Charlton 1 (Fuller 35) Watford 2 (Hoban 29, Abdi 70).
Kevin Nolan reports from The Valley.
The loss of a game surely targeted as winnable was a bitter pill for Charlton to swallow last night. And their mood won’t be lightened when they face the uncomfortable reality that a potentially decisive advantage was contentiously handed them by Premier League referee Mike Dean shortly before the interval.
A fairly even first half was winding down when U-21 Italian international Fernando Forestieri turned sharply infield from the the right byline under the watchful eye of Salim Kerkar, before losing his footing and measuring his length perhaps a little too enthusiastically. From this observer’s admittedly distant vantage point, neither dive nor foul was obvious, but, much closer to the action, Dean had no such doubt. Already booked for encroaching on a Kerkar free kick, Udinese loanee Forestieri was issued his marching orders for simulation. So often out of luck this season, Charlton had been handed a massive break which, unhappily, they subsequently spurned.
Nothing in a relatively routine first period had set the scene for such added time drama. Not much worth noting, in fact, had happened before Michael Morrison was rightly penalised for manhandling Forestieri, his excessive physicality providing the opportunity for 17-year old Chelsea loan prodigy Nathaniel Chalobah to hoist a free kick into a congested penalty area. An almost imperceptible brush off Kerkar’s hip, again correctly spotted by eagle-eyed Dean, conceded the visitors a right wing corner, which Chalobah swung outward and Tommie Hoban headed home with the help of a deflection.
Boosted by their success, Gianfranco Zola’s curious combination of talented foreign strangers had been hitting an impressive stride. Dismissed a couple of years ago by deeply unpleasant West Ham owner David Sullivan for being “too nice” – hardly an accusation levelled at Sullivan himself – Zola’s perceived “softness” is exaggerated, though it’s hard to recall the diminutive genius ever resorting to anything underhand. He will certainly be remembered with affection long after Sullivan has disappeared back into Daily Sport’s woodwork. They say you only miss what you’ve got when it’s gone. An exception will be made in his case.
From the away dug-out, Zola was ideally positioned to appreciate, if not applaud, the beauty of Charlton’s somewhat unexpected equaliser. From left to right, Dale Stephens’ geometrically calculated diagonal pass demolished Watford’s central defence, leaving an alert Ricardo Fuller to compose himself before slotting past an oncoming Manuel Almunia. Both metronomic assist and appropriately cool finish would have left Zola purring under different circumstances.
Using their numerical advantage, the Addicks set about their depleted visitors after the break. Fuller’s typical persistence created an opening, through which Bradley Wright-Phillips burst to sting Almunia’s palms, then Fuller turned sharply again to thread his strike partner through but Wright-Phillips, under pressure from the ominously named Brazilian Neuton, scooped his shot over the bar. A stream of one-way traffic ended with Fuller forcing another smart save from Almunia at the keeper’s near post.
Forestieri’s controversial departure had clearly inconvenienced the Hornets but they kept their heads and remained dangerous on the break. With 20 minutes remaining, they lifted the siege and regained the lead.
Irritating though it was to home fans, Dean was actually spot-on with most of his decisions. He called it right again when ruling that Leon Cort’s muscular challenge on Troy Deeney was illegal. From the resultant free kick, conceded some 20 yards to the left of Ben Hamer’s goal, Swiss midfielder Almen Abi, yet another of in-the-know Zola’s shrewd loan acquisitions from Udinese, curled a sumptuous shot into the top left corner.
The Addicks were stunned but gamely battled away. There wouldn’t be many Bob Dylan fans among them but it might interest them to hear the peerless old trouper maintaining that “the only thing I knew how to do was to keep on keepin’ on”, then putting his money where his mouth is by continuing to tour regularly in the autumn of an unforgettable career. Still forever young after 50 years in the big league.
In the short term at The Valley, Chris Solly crossed, Cort headed down but Stephens blasted a last chance over the bar. Over the longer haul, the Addicks must keep the faith, stick together and soldier on. It’s not dark yet. It’s getting there. But it’s not dark yet. Certainly not for Dylan. And, just as hopefully, not for Charlton. Relegation is unthinkable. Brings you out in sweats.
Charlton: Hamer, Wilson, Cort, Morrison, Solly, Green (Hulse 79), Hollands (Pritchard 79), Stephens, Kerkar, Fuller, Wright-Phillips. Not used: Button, Evina, Wagstaff, Razak, Dervite. Booked: Morrison, Green.
Watford: Almunia, Hogg, Hall, Neuton (Ekstrand 75), Pudil, Chalobah (Doyley 90), Hoban, Abdi, Cassetti, Deeney (Iwelumo 90), Forestieri. Not used: Bond, Yeates, Murray, Vydra. Booked: Forriestri, Pudil, Neuton, Abdi, Almunia. Sent off: Foriestri.
Referee: Mike Dean. Att: 15,585.
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