Charlton 0 Huddersfield Town 1 (Beckford 11).
Kevin Nolan reports from The Valley.
The symbolic sound of over 11,000 people voting with their feet echoed through a cavernous Valley on Saturday. They were the sceptical souls who attended last week’s league game against Derby County but, in ignoring this fixture, poured scorn on the club’s claims that the FA Cup still matters to them. Charlton clearly prioritise between league and Cup; so too did the long suffering absentees who chose to stay at home. And who can say they were wrong?
For in a funereal atmosphere, 6,158 hardy annuals (their number swelled by 499 travelling optimists), who touchingly cling to hope over experience, went unrewarded for their loyalty by the Addicks’ traditionally perfunctory attitude to football’s most venerable competition. This lilylivered surrender continues a longstanding tradition of early exits and ran the recent humiliation at Northwich Victoria a close second as a modern Cup nadir. Its only saving grace was that Charlton’s unconvincing efforts to equalise Jermaine Beckford’s 11th minute goal spared them an unwanted replay and further down the line, in the unlikely event they survived that, the uninspiring prospect of hosting another all-Championship tie with Leicester City. Their fans, both present and absent, will be counting small blessings.
As a realistic contest, the game was effectively up once Cup scoring specialist Beckford fired the Terriers in front. Adroitly controlling Scott Arfield’s gloriously flighted pass as it eluded outwitted marker Matt Taylor, Beckford calmly finished past blameless debutant keeper David Button. Local victims could have saved themselves time and trouble by promptly heading for home without further ado.
Thrashed 6-1 by Leicester City just four days previously, Town deserved their place in Round Four simply for taking Round Three seriously. Virtually at full strength, in itself an expression of manager Simon Grayson’s faith in them, they responded spiritedly and were hardly flattered by the deceptively narrow winning margin. But they might have struggled against Chris Powell’s more committed Vicarage Road warriors.
Deprived of hamstring victim Leon Cort’s resolute defending, Powell made four other changes, the most surprising of which saw Taylor preferred to Michael Morrison at centre back. Chris Solly’s absence encouraged pointed, hopefully ill-founded rumours that possible transfer window suitors might prefer him not to be Cup-tied; Ricardo Fuller joined him on furlough, while Johnnie Jackson and Ben Hamer were strategically benched. As well as Button and Taylor, there were chances for Jordan Cook, Bradley Wright-Phillips and Salim Kerkar to stake claims to first-team selection.
Alongside Taylor, meanwhile, Dorian Dervite exacerbated Powell’s centre back problems by earning a richly merited 57th minute red card. His dreadfully sliced miskick allowed Beckford through again, an error he attempted to rectify by hauling down the goalside striker from behind. The visit of Blackpool to The Valley next Saturday becomes that little bit more awkward, not least because in eight attempts so far this season, Charlton have now failed to win a home game on Saturday afternoon. If it ain’t one jinx, it’s another…
Button excepted, not one of Powell’s new recruits covered himself in glory. Given no chance to save Beckford’s matchwinner, Button made one superb save from James Vaughan and while he won’t be unseating Hamer in the near future, his performance passed muster. The same could hardly be said of the anonymous Kerkar, an overawed Cook or out-of-sorts Wright-Phillips. The only satisfactory outfielder was Dale Stephens, whose passing remained neat and accurate while, it should be said, never actually inconveniencing the unruffled visitors. One enthusiastically uninhibited first half challenge, though, which left befuddled Town hard case Peter Clarke seeking the number of the truck which mowed him down, at least briefly cheered up a morose assembly. It’s always a laugh to see the biter bit.
Charlton’s chances were few and hardly clearcut. The first half passed without Alex Smithies muddying his hands, although I recall that the young keeper had to move smartly to divert Kerkar’s dipping free kick after Anthony Gerrrard crudely fouled Bradley Pritchard early in the second period. There was little else to report, so let’s not bother – apart, that is from recording the 78th minute first team debut of promising teenaged striker Adebayo Azeez. The Addicks slithered out of the 2013 FA Cup without ceremony or dignity. Let ’em go. Their brief participation was hardly noticed anyway.
Charlton: Button, Wilson, Dervite, Taylor, Evina, Cook (Morrison 59), Stephens, Pritchard, Kerkar (Jackson 78), Kermorgant, Wright-Phillips (Azeez 78). Not used: Hamer, Green, Wagstaff, Fox. Booked: Pritchard. Sent off: Dervite.
Huddersfield: Smithies, Hunt, Peter Clarke, Gerrard, Dixon, Arfield, Norwood, Clayton, Scannell, Vaughan, Beckford (Novak 83). Not used: Bennett, Tom Clarke, Wallace, Robinson, Smith, Atkinson. Booked: Hunt, Arfield, Clayton, Vaughan.
Referee: Darren Drysdale. Att: 6,657.
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