Charlton 2 - 1 Huddersfield

Last updated : 17 October 2009 By Matt Fricker

A cold Valley afternoon greeted all who made the journey to SE7 for today’s fixture. The atmosphere inside the ground was far from cold however, as energetic music from Brazilian band Taru kicked off the clubs 17th Red White and Black day.

In terms of team news the Addicks revealed their first change in formation for the League One season with Izale McLeod replacing Jonjo Shelvey and 4 -4-2 being the preferred formation for Phil Parkinson’s men.  The only other change from the 0 – 0 draw against Oldham a week earlier was the re-appearance of Sam Sodje in central defence for Miguel Llera. On the bench there was a place for David Mooney, the 24 year old Irish striker who signed on emergency loan from Reading yesterday afternoon.

The game began and Charlton immediately put themselves in the driving seat, some good early play saw the Addicks awarded a corner within two minutes, Matt Spring delivered a good ball in but nothing came of the early opportunity. All of six minutes later Charlton opened the scoring, another Matt Spring corner, however, this time he found an unmarked Sam Sodje who took full advantage of the space he was in and powered home his free header to make it 1 – 0.

The game restarted and stayed relatively level throughout most of the first half. The Terriers were reduced to speculative long range efforts, some of which were far closer attempts than others, and the Addicks were reduced to chances that seemed promising but petered out in the final third.

Thirty nine minutes into the game the most contentious decision of the afternoon was made, Matt Spring was adjudged to have bought down Michael Collins about 30 yards outside of the Charlton goal, a decision that neither Charlton players or fans could understand. Anthony Pilkington stepped up and unleashed a stunning free kick which beat the diving Rob Elliot, bouncing off the inside of the right post and into the back of the net to bring the scores to 1 -1.

Half time: 1 – 1

The second half saw the introduction and return from injury of Jose Semedo, immediately displayed what the Addicks have been lacking in the past few matches.

His holding role in front of the defence allowed Therry Racon to push forward, as well as ensuring that both Nicky Bailey and Lloyd Sam could push out wider to the flanks. The change in formation immediately had Huddersfield on the back foot, conceding a free kick just inside their own area after 48 minutes.

Christian Dailly floated the ball into the box and watched as Sam Sodje again won the header and flicked the ball goal wards for Izale McLeod to get his head onto the ball and loop it into the far corner of the net.

Huddersfield managed to bundle the ball into the back of the net after 55 minutes but the referee spotted an infringement on Rob Elliot and ruled out an equalising goal. Again the Terriers came close on 74 minutes but were unable to beat the strong legs of the Charlton goalkeeper.

The 89th minute saw the introduction of David Mooney for his Charlton debut and he played a good part in helping the Addicks run down the clock to ensure the victory and their return to the top of League One.

Phil Parkinson takes his team into Kent next Saturday to face Gillingham, hoping in the mean time that Leeds will drop points against Norwich in their Monday night fixture.

 

Come on you Addicks!