What a great goal from Aribo for the second. So much for him still to do when that (not particularly good pass) is looping towards him from Ajose, but man did he do it all with aplomb. Looks more and more like the new Morts every game. Now that is exciting!
We played like a team We played like a teee-eem Charlton Athletic We played like a team'
Yet again every player contributed something which is what Lee Bowyer/Jacko has got them doing.
Rotherham were a pretty stern test to start off with, they smacked the crossbar whilst we were still getting our bearings, but bit by bit we established purchase in the game and Rotherham had their frailties exposed. A lot was to do with holding our nerve in the early stages and having faith that our chance would come, and despite Rotherham being the ones to set up Zyro for the first goal, a lot of that was to do with our preparedness to battle and compete and wanting to score one way or another. Zyro had time to panic, but he slotted in a sweet goal the like of which a striker should score, credit to him.
From then on we were perfectly prepared to match their efforts, even with the lengthy re-set when the ref changed over, when they threatened, the excellent Bauer and Pearce repelled, the midfield wanted to collect the ball, and constantly looked for positive ways to get us forward, game management it was not, competitive it was.
Our second goal seemed to drain the spirit from Rotherham in an instant, and they went from being in the game to almost accepting defeat in that moment.
The unopposed header from MoM Aribo, as he ghosted in from the free kick was pretty inexcusable defending from Rotherham, but pretty wonderful from us. Late in the game Wood scrambled one in and it gave Rotherham a bit of hope, but the attitude of our players, tired from also having played Friday, was really good, as Curbs would've said, they all put their lot in.
I have skipped the third goal which was a thing of joy and exhalation as we roared and urged the breaking Aribo on, he refused to take an easy route and go down under the attentions of their defender, and when he lashed it home it was almost like going back in time to when going to the Valley was a real joy. Mavididi might have set Joe up for his hat trick in the last minute, but we had had a lot of joy up to that moment, and ecstasy might have been simply too much to handle today. Joy is good enough.
Lots of nice moments all afternoon, like at the end when the improving Reeves wriggled through on the touchline, each player had at least one moment to shine today, but it was not the individual performances that stood out, Aribo notwithstanding, it really was the effort and teamwork that stood out. It is starting to look less like beginners flukey luck from Lee Bowyer, but that he has restored good old footballing virtues to us. It is brilliant that Bowyer and Jacko are so focussed and not having to bear in mind the bigger picture, which was a burden Robinson always carried.
If we had been very indifferent and middling all season, then this kind of run would be the sign of real upwards momentum and genuine anticipation, one must hope that despite the many lost opportunities earlier in the season, that we can draw a line under that and become the form team. If Lee Bowyer could become Manager of the Month for April then it might mean we're really in business.
Imagine Roland sells up in the week, and there are an extra 5,000 or so fans inside The Valley for each of our remaining games and we STEAMROLL through the lot of them.
Then we march onto a massive day at Wembley Stadium, backed by 40,000 Addicks who witness Johnnie Jackson scoring a match winning goal in his final ever match before lifting the trophy with Lee Bowyer leading celebrations on the pitch after the game, 20 years after our last Wembley triumph.
YES IM CARRIED AWAY BECAUSE JUST BLOODY IMAGINE IT.
Pearce MOTM today... Absolutely quality!! - Bossed Smith, was sensible enough to get away from what could have been handbags, lead the line brilliantly and pushed players forward
Rotherham have signs of a good side, Zyro barely got near any headers and could be troublesome in the Play-Offs
Referees were shocking today, how could they find a foul against us after initially giving a penalty for handball - Said early on that any Yellow Cards would be given to Charlton players today, and that was exactly the case... How the hell Rotherham got away without any bookings themselves was just a joke!!
You could make an extensive "highlight" real from "things that were not bookings" this season. Absolutely crazy. Rotherham were all elbows.
Rotherham gave us more problems than any other team in the Bowyer era.
They were physical but they closed us down well and had more than one good chance to go ahead that they wasted.
Liked Emmanuel, their no. 2, and our old boy Richard Wood gave Mavididi next to nothing.
But we punished them by taking our chances. Zyro wasn't playing that well but a great move and even better finish.
Mickey and Nicky really working well as a pairing up top.
Haven't been a fan of Ajose or Reeves but both doing very well in a formation that suits them. Reeves has runners to hit and Ajose runs so well into space and links up with with Zyro.
Aribo playing regularly and scoring regularly. Coincidence? No.
The defence will be annoyed to have conceded but it didn't matter. BFG and Pearce did their job.
Neither Dasilva or Konsa did enough to feel safe from being replaced by Page or Dijksteel.
A win v a play-off rival after a busy week.
Tough away games to come but in the play-offs. Now just have to stay there.
Karl who? Lee Bowyer and JJ are the best thing this team Have seen this season. This team could beat anybody in this league. Lee Bowyer 9 Points V Karl Robinson 1 point.
Lee Bowyer is a tactical genius a real players Motivater.
Gotta give special mention to Ajose again... He's not getting himself in goalscoring chances so you could ask what he contributes yet the comparisson between him and Mavididi today was extremely clear.
Ajose didnt know what a lost cause was and chased everything down - Mavididi on the other hand did the opposite and felt he had to be persuaded to chase lost causes for a while
Pearce MOTM today... Absolutely quality!! - Bossed Smith, was sensible enough to get away from what could have been handbags, lead the line brilliantly and pushed players forward
Rotherham have signs of a good side, Zyro barely got near any headers and could be troublesome in the Play-Offs
Referees were shocking today, how could they find a foul against us after initially giving a penalty for handball - Said early on that any Yellow Cards would be given to Charlton players today, and that was exactly the case... How the hell Rotherham got away without any bookings themselves was just a joke!!
You could make an extensive "highlight" real from "things that were not bookings" this season. Absolutely crazy. Rotherham were all elbows.
The "handbags" started by Smith is a perfect example of the ref today - Smith gets ignored, Forster-Caskey dived in to break everything up yet gets booked!!
What a waste this season has been,I have said all along we have possibly the besr squad in this league,and only now are they showing it.A joy to be at the valley on days like this.
Listened on Valley Pass, another solid performance it sounded, after the first 5 mins when they had the upper-hand. Once we took the lead we seemed to control the game. I'm happy to have predicted a 3-1 victory on the pre match thread. Play-Offs can be reached now and we seem to be the in-form team.....at last
A solid win today against a decent team. The big difference now is that we look dangerous, we actually pack a real offensive threat, and the formation change has made a massive difference as we can now go direct as well as playing the intricate football, giving defenders real problems. Drop deep, our skilful players have lots of space, push up and Ajose and our speedsters can break.
The first goal for example, Ajose makes a nice run towards a great pass by JFC(?). If the player had been up there by himself, whether Ajose, Zyro or Magennis the slight miscue by the defender would have been collected easily by another defender and been a non event. Instead because we have TWO attackers up there, it falls for Zyro (great shot)
The third goal is all about Aribo, but Ajose again plays a part attracting defenders to create space and putting the ball first time into Ajose's path instead of dawdling on it.
I was slightly disappointed Ajose was taken off so early, as he seemed quite fresh still I would have loved him to score the goal his work deserved. Mavididi is a skilful player, but less direct and seemed to be in 3rd gear. Not convinced Konsa at RB is better than Djiksteel either.
Very satisfying. Didn’t blast the opposition away as per the last two games but I thought Rotherham were difficult opponents. We looked tired but still up for it. We scored from our first two clear cut chances which we were not doing earlier in the season. Absolute stand out performances from Amos, Aribo, Pearce, Bauer and Reeves. Everyone else was at least good. Worrying injury to Fosu as we are not quite the same without him and Mavididi was clearly protecting himself when he came on and looked to me as though he is injured again as he was not a happy camper talking to the physios at the end. We would not have won that game a month ago. Onwards and upwards.
Karl who? Lee Bowyer and JJ are the best thing this team Have seen this season. This team could beat anybody in this league. Lee Bowyer 9 Points V Karl Robinson 1 point.
Lee Bowyer is a tactical genius a real players Motivater.
Good luck to him, he should be the manager.
Your poem doesn't rhyme.
Free verse, it’s the latest thing, don’t you know?
A well deserved win and, on this performance, we’d have nothing to fear from Rotherham if we met them in the play-offs. Indeed, with no disrespect intended, we made them look a little bovine at times.
A slow start from us, leading to a first minute shot against the bar and then another shooting opportunity from the edge of the box, which their guy put well over the top.
As the half wore on, we got more of a foothold in the game. After a good run off the ball from Ajose and a nice ball from midfield picking out his run, the defender could only knock it into the path of Zyro, who expertly made space and lashed the ball home. The goal featured two things we have lacked this season: clever movement and runs up front and a clinical strike from a Charlton centre forward.
Smart work from Ben Reeves won us a free kick shortly after half time and, from a very good delivery, Joe Aribo found himself totally unmarked and deftly guided his header into the net. Even better was to follow shortly afterwards on the break with a beautiful finish off the underside of the bar, which followed a cushioned header forward and great composure from Joe, as he waited for just the right moment to pull the trigger. Total class.
That really finished the game as a contest and Richard Wood’s goal was never going to be more than a consolation - even for seasoned and nervous Charlton watchers. Indeed, Mavididi and Reeves could have added to the scoreline in the last few minutes.
I thought that we were very solid at the back, with Pearce and Bauer turning in a display of high quality, uncompromising defending. They certainly kept Smith and his fellow striker well in check. Da Silva was up to his usual high standard, although I thought that we missed Dijksteel’s pace and physicality at right back, with Rotherham concentrating their forays down that flank.
Aribo was excellent and Reeves turned in another very good performance, with each of them showing their quality, calmness and vision in tight spaces.
Zyro did well, as did Ajose. Although the latter was a little quieter than the last couple of games, his runs were intelligent, helped stretch Rotherham’s back four and created space for our skillful attacking players to exploit. Kaikai was less impressive and we must hope that Fosu will be back in action shortly. With 5 away games to come, his pace on the break - together with Mavididi’s - is likely to present serious problems for the opposition.
A vitally important win and another game that we managed very well against potentially awkward and physical opponents - more credit to Lee Bowyer and Jacko. We now have real momentum going into the last 7 games.
The boys have turned into men and the men have turned into a team that enjoy playing football. I now believe we are at last watching professional football. Onwards and upwards!
Summed it up for me.
The squad that I'm happy to admit I believed was average, has proved to be more resilient than I thought. We're finishing games strongly, and playing with passion, and look an entirely different proposition than we did a few weeks back. Aribo has blossomed, and Reeves is finally showing what he's all about. Zyro has come into form and fitness just at the right time, Page has proved to be a far better signing than many thought, and I hate to say it, we look better defensively without Solly, who's really struggled this season. Bauer and Pearce are proving that they are by far our best defensive partnership. Also, I love the way we're right behind Ajose, after we'd pretty much given up on him. Robinson must be gutted, but that's what happens when you're too set in your ways.
Aribo has a very noticeable limp in the fans bar after, hopefully nothing serious. On another note that’s one of the best days I’ve had down at Charlton in years, convincing win and (2) free pints, you can feel the atmosphere around the club changing as time goes on. Get the takeover over the line and it’ll be near party mode.
Comments
Both our full backs were a bit iffy - felt we let in far too many crosses. Not sure if Konsa and Jay really got enough cover.
Amos looked very assured and our midfield looked very threatening. We are in a good run of form.....
We played like a team
We played like a teee-eem
Charlton Athletic
We played like a team'
Yet again every player contributed something which is what Lee Bowyer/Jacko has got them doing.
Rotherham were a pretty stern test to start off with, they smacked the crossbar whilst we were still getting our bearings, but bit by bit we established purchase in the game and Rotherham had their frailties exposed. A lot was to do with holding our nerve in the early stages and having faith that our chance would come, and despite Rotherham being the ones to set up Zyro for the first goal, a lot of that was to do with our preparedness to battle and compete and wanting to score one way or another. Zyro had time to panic, but he slotted in a sweet goal the like of which a striker should score, credit to him.
From then on we were perfectly prepared to match their efforts, even with the lengthy re-set when the ref changed over, when they threatened, the excellent Bauer and Pearce repelled, the midfield wanted to collect the ball, and constantly looked for positive ways to get us forward, game management it was not, competitive it was.
Our second goal seemed to drain the spirit from Rotherham in an instant, and they went from being in the game to almost accepting defeat in that moment.
The unopposed header from MoM Aribo, as he ghosted in from the free kick was pretty inexcusable defending from Rotherham, but pretty wonderful from us. Late in the game Wood scrambled one in and it gave Rotherham a bit of hope, but the attitude of our players, tired from also having played Friday, was really good, as Curbs would've said, they all put their lot in.
I have skipped the third goal which was a thing of joy and exhalation as we roared and urged the breaking Aribo on, he refused to take an easy route and go down under the attentions of their defender, and when he lashed it home it was almost like going back in time to when going to the Valley was a real joy. Mavididi might have set Joe up for his hat trick in the last minute, but we had had a lot of joy up to that moment, and ecstasy might have been simply too much to handle today. Joy is good enough.
Lots of nice moments all afternoon, like at the end when the improving Reeves wriggled through on the touchline, each player had at least one moment to shine today, but it was not the individual performances that stood out, Aribo notwithstanding, it really was the effort and teamwork that stood out. It is starting to look less like beginners flukey luck from Lee Bowyer, but that he has restored good old footballing virtues to us. It is brilliant that Bowyer and Jacko are so focussed and not having to bear in mind the bigger picture, which was a burden Robinson always carried.
If we had been very indifferent and middling all season, then this kind of run would be the sign of real upwards momentum and genuine anticipation, one must hope that despite the many lost opportunities earlier in the season, that we can draw a line under that and become the form team. If Lee Bowyer could become Manager of the Month for April then it might mean we're really in business.
Imagine Roland sells up in the week, and there are an extra 5,000 or so fans inside The Valley for each of our remaining games and we STEAMROLL through the lot of them.
Then we march onto a massive day at Wembley Stadium, backed by 40,000 Addicks who witness Johnnie Jackson scoring a match winning goal in his final ever match before lifting the trophy with Lee Bowyer leading celebrations on the pitch after the game, 20 years after our last Wembley triumph.
YES IM CARRIED AWAY BECAUSE JUST BLOODY IMAGINE IT.
They were physical but they closed us down well and had more than one good chance to go ahead that they wasted.
Liked Emmanuel, their no. 2, and our old boy Richard Wood gave Mavididi next to nothing.
But we punished them by taking our chances. Zyro wasn't playing that well but a great move and even better finish.
Mickey and Nicky really working well as a pairing up top.
Haven't been a fan of Ajose or Reeves but both doing very well in a formation that suits them. Reeves has runners to hit and Ajose runs so well into space and links up with with Zyro.
Aribo playing regularly and scoring regularly. Coincidence? No.
The defence will be annoyed to have conceded but it didn't matter. BFG and Pearce did their job.
Neither Dasilva or Konsa did enough to feel safe from being replaced by Page or Dijksteel.
A win v a play-off rival after a busy week.
Tough away games to come but in the play-offs. Now just have to stay there.
Lee, Lee Lee Bowyer.
Ajose didnt know what a lost cause was and chased everything down - Mavididi on the other hand did the opposite and felt he had to be persuaded to chase lost causes for a while
Rotherham had a highlighter pen playing in goal.
Sadly, I believe our chances of winning the title are over today.
We can now only catch Blackburn on GD, providing we win all our remaining games 5-0.
Reeves - best game I've seen him have
JFC - put in some very brave tackles
Pearce - as above
DaSilva - another quality performance
Great result, keeping the dream alive. Well done to the team.
"If you make the runs, the Midfielders wont track you"
Much better than what any other Manager say i.e.: "Players showed heart and passion", yeah great... stop waffling!!
The first goal for example, Ajose makes a nice run towards a great pass by JFC(?). If the player had been up there by himself, whether Ajose, Zyro or Magennis the slight miscue by the defender would have been collected easily by another defender and been a non event. Instead because we have TWO attackers up there, it falls for Zyro (great shot)
The third goal is all about Aribo, but Ajose again plays a part attracting defenders to create space and putting the ball first time into Ajose's path instead of dawdling on it.
I was slightly disappointed Ajose was taken off so early, as he seemed quite fresh still I would have loved him to score the goal his work deserved. Mavididi is a skilful player, but less direct and seemed to be in 3rd gear. Not convinced Konsa at RB is better than Djiksteel either.
A slow start from us, leading to a first minute shot against the bar and then another shooting opportunity from the edge of the box, which their guy put well over the top.
As the half wore on, we got more of a foothold in the game. After a good run off the ball from Ajose and a nice ball from midfield picking out his run, the defender could only knock it into the path of Zyro, who expertly made space and lashed the ball home. The goal featured two things we have lacked this season: clever movement and runs up front and a clinical strike from a Charlton centre forward.
Smart work from Ben Reeves won us a free kick shortly after half time and, from a very good delivery, Joe Aribo found himself totally unmarked and deftly guided his header into the net. Even better was to follow shortly afterwards on the break with a beautiful finish off the underside of the bar, which followed a cushioned header forward and great composure from Joe, as he waited for just the right moment to pull the trigger. Total class.
That really finished the game as a contest and Richard Wood’s goal was never going to be more than a consolation - even for seasoned and nervous Charlton watchers. Indeed, Mavididi and Reeves could have added to the scoreline in the last few minutes.
I thought that we were very solid at the back, with Pearce and Bauer turning in a display of high quality, uncompromising defending. They certainly kept Smith and his fellow striker well in check. Da Silva was up to his usual high standard, although I thought that we missed Dijksteel’s pace and physicality at right back, with Rotherham concentrating their forays down that flank.
Aribo was excellent and Reeves turned in another very good performance, with each of them showing their quality, calmness and vision in tight spaces.
Zyro did well, as did Ajose. Although the latter was a little quieter than the last couple of games, his runs were intelligent, helped stretch Rotherham’s back four and created space for our skillful attacking players to exploit. Kaikai was less impressive and we must hope that Fosu will be back in action shortly. With 5 away games to come, his pace on the break - together with Mavididi’s - is likely to present serious problems for the opposition.
A vitally important win and another game that we managed very well against potentially awkward and physical opponents - more credit to Lee Bowyer and Jacko. We now have real momentum going into the last 7 games.
The squad that I'm happy to admit I believed was average, has proved to be more resilient than I thought. We're finishing games strongly, and playing with passion, and look an entirely different proposition than we did a few weeks back.
Aribo has blossomed, and Reeves is finally showing what he's all about.
Zyro has come into form and fitness just at the right time, Page has proved to be a far better signing than many thought, and I hate to say it, we look better defensively without Solly, who's really struggled this season. Bauer and Pearce are proving that they are by far our best defensive partnership.
Also, I love the way we're right behind Ajose, after we'd pretty much given up on him.
Robinson must be gutted, but that's what happens when you're too set in your ways.