forward well.
Gudmundsson - Again like Ben Haim a much improved performance his passing is pin point and can really break up the defence. He ran forward well down the wings and some shooting on display too. Not as his best though expect a lot more to come.
Buyens- My man of the match, kept the play ticking over was to be found in both halves of the pitch spread the play well and made some big tackles in the centre of the park too.
Cousins - WHAT A GOAL didn't think he had it in him but wow well done Jordan. Looked really comfortable on the left and caused Perch a lot of trouble. Linked well on the ball and a great energetic performance again from him.
Jackson - A quiet game from Jacko, but did what he had to do well, filtered balls from defence to attack and broke forward well at times.
Tucudean - Took him a while to work his way into the game after he wasted a lot of early possession with some poor first touches. Didnt see too much from him and he was substituted after 60 mins.
Vetokele- Really caused problems for the Wigan defence with his pace, should have scored when through on goal but that's not taking away a good stop by Carson
Pope - Done well when he came on in difficult circumstances. Commanded his area well jumping & collecting well from crosses and punching away too. Liked a short pass from goal kicks which was nice to see also. If Henderson is out for a bit I'm sure Pope would be a great replacement.
Moussa- Looked lively, ok his goal was deflected but if you don't shoot you don't score.. so it was great to see him not afraid to have a go.
Wilson - Again carried on his fine form from Tuesday night to look lively again with his late cameo. Maybe to start against Derby Tuesday?

Big Bob Watch - Big Bobby Peeters was very animated on the touchline, which for me is great to see.

Shouting orders to his team

Quite the difference from when we had Curbs at the helm who never really showed his emotions, mainly leaving the shouting to Day. Great to see Bob's passion for the job early on in his tenure, he never stopped getting up from his seat and shouting instructions to his team and at times when he wasn't pleased. When the crowd were singing Bob Peeters Red Army he started clapping along too! Which again showed his overflowing passion.

His passion was there for all to see as the last gasp winner resulted in Peeters running down the touchline punching the air towards opposing manager Uwe Rosler  & his staff, who made it clear he didn't like the Belgium's celebrations by shouting a few expletives in his direction. All seemed well at the final whistle in this picture as Big Bob and Uwe shook hands. Until... See Below

 Away Fans - Wigan's fans always come under a lot of criticism especially from there prem days, but you have to remember they literally shot up the leagues from  the bottom and found it hard to derive fans from that considering they have many other football teams in the surrounding areas. The number of 447 away fans came which is decent for them considering they've many trips to London in the last few years with trips to Wembley. Didn't make much noise until they scored really. See Pic Below.

Home Fans - This season saw the club do a cheap offer of £150 season tickets in the far end of the east stand nearest away fans, a great initiative which sold out the end two blocks. Hopefully that will make our atmosphere better too! As for me when you go to away games the loudest support at games is normally next to the away fans so to have large numbers there now will hopefully increase the atmosphere around the ground. I thought The Valley was loud yesterday a nice song for young Jordan Cousins and a rousing "Bob Peeters Red Army" towards the end.

Moment of the Match - Although Cousins wonder strike comes close... Nothing beats a last gasp winner and the celebrations that go with it! Especially a goal that goes in slow motion like that too! Loved the scenes for that goal.

Moan of the match - Was simply having that fool D'urso as the ref , the same ref who called a game off at the last minute once for half off the side bit of the pitch where his lino would run was frozen and never thought to change the sides they run. Worded that weird but you know what i mean ;-)

Overall every Charlton fan came away with a smile on there face yesterday a good win against promotion hopefuls Wigan and even better to snatch it in the last minute. Onto another tough test in Derby on Tuesday at The Valley. Lets hope for a repeat performance. COME ON YOU REDS.

 

 

 This was until the German told Peeters exactly what he thought of his wild Celebrations & then....

Big Bob had to be restrained by his staff as he was unhappy by Roslers comments.

Managers clash the the final whistle

 

 

 

Yes maybe Big bob did get a bit carried away but you gotta love his passion!

 

Wilson Enforces Capital Punishment

Charlton Athletic 4-0 Colchester United (Capital One Cup)

My desire is always to be found at Valley Floyd Road .. Those are the lyrics to our famous Charlton song and that's where we were last night for the first round of the League Cup.

Floyd Road

 Iconic eh?! Oh how we have missed the range of emotions we have had walking down this street on a Saturday or Tuesday evening. Well have no fear football was back In SE7 & back with a BANG!

Many more Charlton fans than usual we're looking forward to our first home game of the season this year...Why?!?! Well most importantly a brand new playing surface, fresh new seats & a few nice surprises too. As I arrived at the ground just after six I walked past the superstore and was greeted by the new surprise features around The Valley and what a pleasant surprise it was.

Arise Sir Chris

Whatever happened with Sir Chris over last season, it is truly fitting that he deserves a big feature like this at the ground a true Charlton legend & a truly nice chap so what a lovely touch from the club. There are lots more of these new large poster designs all around the ground you may have seen others posting the other designs on twitter and so forth, but just in case you didn't and were not at the game last night I'll leave you to be surprised come Saturday. Just to say that I love these new features at the ground really adds a sense of pride and character around the place which was somewhat bereft of it before. A real statement of pride and great moments down memory lane for all and at the same time recognising and appreciating some true greats this club has had.

Pre match for me on Tuesday evening consisted of having a few beers in Bartrams with friends, Bartrams does have already some great Charlton memorabilia and memories in the corridors there so great to see them replicating that now around the ground. The first thing on show was that the bar staff all had new uniform on looking very flash, and there was a new area where it looks like hot food will be served also. As a regular attendee of Bartrams at half time things were looking good. As we made our way into the ground for the start of the match in to the west lower the stand was absolutely heaving mainly due to the east not being open on the night so only lower north and lower west was open, with most fans fancying seeing the action from the side view of the pitch.

The teams line up

The teams came out Colchesters away strip looking distinctly like Watford's home kit felt like deja vu from last game at The Valley! And Pitch side announcer Dave Lockwood announced Charlton Legend Mark Kinsella onto the touchline as he is now the assistant manager of Colchester. Great to see Kin Kin Kinsella back, a player who stood for the real ethos of the club. P.S you may see a Mark Kinsella poster like Sir Chris's around the ground also ;-)  The teams entered onto our fine new playing surface with hopefully some fine football to be played on it also! The Charlton team had a few changes in there as you'd expect.

Henderson

Gomez                                                                           

Morrison (C)

Bikey                                                                                                

Fox

Wilson

Cousins

Buyens

Moussa

Harriott

Tucudean

So the Addicks lined up in a 4-5-1 formation with six changes in the starting eleven from the Brentford game. Henderson again chosen in goal which was a shame in my opinion to not see Pope given a go as he had a fine end to last season with York and it would be nice to see him get a go in a smaller reputation game like this. But you can see why Henderson was chosen as to increase his relationship and familiarity with his new teammates. The other stand out from the team sheet was the inclusion of young rising star  defender Joe Gomez who was recently in the England u17's winning European champions team in the heart of defence. So it was great to see him given his first team debut & great to see another youth product coming through the ranks.

The game started slowly with neither side creating any clear cut chances, Lawrie Wilson was in my opinion his best position of right wing and was proving trouble for the Colchester defence unfortunately Tucudean playing the lone striker role couldn't get on the end of his inviting balls into the box. 

The game finally then sprung to life in the 23rd minute when Tucudean expertly cut the ball back for Franck Moussa to fire into a empty net with the keeper stranded.. Francks shot rebounded off a Colchester defended and fell for Harriott to fire home only to find his effort blocked also.. There were cries of handball and the referee pointed to the spot and awarded Charlton a penalty. Quite harsh from where i was sitting as Okuonghae the Colchester player in question had slid in with his back to the ball and it looked liked it had rebounded off his back with replays backing up the defenders case. However the referee view it has denying a goalscoring opportunity and he was duly giving his marching orders. Yoni Buyens stepped up and cooly placed the penalty to put us 1-0 up, really calm penatly so we could see him taking the honours this season after Jackson's miss against Pompey.

As Colchester were now down to ten men Charlton then gained control of the match and were playing some nice neat football with Gomez & Wilson combining well down the right side, and Andre Bikey coming forward well with runs from defence.The other chance saw a well worked training ground routine corner from Cousins who passed low on the floor into the box to set up Tucudean but his shot was blocked. Although there were more efforts on goal from Harriott & Moussa the game went into half time with the Addicks 1-0 up and with a man advantage.

Action from the first half

 The second half again like the first half started slowly, but then eight minutes in a neat pass from Cousins sent through Lawrie Wilson and he finished like a natural finisher past the keeper, great to see his hard work paying off. Wilson wasn't finished, he again was played in this time from Moussa  and he again finished really well, calmly placing it past the keeper. He again was proving to supporters that he's "Alright" cue the song! We were certainly "Walking in a Wilson Wonderland" And the game was surely out of reach from Colchester now. 

Charltons extra man showed and the dominance continued, Tucudean showed lovely feet to take it round the keeper and from a tight angle was unlucky to see a on rushing defender slide in to clear off the line. Subs were made during these periods new hit man Vetokele came into the fray, so did new winger Gudmundsson and Simon Church also came on with a big point to prove this season. Church looked lively as always and was set through on goal with the keeper to beat but again like last season his end product was lacking.However Church's persistence paid off when a long range shot from Gudmundsson which was parried out from the keeper and Church followed up well from the rebound and tucked it away nicely for a comfortable 4-0 Final score. Yes 4-0 I put the the right score this time ;-)

A brief review on player performances..

Henderson - Didn't have much to do, but what ever he did have to do did well & looked a lot more comfortable than the start of the Brentford game which he grew into. He also looked to get a lot more of a relationship going with his defence.

Fox - Didn't see too much of fox but in my eyes that's a good thing don't remember him putting a foot wrong and looked like he was carrying on his fine form from last season.

Morrison -Acting Captain, Unlucky not to start against Brentford on the opening day Morro came out with a point to prove and he had comfortable solid game and even produced a few silky skills.

Bikey - A contender for man of the match again! Really played well showed his strength in tackles and in the air and his array of passing was on show too.

Gomez - For me man of the match (Sorry Lawrie) Simply because he looked so calm and played so well on his debut and looks a fantastic prospect to come. A real old head on young shoulders didn't panic at times, and was dependable great touch and even came forward well a position he may not be used to as usually he plays at the heart of defence.

Harriott - Showed glimpses of his form of late last season.. But still hasn't quite got his mojo back yet.

Buyens - Again proving to be a great acquisition to the side hard working and solid passing again from him & a cool penalty to cap his first goal for the club.

Cousins - Thought he was very poor in the first half playing in his natural central midfield, role poor touch and wayward passing letting him down. Second half he grew into the game and looked better.

Moussa - A signing i was really excited by and although his pre season was plagued by injury he looked quite sharp in patches, a lot more to come from him.

Wilson - A fantastic game from Wilson, worked hard as usual in his best position of right mid. Got forward well finishing neatly in both goals and got back well helping out youngster Gomez on occasions. His crossing also caused a lot of trouble in the defence and hopefully can be read better from strikers next time. He also took the hounours of the infamous tunnell jump. New Cult Hero?

Tucudean - Improved on his performance against Brentford, a neat pass made the penalty happen & he was unlucky not to score in the second half.

So overall a solid win & Peeters first at the club, maybe a bit unfortunate with Colchester going down to 10 ( As I write this I see they are appealing it) but in football decisions come round in swings and roundabouts and it was nice to see Charlton take advantage of the situation when in times in the past we have not been able to.

The pitch looked great and held up well despite the rainy conditions great to see after a few years of a ripped apart surface, now we have one that we can be proud of. The club crest lies now on the halfway line in between both technical areas too which again looks very smart and a welcome new addition to the ground.

Home Fans - A decent attendance of around 5,300 home fans there but sadly no real noise apart from the cheering of the goals!

Home fans in the covered end

Away fans - Fair play to the the 472 Colchester fans there in the Jimmy Seed stand, a decent number considering we did play them quite a few times in league one. They made themselves heard at times but as the scoreline got worse they lost belief. 

472 Colchester Fans

Moment of the match - For me seeing a new young star coming into the side and fitting in so well in Joe Gomez a real star for the future.

Moan of the match - This time does not actually come from the game. Despite new catering none of what they actually promised on the boards advertising seemed on sale when asked for. My dad attended the Millennium Suite for the first time and couldn't believe they served the food from cardboard cartons. Hopefully it will all work perfectly for our first league match on Saturday.

Overall I know the game was just a cup match but a win is a win and that derives confidence into the team which now hopefully we can take into a tough home match again Wigan at The Valley on Saturday. COME ON YOU REDS

Sub Smith's Late Sting Thwarts Perfect Start

9/8/14 Brentford 1-1 Charlton Athletic
Good Evening/Morning & first of all apologies for the late arrival of my post match first game thoughts!
I attended the community shield yesterday with some Arsenal mates hence the delay in me writing up a review. So sorry if it seems rushed and bad punctuation!

So the first game of the season... Did it it live up to the hype and expectation we all hoped for?

Well a London derby kicked us off, And as many of you may know a Charlton away day in West London = Boat Trip!! I was one of around 3-400 fans that embarked on the boat towards Griffin Park, despite me living in West London and having to travel past Brentford to come back again 4 hours later... Madness i know! But i couldn't pass up on a perfect way to start the new campaign with a scenic view of London a few beers and enjoying it with mates discussing our upcoming season.

The view from Greenwich Pier

 Although the weather doesn't look so great in the photo our two boats enjoyed good weather on our trip down the Thames. We obviously passed many recognisable sights en route, one of them including new boys to the championship Fulham. Unfortunately thanks to SKY our game has been moved to a Friday night so we may not replicate our fantastic support there last visit.

Craven Cottage - En route to Brentford

The boat arrived at Kew pier at around 1pm, one of the highlights of the trip was spotting Charlton super fan Seb Lewis who performed his famous worm dance to the delight of his fellow Charlton fans ... But maybe less so to the bemused diners outside a quite well to do pub in West London! Arriving in good time meant for a trip to the Pilot just over Kew Bridge in Gunnersbury , where the BBQ outside was well & truly taken care of! 

Brentford station is very much like Charlton station where there is only around a 5 minute walk to the ground. Griffin Park is infamous for its stat of the only football ground in the country (Probably the world) to have a pub on every corner, if only we were to have such a vast array to choose from around The Valley! Ended up getting to the ground around 45 minutes  before kick off so was able to have a quick drink in The Griffin the pub situated on the corner of the ground nearest to the away end. The pub was a mixture of home & away fans with a bit of sing song but no trouble which was nice to see.

I can imagine that most teams supporters in the championship are looking forward to there visit to Griffin Park this season as Brentford are the only team in the league to still have terracing. The terracing does provide more of an atmosphere in the ground and would be great to see more grounds in the future implicating safe standing areas. Brentford do provide a seating area too in the top tier of the away end but with the leg room leaving your knees up by your shoulders.

Griffin Park 5 Mins before Kick Off

 As i took my place on the terracing I was welcomed by the news of an unchanged team from the team that faced Portsmouth a week earlier. Henderson again took up his place in between the sticks, Solly Bikey Ben Haim & Wiggins completed the back four. Gudmundsson Jackson Buyens & Cousins provided a diamond esque style midfield. Up front was new duo Vetokele & Tucudean. Not too much of a surprising team sheet although I did expect Morrison to partner Bikey in central defence as he has more experience and is more familiar with Solly & Wiggins unlike Ben Haim.

The game started promising for The Bees with Spurs loanee Alex Pritchard becoming a key player and causing problems for the Charlton defence. The main area for me which was worrying early on was the defences lack of communication which resulted in a few arguments in the back four, as Brentfords passing and crossing abilities shone which resulted in Henderson coming for and missing the ball a few times but fortunately for us Brentford's poor end product let them down. Good to see that the Charlton defence voiced there opinions to each other & it helped as we then grew more into the game. Although against a team with more proven finishers we would've seen ourselves a few goals down. 

Although Brentford for me did have the better of the 1st half, the best chance of the half fell to new striker George Tucudean fed through by a sublime pass from Gudmundsson a great first touch from the Romanian left him with just the keeper to beat,  but his shot was straight at the oncoming Brentford keeper a chance he really should have scored. The teams went into the interval goalless with Brentford on top. Henderson made a great save towards the end of the first half which was great to see him growing more confident as the game went on.

We came out for the second half a much more determined team a wonderful Chris Solly cross was met by a firm header from Vetokele which produced a fine save from former Charlton keeper David Button who pushed it onto the post. The constant pressure paid off and we took the lead in the 63rd minute from a fine corner from Captain Jackson and Vetokele finished with a header into the corner. As a side note as Jackson went to take the corner I saw Vetokele shout to him and point to him where he wanted it and Jackson duly provided! 

As the game went on Vetokele proved to be more of a threat to the Brentford defence, a mistimed back pass from Douglas saw Igor nip in with a slide tackle on Button he quickly set up Harriott with only a defender in his way from the edge of the box Harriott's effort rebounded of the bar and then fired wildly over, would've surely been game over!

Brentford then took charge of the game once again & equalised with six minutes to go new signing Tommy Smith cut inside Chris Solly and his shot deflected in off Ben Haim.. No chance for Henderson. Brentford carried on bombarding our goal for the final few minutes as a free kick from Judge cannoned of the crossbar & we were left to breathe a sigh of relief!  1-1 Final score.
 

Charlton fans applaud there team off at the final whistle

A quick summary there of the game, it really was a end to end game with a draw in my opinion a fair result as both teams had good chances to each take the three points.
A quick view points on player performances.
Henderson - A shaky start but really grew into the game. Could do nothing about the goal as it took a big deflection of Ben Haim. In the second half he really took charge of the crosses and had more of a relationship with his defence
Solly - Proved good coming forward and his usual solid tackles in defence. Although was maybe at fault for the equaliser letting Smith cut inside and get his shot away. Unlike Solly.
Bikey - Again really grew into the game and could prove to be a big signing for us this season proved really powerful in the air and with some well timed tackles. Once he gets more of a relationship going with his defence will prove to be more key.
Ben Haim - Had a quiet game really didn't do much wrong in my opinion apart from being caught out of position a few times in the first half
Wiggins- Normally a big threat coming forward let himself down with some poor crossing
Gudmundsson - Showed some real signs of things to come when he ran at the defence and great pass which should have led to the 1st goal, needs to be more consistent but maybe played out of posistion
Buyens - Really impressed by him again worked so hard in the middle and kept the ball moving throughout. But expect him to be the first player serving a suspension.
Jackson - A quiet game from Jacko but his fine corner led to the goal.
Cousins - Playing in and then out of position from central midfield to right then left wing worked hard and had a decent game.
Tucudean - Shouldve scored early on in the game, otherwise didn't really notice him.
Vetokele - Got to be man of the match a constant menace to the Bees defence. As the guy behind me said is this what we've been after since Darren Bent?
Harriott - Did miss a good chance lets hope this doesn't bring his confidence down after he did so well at the end of last season.

Home Fans - Brentford loud support was at the opposite end of the ground from us so any noise they did make didn't echo its way through to us. They did set off a smoke bomb for the equaliser and then threw it on the pitch which caused a delay in the game. Was surprised to see there first game back in the championship didn't result in them selling out though. 

Away Fans - We sold out the away end within an hour of going on sale & were in good voice throughout.

Moan of match - Although being able to watch the game from the terracing is great but paying £25 for the privilege is not. Wigan fans attending The Valley this forthcoming Saturday are being charged £24 for a 10x better view. 

Moment of the match - Has to be Igor Vetokele opening his account for the season and the teams first goal of the campaign, first of many we hope!

Overall I think if you would've asked me before the game I would've taken a point just a shame that we let it slip with six minutes to go.  First game of the season is always unpredictable especially with our current team who haven't played together as much. We have probably played Brentford at the worst time of the season there still high on confidence from last season & they saw where we finished and thought they 'd be able to nick a win.

On to tonight's game against Colchester, with three games in seven days and two difficult home games against promotion hopefuls Wigan & Derby, I can see Peeters choosing maybe a totally different team this evening in an attempt to keep the team fresh. I think the team will be 
POPE
NEGO
MORRISON
GOMEZ
FOX
WILSON
MUNNS 
MOUSSA
HARRIOTT
PIGOTT
CHURCH

Cant wait to see the ground and the excellent work that's been carried out over the summer!
COME ON YOU REDS! 

Feed Igor & He Will Score (Pompey Away)

New Blog - First Post

Good evening, And welcome to a new Charlton fans blog! I've been a season ticket holder since 1994 in the west lower & regularly go to away games as well.. So decided I may as well start up a little blog for bit of fun & express my views! ENJOY!

PORTSMOUTH AWAY 2/8/14

Fratton Park was the venue for Charlton's final friendly match of the 2014/15 Pre-Season calender. My last visit to Fratton park was in the Pardew era where Amdy Faye scored the winner in a 1-0 win ( I think our only away win of that season) & we all know what preceded to happen to the rest of that campaign! Well whats changed about Fratton Park itself... Well to the Charlton fans that attended last years friendly would've noticed a new roof on the away end.. I say new it has been there a number of years but we have not played them in the league since. 

We arrived on the train from London just after 12, the ground a nice 10 minute walk away from the station.. Here's what greeted us..   Love the old school floodlights!

  

Managed to find a nice pub called the 'The Good Companion' a large pub served decent food good beer (cider on special offer ;-) )  and had the odd pool & games machines. Normally would like to chat to the home fans in the pub to discuss season expectations etc.. but being a friendly there were only a handful of home fans around all in one group so didn't have the chance. The pub was around a short 10 minute walk to the ground where the weather had turned into bright sunshine, better than the heavy rain forcasted, i felt out of place with my coat on! 

One of my only gripes of the day was turning up to the away turnstiles for the Portsmouth stewards to send you round to the main stand to get a ticket. Why they cant sell you a ticket at the gate is beyond me. Maybe the turnstile operators pocket the cash for themselves then! Although the walk round to the main stand did give us an opportunity to see this infamous entrance to the main stand! Proper old school!

So the match itself. As we had been put on a detour to getting into the ground we missed the first 2 mins of the match (gutted) as we all now how lively friendlies can be. This was the view that welcomed us. A very authentic ground with lots of character & atmosphere reminds me a lot of Goodison park in a way that all the stands are different.

So our last friendly before the big kick off in our London derby next weekend, what can we actually derive from a friendly? Well not much normally but being our last one before start of the season the main thing we learn is an idea big bobs first eleven. 

Henderson now is the obvious choice in goal, the back four of Solly Bikey Ben Haim & Wiggins was a bit less obvious.. My reckoning is that Bob Peeters had Bikey & Ben Haim vying for the centre back role next to Morrison for next weeks game. Unlike the Peterborough game a few days before we went with a much more routine 4-4-2 formation with new signing Gudmundsson on one wing & Jordan Cousins in the unfamiliar role of left wing, with captain Jacko in the middle with workhorse Yoni Buyens partnering him. Up front was a little & large combo of Vetokele & Tucudean.

 

I wont give you a whole match report on the whole game.. Just little snippets on my views on it.

New signing Henderson seems a very good shot stopper and a very vocal keeper. Unfortunately the goal we conceded was due to his lack of command in the area for crosses, allowing an easy head across goal and an easy finish for ex Charlton midfielder Danny Hollands, of course it is very early days for Henderson in a Charlton shirt but that was my only negative of his performance. Little Side point but good to see Hollands doing well at a club now and settled after a few loan spells last season, although he is too good for league 2.

In defence Solly & Wiggins were their normal dependable selves. Bikey stood out for me, very commanding vocal with Ben Haim & Henderson and showed a good array of passing one which led to tucudean putting us 2-1 up. Ben Haim on the other hand seemed a bit shaky and less commanding, maybe due to the stick he was getting from the home fans, but his wayward passes and being out of position at times didn't inspire much confidence. So if my theory was correct i can see Bikey partnering Morrison at the heart of defence in West London next Saturday. 

In midfield Johnnie Jackson & Yoni Buyens proved a decent pairing in the centre. Jackson was his usual assured self with solid passing and constantly getting forward to help nick a goal, Although a decent performance he was left to rue a poorly taken penalty, one which he had to fight Ben Haim to take! Yoni Buyens really stood out for me, his constant work rate & solid tackling is really what you like to see from a centre mid, he seems a perfect like for like replacement for Poyet. Unfortunately we didn't get to see much of new signing Gudmundsson on the wing, in my opinion the most exciting signing of the summer didn't really feature apart from a few runs down the wing & trickery..Which hopefully we will get to see a lot more of this season. Its a big shame how Jordan Cousins gets put out of position and isn't able to flourish as we saw him do a lot last season. He really isn't a winger. Maybe he was playing there due to knocks to Harriott & Moussa but its a shame how being pulled out of position we then miss his commanding midfield role of last season. He was however fouled quite a few times by the pompey players as he tried to cut inside. 

Up front Vetokele was the real highlight of the game, his goal was a real net buster as he shimmied past a few defenders before unleashing an unstoppable strike into the top corner. He was a constant threat to the Portsmouth defence and in the second half a pacy run resulted him being brought down to win us a penalty which unfortunately wasn't dispatched. A promising performance which i hope brings us hope of things to come. His strike companion Tucudean had a very solid performance, finishing his goal very well into the bottom corner and winning his fair share of flick ons too, hopefully can be what we have missed with the absence of Yann the man. 

With regards to the subs there wasn't much to say really as after the penalty the game petered out into a rather boring affair! After the game Big Bob made a point to the players of all of them coming over and applauding the 362 Addicks fans in attendance which was nice to see. Pictured here.

Before heading back to London managed to speak to a few Pompey fans in the pub and en route to the station who mentioned that they thought Vetokele would be a real star for us, which is always good to hear from the opposition supporters.

Home Fans - The Pompey fans although a friendly were there usual loud & proud selves! The familiar sounds of the cowbell and other instruments were played, although its quite odd how a lot of there songs don't have words in them - mainly a lot of clapping and humming... nevertheless still made a good noise. One of the instruments they had made a ambulance noise as the Charlton physio came on to see to our players which was quite funny! Although when a Pompey player ever received treatment there was no sign of the noise of an incoming ambulance! Hmmmm i wonder why ;-)

Away Fans - A good number of fans travelled down to the south coast 362 in attendance down a bit on last years friendly there but of course it was £1 entry then & £10 this time. Vocal in times and chants of Igooor for our new striker were the renditions! The usual array of Sebbos & Owens flag were portrayed along the spare seats, along with my newly washed flag!

Moment of the match - Has to be new Hitman (Hopefully) Igor Vetokele's screamer!

Moan of the match - Wouldn't say there was much to moan about... If you had to say anything it was a rather boring second half, but expected when there was many subs disrupting play

Overall a good day was had down on the South Coast and we look forward to the 2014/15 season. I'd say a very unpredictable season lies ahead due to the changes over the summer, but i cant see us struggling down the bottom end of the table (Fingers Crossed). As i say i hope you enjoy reading my new blog which I hope to write in every week. If I have done some bad punctuation and commas and capital letters in the wrong places i apologise if that kind of thing gets your goat! But as i say I'm not doing this too seriously just a bit of fun and to express my views as a well travelled Addick.

Anyway I leave you to next weeks match and the upcoming season a local trip for me to Brentford! Lets hope were on the brink of a successful campaign!
COME ON YOU REDS!