Charlton 1 (Leaburn ) Peterborough 1 (Clarke-Harris)
Five days after abjectly surrendering to Bristol Rovers, Charlton challenged logic by dumping Brighton out of the Carabao Cup. Making the most of 22% possession, they defended heroically, soaked up what the Seagulls had to offer and edged a chaotic penalty shoot-out. Caretaker boss Anthony Hayes could look incoming manager Dean Holden squarely in the eye as he handed over a spirited squad. At least he could until Peterborough United had been and gone from The Valley on Boxing Day.
Play-off contenders Peterborough arrived with a curious record of ten games won, ten lost and only one drawn. They stood eighth in League One, just three points outside the play-offs group, their promising position vindication of the decision made years ago to increase from two to three points the reward for winning a game. Draws were effectively de-valued but let’s not knock them out of hand – they could be the saving of Charlton at the end of this difficult season.
Holden might not have known what to make of an awkward first half, which Posh largely controlled without tangible reward. The few chances on offer were created by the visitors, the first of them a rasping drive by diminutive Jeando Fuchs, which cannoned off Lucas Ness’s head to Jonson Clarke Harris. From a tight angle, United’s prolific captain blasted the rebound into the sidenet.
As the Addicks struggled to gain a foothold, Ephron Mason-Clark’s pinpoint pass sent Kwame Poku clear, with Ness in urgent pursuit. Holding off Charlton’s straining defender, Poku closed in but was defied at close range by Ashley Maynard-Brewer’s brave block. Scrambling to his feet, the young Aussie threw himself in the way of Joe Ward’s point-blank attempt to convert the rebound. His superb double save was the fillip the Addicks needed to force their way into a game which was threatening to inch out of their control.
Reaching the interval still level was an achievement for Holden’s men. Shortly after resumption, they went one better by taking the lead with a goal conceived and executed by two irrepressible graduates of the Sparrows Lane assembly line.
Spinning clear of Frankie Kent’s impetuous challenge on the left, starting debutant Daniel Kanu pinpointed a fine cross which picked out his comparatively experienced colleague Miles Leaburn. Making light of Ronnie Edwards’ touch-tight pressure, Leaburn Jr. planted a delicate, glancing header into the far right-hand corner. A delighted Valley joined the exuberant teenagers in saluting a goal with special significance; it was Leaburn’s sixth of an injury-hit campaign and makes him Charlton’s leading scorer. Kanu ‘s first goal for the senior side is an inevitable breakthrough hopefully not delayed for long.
Buoyed by success, the newly uninhibited Addicks went for the jugular. Breaking from his own half as a Posh corner foundered, Sean Clare set off on a lung-bursting run and was well served by Jack Payne’s perceptive pass. Staying ahead of a pursuing posse, the surprisingly swift wingback picked his moment to shoot, beat the advancing Will Blackmore but hit the inside of the post. It was an escape which the reprieved visitors celebrated by grabbing a scruffy but not altogether unexpected equaliser.
Apart from his earlier chance, not much had been seen of Clarke-Harris, but that was to change midway through the second session. Meeting Joe Ward’s inswinging left wing corner at the far post, the burly striker’s downward header had crossed the goalline before Ness desperately hacked it clear. Posh were back level and instantly went looking for more.
Deflated by the setback, Charlton were briefly vulnerable. First Kelland Watts, then Poku, hit the bar as Posh threatened to run riot. But the Addicks weathered the brief storm and Jesurun Rak-Sakyi squandered the clearest opportunity of an entertaining game. Set up by Leaburn’s cushioned square pass, the unmarked Crystal Palace loanee drew a careful bead on a yawning goal, selected its left corner and… sidefooted weakly wide. It was a miss of jawdropping profligacy and, under different circumstances, might have unnerved the Addicks. But under George Dobson’s indefatigable leadership and with centre backs Sam Lavelle and Ryan Inniss in unbreakable form, they dug in for a non-committal but useful draw -their tenth of the season – and a point which halted a run of three league defeats. And when you can win only five of twenty two games, you need to at least avoid defeat as often as possible.
In a campaign which could be justifiably likened to trudging through treacle, our heroes are making painstaking progress in their crablike “march” to safety from relegation. But there’s a bright spot… and that’s an unexpected chance of Cup glory at Old Trafford in the New Year. You can’t say fairer than that. Or more poignantly optimistic.
Charlton: Maynard-Brewer, Sessegnon, Lavelle, Inniss, Clare, Fraser (Henry 75), Payne (Rak-Sakyi 75), Dobson, Ness, Kanu (Stockley 75), Leaburn (Kirk 82). Not used: McGillivray, Blackett-Taylor, Mitchell. Booked: Dobson.
Peterborough: Blackmore, Watts, Edwards, Kent, Fuchs (Kyprianou 72), Taylor , Clarke-Harris, Mason-Clark (Jones 72), Poku (Taylor 89), Burrows, Ward. Not used: Bergstrom, Butler, Knight, Thompson.
Referee: Darren Drysdale. Att: 13,816 (385 visiting).