Saturday 17 October 2009

Charlton Athletic 2 v Huddersfield Town 1

Phil Parkinson's side did what they needed to this afternoon and beat Huddersfield to go back to the top of the League One table. It was a good match for the neutral and one that my Aberdeen-supporting guest enjoyed thoroughly, even if he thought the Terriers did enough to deserve a draw. That's as maybe but we stuck to the task today, took the lead twice and played out five frantic minutes of added time.

The starting formation was a real surprise for me as Parky bowed to fan pressure and began with Burton and McLeod upfront. Jonjo Shelvey can have few complaints at being dropped after his recent showings and it will do him a power of good to have to fight his way back into the side. The other change, although more predictable was the return of Sam Sodje for Miguel Llera. With Matthew Spring starting alongside Therry Racon, I assumed Jose Semedo was not ready to return but he was named a substitute.

Cheered on by 1500 noisy Yorkshiremen, Huddersfield started with intent and it was clear they had not come for the point like their Lancastrian counterparts last week. In amongst counter-attacking sweeping Charlton moves, the Terriers were doing all the pressing, so it was a shock for them when Charlton won a corner on eight minutes and Sam Sodje hurtled onto the cross and planted a thumping header into their net to open the scoring. After that we had to watch a lot of Huddersfield possession and they flashed a couple of curling efforts from the left hand side across Elliot's goal. They were finding space in the midfield as Spring and Racon struggled to contain them. Pilkington in particular looked very strong on the ball and his delivery was excellent all afternoon. He had seen one free kick held by Elliot before getting a second attempt some minutes later after a harsh decision against Spring. He made no mistake this time as his fierce shot beat the wall and cannoned off Elliot's left-hand post and in for the equaliser. It was only what Town deserved and we needed a response going in at the break.

Credit to Phil Parkinson for starting the second half with Semedo on for Spring. We had been losing the midfield battle and Semedo helped turn it. Within four minutes of the re-start we were in front again. A free-kick was played up into the box and Sam Sodje got up and headed the ball across goal to McLeod who managed to get enough on it to send it looping back across the keeper and in. McLeod celebrated once again by removing his shirt and getting himself booked. If I was Phil Parkinson, I would have subbed him there and then. Unforgiveable and unprofessional.

The referree had been upsetting the home fans all through the game and was mocked ironically every time he did give us a decision. I don't think he had a particularly good game but a number of our players were guilty of looking for fouls and, in McLeod's case, for diving on a couple of occasions that may not have helped his claim the third time.

Huddersfield came back at us and they played a number of very good balls into the box and with players arriving were unfortunate on several occasions; they did crash the ball in from a corner but the ref was blowing for a push as it hit the net. Antony Pilkington then failed to score from three yards out as he closed in on goal but a lot of credit must go to Kelly Youga for getting so close and putting him under so much pressure.

McLeod could have wrapped things up after collecting a long ball from Bailey. His first touch was unusually good as he made room for a thunderous strike which whistled over the bar. Huddersfield responded again and this time they got to the goal line before the ball was played back to Jordan Rhodes in space and central to goal but his low strike was brilliantly blocked by Elliot and the danger averted. Therry Racon might even have added a third after he was played in on goal by a beautiful pass from Lloyd Sam but Therry hesitated and allowed his pursuer to get a tackle in.

A spate of substitutions followed for both sides as Scott Wagstaff came on for Lloyd Sam and towards the end, David Mooney made his loan debut for Izale McLeod. Huddersfield looked dangerous to the end but our players were determined and did well to hang on for the win.

The back four were outstanding today. Youga again had the beating of their right-side and Richardson did well on our right. Dailly was solid once more and Sam Sodje was my man-of-the-match.

Nicky Bailey was his industrious self without shining again. Semedo broke the play up when he came on and Racon looks a better player alongside him. Lloyd Sam didn't do enough but he did get a number of good crosses in after the break and forced a save from Smithies before being subbed. Burton didn't do a great deal and McLeod saw more of the ball than him and did at least finish well when Sodje gave him his chance.

As we look down on the chasers tonight, that point against Oldham last week was vital and not the end of the world as seen by some. I can't wait for Gillingham next week and only hope we don't let ourselves down like we did at Colchester or the last time we played there in the F A Cup.





2 comments:

  1. I was also surprised by the team selection and am inclined to wonder, albeit with the benefit of considerable hindsight, whether Parky had it the wrong way around, i.e. would 4-5-1 have worked better against a positive Huddersfield with 4-4-2 the best bet against the defensive minded Oldham? We’ll never know, but I agree with your Scottish friend that Charlton were fortunate to win yesterday. The performance was far from convincing though, once again, credit is due for battling away and getting the result.

    A number of things seem to have become clear. We have a decent goalkeeper and, at Division One level, two outstanding full backs; Youga has been a revelation this season. Dailly is a quality player and an excellent signing, but I’m less convinced by Sodje than some. His heading ability won the game yesterday but it would be wrong to be too influenced by that. Llera still has a strong case to play, not least given that yesterday Dailly looked marginally less at home playing on the left. Moreover, the Dailly/Llera partnership has so far looked very comfortable on the ball and has been an important part of our build up play whilst yesterday our centre backs were much less influential when we were in possession.

    The midfield looks solid and settled with Racon and Bailey in particular certain to play when available. I didn’t think Spring did a lot wrong yesterday and can’t help wondering whether a 4-5-1 system suits Semedo better than 4-4-2 because he can play deeper and more defensively. Lloyd Sam needs to be careful because of all those outside the first XI Scott Wagstaff has the strongest shout to play and Sam’s erratic contribution is not always easy to fathom.

    I felt Shelvey needed a rest but his quality was badly missed yesterday, i.e. in his absence we had very little. McLeod was McLeod (you want him to succeed but he doesn’t have the ability, sadly) whilst Burton was disappointing. The question remains, therefore, how to accommodate Jonjo.

    Ironically, despite the win, I thought yesterday showed very clearly that Parky is right. 4-5-1 is the system that makes the best use of the players available. With Semedo sitting deep to shield the defence and win the ball, a role he is better suited to than Spring, Shelvey and Racon are free to get forward in support of whoever the lone striker is. That lone striker position is up for grabs I reckon with McKenzie or even Mooney genuine challengers to Burton, whilst if McLeod is to contribute to a successful season it will be in a role off the bench and no more.

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  2. Anon - I agree with everything you say here. A 4-5-1 formation may well have restricted a lot of Huddersfield attacks yesterday and an earlier 4-4-2 against Oldham may have won us the match - Dave.

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