Macaulay Gillesphey and Greg Docherty scored the goals for Charlton Athletic as they clawed their way back to a 2-2 draw against Lincoln City today.
Here is the lowdown on the match.
THE LINE-UPS
Charlton: Mannion, Small (Ahadme 90), Ramsay, McIntyre (Mitchell 53), Gillesphey, Edwards, Docherty (Gilbert 90), Coventry, Anderson (Aneke 46), Berry (Dixon 52), Godden. Subs not used: Bouzanis, Watson.
Lincoln City: Wickens, Darikwa, Jackson, Hamilton, Ring (Bayliss 63), McGrandles, House (Hackett 84), Hamer, Roughan, Collins (Draper 84), Makama (Jeffries 25 (Montsma 84)). Subs not used: Jeacock, Gardner.
SNAPSHOT OF THE GAME
The day that the dreams, however unlikely, died in terms of the Addicks being able to take that second automatic promotion spot in League One and saving themselves, and supporters, from the emotional rollercoaster that is the play-offs.
James Collins produced two quality finishes, his movement leaving Luke Berry trailing as he produced a near-post flick from Erik Ring’s corner to leave Will Mannion with no chance. The second saw Collins breeze too easily past Tom McIntyre to make it 2-0 early in the second period.
Charlton crucially cut the deficit soon after despite Josh Edwards’ woeful corner. Chuks Aneke’s attempt to shoot steered the ball into the path of Gillesphey to finish. Docherty’s thumping left-footed volley cued up a frantic finale but Imps keeper George Wickens made a superb stop to keep out Matty Godden’s header.
TACTICAL APPROACH
Charlton were forced into a change with Tyreece Campbell, bang in form, ruled out due to what the club described on social media as “a slight calf injury”. It meant a shift in attacking approach with Karoy Anderson tasked, along with Luke Berry, in providing the support to Godden. That failed to pay off. It was no surprise to see Aneke replace Anderson at the start of the second half. It was a more shaky showing from McIntyre after his strong display in midweek at Mansfield Town. The Portsmouth loanee was taken off as soon as Collins went past him to make it 2-0. Campbell has felt like an integral part of this Addicks side, especially as the season has gone on, and this match only underlined his importance.
STAR MAN
Conor Coventry. Solid performance. Kept trying to drive the Addicks forward.
BEST MOMENT
Docherty’s goal. The Scot took it well. It was also lovely to see Yann Kermorgant back at The Valley pre-match.
MOAN OF THE MATCH
Referee Leigh Doughty. What’s more tiresome than an official who repeatedly just talks to players about contact before set-pieces are taken without any punishment? One who drags out that process a whole lot more than is needed. Also we only got five minutes of added time at the end when it felt like there should have been at least a couple more.
A TALKING POINT DOWN THE PUB
When will Campbell and Lloyd Jones be back? It’s hard for any side to be missing a key player. Charlton look less comfortable defensively without Jones, who has not sat out the last two. There is nobody else in the Addicks squad with the same package of attributes as Campbell. The Charlton boss never goes into detail about injuries, so it’s not like there will be a timeline provided for either man.
WHAT THE BOSS HAD TO SAY
“The last two or three days we’ve been passive in so many decisions we’ve made and I won’t make that mistake again. It is an in-house thing. I’ve been safe in some of the decisions and I won’t do that again. I’m looking at every decision I’ve made since Tuesday night has been passive. How we prepared and did everything was a mile off.”
PICTURES: PAUL EDWARDS
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