Yeovil made an immediate substitution at the start of the second half too, with Hinds making way for Ngala at the back, and Charlton got the game under way, immediately heading towards their fans in the North Stand. After some pinball in the box, the ball fell to Russell on the edge, but he volleyed wide.
It was easy to see why Yeovil are one of the form teams in the league, and despite being down they continued to work hard and press with their attractive style of football. Blizzard, Upson and Parrett continued to dominate possession in midfield, but the diligence of Hollands and Russell will have pleased Powell, as they continued to restrict them to very few real chances. After a good spell of passing football, it again fell to A. Williams but his effort was wide, and then minutes later Morrison gifted the ball to the substitute D’Ath, but his effort was also wide. It was then Charlton’s turn to create an opportunity, and from a free-kick after Parrett had scythed down BWP, a quick passing move saw the ball fall to Cort in the box, but his effort was also wide.
Yeovil then created their best chance of the match in the 57th minute. BWP got his own back on Parrett for his tackle minutes earlier. Upson drifted the ball into the box, which wasn’t cleared properly. It fell to the feet of Ngala, who stabbed it goal wards, and only quick reactions from Hamer prevented a goal, as he palmed it wide for a corner. The corner saw a clash of heads for Kermogant and Grounds, and in a week that has been dominated by the collapse of a player, it was a relief when both got up and running.
It was on the hour that Charlton then finally put some daylight between the two sides. Grounds fouled Wagstaff in a central area of the pitch. A rehearsed move saw Wiggins chip the ball to the corner of the box, where Kermogant was waiting. His powerful header across the box was met by one of the smallest players on the pitch, Bradley Wright-Phillips, who leapt above everyone to nod the ball into the far corner of the goal with the keeper stranded.
The relief was clear around the Valley, and Charlton began to play with more freedom. Russell and Hollands, who had been exceptional in the middle in continually breaking down the play, began to find that they were having more of the possession. This was spread wide on several occasions to Wagstaff, who after a slow start had grown into the game, and N’Guessan, who looked handy on his debut, and Charlton began to press forwards more frequently. Parrett made way to polite applause on 69 minutes, Agard taking his place, but by then the creativity in the middle looked like it was running out of ideas. The league leaders continued to press forward, with crosses from Solly and Kermogant that were both cut out.
Yeovil then had another major opportunity when Blizzard, Franks and D’Ath combined well, it resulted in a cross from Franks, which was met by D’Ath, and his volley looped over the head of Hamer and bounced off the bar. The resulting ball fell to Grounds, but he was unable to adjust, and his shot was harmlessly wide.
As the game entered its final 15 minutes, N’Guessan made way for Green, who immediately won a corner, from which Morrison headed straight at the keeper. Yeovil began to resort to long balls, but Cort, who was fantastic all night, continued to sweep up anything that entered the final third of the pitch.
With just 3 minutes left, Valley Floyd Road began to echo round the ground, and the players reacted to the support of the fans, continuing to play the ball around the floor, in a style reminiscent of their strong start to the season. It was this style of play that lead to the final goal, which came on 90 minutes after a fluid passing move. Wiggins played it forward to Kermogant, who with his back to goal, played it around the corner of his defender. Wiggins had continued his run, and played it across the middle, where Russell had also burst forward and was there to tap it under Walker.
It crowned an impressive performance from the league leaders, and was met with delight once again from the fans. They had been stronger and more alert in every area of the pitch, and had thoroughly deserved the win, against a Yeovil side who have been extremely dangerous in recent games. There was further joy for the Red Army, who found out that Sheffield Wednesday had only scraped a draw in their match with Walsall, which means Charlton are now 11 points clear in the automatic promotion places, with only 8 games left.
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