Kevin Nolan’s Match Report: Charlton Athletic v Walsall (09/04/2012)

Charlton 1 (N’Guessan 35) Walsall 0.

Kevin Nolan reports from The Valley.

Forty eight hours after limping away from a pitched battle in Oldham on a soggy old pitch which practically guaranteed a battle, Charlton were up to their necks in pressure from relegation haunted Walsall. And whaddya know, they dug in again, manned the trenches and emerged with a second 1-0 win of vital importance. Call it defiance, bloodymindedness, guts, call it anything you like but I go for “gumption”. It’s a lovely, old-fashioned word, ain’t it? Gumption, otherwise known as commonsense. Roll it around your tongue. Savour it. But only use it when it fits the bill.

The Addicks were up against it at The Valley on Easter Monday. Without midfield workhorse Danny Hollands and 100 percenter Scott Wagstaff, both sent off at Boundary Park by Pa Kettle, that hanging judge of a referee, demands were made on Chris Powell’s resourcefulness. The return of skipper Johnnie Jackson from injury was timely and he replaced Lee Cook on the left. Dany N’Guessan moved over to fill in for Wagstaff on the right flank, where he proved to be a roving revelation, while eager rookie Bradley Pritchard brought non-stop endeavour with him in covering Hollands’ absence in central midfield. Show Powell a gap and he plugs it. He’s a clever plugger.

Perched above the relegation trapdoor though they were, the Saddlers were hugely impressive. Keeping their shape admirably, they trusted their ability to play along the ground and enjoyed at least as much possession as their league leading hosts. Their Achilles heel, unfortunately, was an obvious lack of cutting edge up front. After Florent Cuvelier bounced an early shot wide and tricky customer Alex Nicholls blistered Ben Hamer’s hands with a ferociously angled drive before ten minutes had elapsed, their neat approach play achieved little end product. Not that Charlton could ever relax. That luxury was denied them by their persistent visitors. Every game takes more out of both players and fans. You should see my fingernails.

Allowing for the bitterness of defeat, Walsall boss Dean Smith was possibly a little carried away in claiming that his side had bossed virtually the whole game. His frustration also led him to label the free kick, from which N’Guessan headed the 35th minute winner as “soft”, a dopey footballing euphemism understood to mean “unjustified.” Let’s have a glance at the old notes here and see if we can clear it up for him. No, sorry, Smudger, it says here that your left back Mat Sadler blatantly fouled N’Guessan on the right touchline, some 60 yards, remember, from your technical area, and it was just your wretched luck that Mr. Phillips was better placed than you to catch him at it. The quality of Jackson’s wickedly inswinging free kick and the no-nonsense header from N’Guessan were, of course, beyond dispute, as no doubt you’ll concede. It’s without rancour that we remind you that games of football are decided by goals, not the promise of goals. It’s a sod sometimes but that’s just the way it is.

It helps enormously, of course, if you can also stop the other side scoring, something the Addicks have achieved on 19 occasions this season. In fact they have conceded only 31 goals in 42 games, which works out at, er, .75 per game or, put it another way, let’s see, 3/4 of a goal per 90 minutes. Do your own maths, I can take you only so far. Just don’t forget to carry the one.

The touchingly blinkered Smith probably doesn’t have a lot to worry about, based on the West Midlanders’ spirited display. We wish him well but here on this website, you’re naturally more interested in Charlton’s prospects. Well, very briefly, they’re looking up with four games to go. For the second time over Easter, Sheffield Wednesday were given the obvious advantage of kicking off before the league leaders. And for the second time, Powell’s wounded warriors held them at bay. Now nine points behind, Sheffield United play at Rochdale on Tuesday evening, which looks like a gimme but might not turn out to be. Catch these Addicks if you can.

Back to Easter Monday. It might be invidious to pick out individuals from an outstanding team display so we’ll firmly resist the temptation? Except to say that N’Guessan was terrific, as were the elegantly understated Dale Stephens and the wily coyote that is Chris Solly. Left back Rhoys Wiggins attacked as well as he defended, while centre backs Leon Cort and Michael Morrison were impregnable. Pritchard ably made up for Hollands’ absence, Jackson’s smooth influence was pervasive, strikers Yann Kermorgant and Bradley Wright-Phillips not quite at their impressive best but still a handful.

Substitutes Matt Taylor, Danny Haynes and Lee Cook did what was asked of them, with Haynes and Cook particularly adept at running down the clock, a practice which Smith cheerfully cited as proof of Charlton’s inferiority. But like I say, it wouldn’t do to pick out individuals, except to point out that Ben Hamer was mentioned in his manager’s post-game dispatches for a couple of key saves and generally sound handling. The ball boys all did well. Not to mention Erol Umit, whose expert gumption regularly pieced together Yann Kermorgant’s battered body. Jolly well done, all of you!

Charlton: Hamer, Solly, Cort, Morrison, Wiggins, N’Guessan (Cook 86), Pritchard, Stephens, Jackson (Taylor 90), Kemorgant, Wright-Phillips (Haynes 78). Not used: Sullivan, Hughes.

Attendance: 15,253.