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Charlton
Athletic v West Bromwich Albion
The Valley, Charlton.
28th December 2002, 3.00pm. |
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Frustration is the
only word that sums up my feelings after leaving the Valley. We've
shown time and time again that our football is good enough to compete
at this level, but poor finishing, bad luck and diabolical refereeing
continues to hamper our efforts to stay up. All three were in evidence
at the Valley in the last game of 2002.
The side was unchanged from that which lined up against Arsenal
on Boxing Day with Gilchrist and McInnes remaining on the treatment
table.
The early exchanges were frantic but Albion should have been ahead
in the second minute. A ball from Koumas was not dealt with by the
Charlton defence and Roberts was given a clear sight of goal just
fifteen yards out. But with agonizing predictability, he shot straight
at Kiely who saved easily.
Charlton responded with two quick chances with Hoult saving well
firstly from a Rowett free kick and then from Euell who stole in
to get on the end of a throw in. But in the sixth minute, he then
dropped an almighty clanger to gift the Latics the lead. A corner
from Jensen was met by an unmarked LISBIE ahead of a despairing
lunge from Hoult, and the ball was nestling in the net.
Albion responded well and dominated much of the first half. But
it was Charlton who next came closest to scoring when Scott Parker
broke with a fine run and shot that Hoult was equal to.
The Baggies next clear chance came from a free kick on the edge
of the box. Koumas curled it the the far corner, beating edge but
not the post. This was followed by a host of chances with Johnson
denied by a challenge from Fish and the rebound from Dichio blocked
by Young. From a corner, Darren Moore met a header powerfully only
for it to be headed off the line by Parker.
Albion were well on top despite some very fussy and at times incredulous
decisions by referee Steve Dunn, but the goal would not come. Johnson
had another shot blocked before a great move saw Wallwork exchange
passes with Dichio before firing low into the corner, only for edge
to make another great save.
The second half continued as the first finished with a fine run
and shot from Koumas; the shot was blocked but fell to Adam Chambers
who skied the ball with the goal at his mercy. Moore put a free
header over the bar from a Koumas corner before both Dichio and
Sigurdsson had efforts cleared off the line.
Steve Dunn put the icing one the cake when he denied Albion a clear
penalty. Dichio knocked down a free kick to Roberts in the box.
JR tried to turn with Rufus hanging on to his right arm and finally
pulling him down, but the referee amazingly gave nothing.
Both Dobie and Hughes were brought on late into the match in an
effort to get the equaliser and although Dobie hit the bar with
a long range shot, the linesman had flagged for a free kick by Dobie
so it would not have counted anyway.
Albion did everything but score but unfortunately, it's scoring
that counts. No one player was particularly guilty although if Roberts
had put away his chance early on, I could see three points there
for the taking. Charlton were very ordinary and will definitely
need to be despatched when they visit the Hawthorns at the end of
January.
RESULT - CHARLTON ATHLETIC 1 WEST
BROMWICH ALBION 0
Marks
Hoult - 6 - One mistake, but also made some great saves early on.
A Chambers - 7 - Good performance other than missing a great chance.
Clement - 5 - Frustratingly ordinary.
Gregan - 7 - Steady.
Moore - 7 - Solid as ever.
Sigurdsson - 6 - Defensively sound, but if only he could pass.
Koumas - 7 - Good lively display.
Johnson - 8 - MOM. Was everywhere, supported defence and attack
well, top performance.
Wallwork - 8 - One of his best performances for the Albion, I'd
prefer him to McInnes.
Dichio - 7 - Another good performance.
Roberts - 6 - A better game than Boxing Day, but still not the Roberts
we know.
Dobie - 6 - Did OK..
Hughes - 6 - Not enough time to make an impact.
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Charlton
Athletic (3-5-2):
Russ; Fish (Fortune 52), Rowett, Rufus; Young, Parker (Bart-Williams
79), Jensen, Euell, Powell; Bartlett (Johansen 65), Lisbie. Subs
not used: B Roberts (GK), Konchesky. |
West
Bromwich Albion (3-5-2):
Hoult; Sigurdsson, Moore, Gregan; A Chambers (Dobie 73), Wallwork,
Koumas (Hughes 82), Johnson, Clement; Roberts, Dichio. Subs not
used: Murphy (GK), Gilchrist, J Chambers.
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Scoring: Lisbie (6)
1-0.
Bookings: Charlton Athletic - Parker (foul 44), Lisbie (dissent
78). West Bromwich Albion - Roberts (foul 34), Gregan (foul 76).
Referee: S Dunn (Bristol)
Attendance: 26,196 |
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