Charlton Athletic 4 Carlisle United 0

At half-time Kings Hill Addick sent me a message asking if I could come every week. Trust me, I have not always been this lucky.

In the pub beforehand we called for a simple 1-0 win and 3 points to get us back on track after (if I include the paint pot cup) three poor performances but we got a lot better than that.

Last season Chris Powell simply failed to find a response to defeats and poor player form. On March 1st this year, Carlisle came to The Valley and left SE7 with a comfortable 3 points. It was our 4th successive defeat and it was another 8 games before we won again.

Noticeably the attendance that night was 4,000 less than it was yesterday. A sign perhaps that us Addicks are finally shaking ourselves from the depths of despair. Certainly there were a fair few surprised looks at half-time yesterday as familiar faces quizzed each other as to whether we have finally got a team to believe in.

Carlisle, if you weren’t at the match, weren’t actually that bad. One could see why they have been so productive on the road this season playing a crisp passing game and as my mate said they are probably only three players away from being a top side.

We, however, were simply too good. In that first 45 minutes every time we attacked we looked like scoring.

Wright Phillips had already twice threatened before a beautiful passage of play in front of us in the East Stand resulted in the very impressive Wiggins crossing for Kermorgant to emphatically head home within the first quarter of an hour.

I had heard criticism of Hamer’s long kick deliveries in recent weeks but yesterday he looked to play the ball out at every sensible opportunity and Powell commented afterwards that he has a clever accurate kick, and so it proved midway through the first half as he let rip a quick spinning goal kick right down the throat of a Carlisle centre back with BWP in fast pursuit. A poor header back was punished like a young Michael Owen.

2-0 has been a troublesome scoreline for us this season and left sided Scotsman Rory Loy threatened a few times and Solly was getting less protection from Green than he does from Waggy.

Wiggins however had not read the script and was causing all sorts of problems working with Jackson down the left. In the 37th minute Wiggins danced along the goal line into the box and picked out the hungry BWP. Twice he was thwarted as the crowd jumped up and down like a jack-in-the-box before finally Kermie lashed home. “Pick that one out” my son mouthed to me as we all celebrated.

It was hot dog time and we were stood at the top of the steps just on half time when Carlisle’s Robson was shown a second yellow and from the free-kick BWP nearly got another.

Such one-sided halves rarely end up being as conclusive in the 2nd but after Danny Hollands smacked a 25-yarder through the legs of the Carlisle keeper for no. 4 we were all reaching for our calculators. Hollands meanwhile did his own impression of the Fosbury Flop (photo) in front of the tunnel. We were truly running out of goalscoring celebrations at this point.

A Carlisle penalty looked to have ruined our perfect afternoon but Hamer saved excellently Berrett’s well-struck spot kick. It was one of those days for Carlisle, days that we only know too well.

After that I hoped like 16,000+ others that we would go on and do a Man City but sadly if understandably Powell took off three of the games more influential figures in Green, BWP and Hollands and replaced them with Waggy, Euell and Hayes with Wycombe in mind.

There were a couple of close moments later on and we should’ve had a penalty when Livesey put his goalkeeper to shame with a wonderful save from a Wiggings thunderbolt, but the referee was the only person in the ground who didn’t see it.

I hate to waste good typing on the ref, particularly when we win 4-0, but my he was bloody awful in the 2nd half, seemingly insisting that he wanted to be considered for the man of the match award.

Talking of MoM, Wiggins really excited me at left back, linking up well with Jackson and Solly fully warranted his place back in the side. When was the last time we had two intelligent attack minded full backs?

Morrison was a rock at the back, always looking to play a pass out of defence instead of a hoof and Hollands pushed and cajoled his team mates and kept a close eye on Hughes, in for new Dad Stephens, who grew better as the game progressed but I thought was really quite limited.

Green probably had his best ever Charlton game. Not a tackler or a pacy winger but he can put the ball on a sixpence, which at this level is a rare commodity, and I was one of thousands who gave him a standing ovation when he went off with a look of disappointment on his face.

Finally I called for Hayes to replace Kermie, but what a great performance it was from the Frenchman. Awesome in the air but dainty on the ground, him and BWP look a real handful, as good as BWP and Hayes but with more goal power.

This result and performance was just the ticket after last Saturday, let’s keep the ride going Charlton.

Other Addick Bloggers at The Valley: Stickleback; And Nothing Else Matters; Drinking During the Game; Doctor Kish; Charlton Casual; Blackheath Addicted; Addick’s Third Division Diary; Exiled Addick.
Powell-ometer: A perfect reaction after last week. With one eye on Tuesday, Powell decided to bring subs on to kill game as opposed to going for more goals.
Elsewhere: Huddersfield marched on with three more Jordan Rhodes goals against a faltering PNE. Kevin Lisbie snatched a late equaliser for the O’s to stop Sheffield United grabbing 3 precious away points, Wednesday are still 100% at home after seeing off Colchester and Notts County and Brentford drew. If you haven’t seen Uwe Rosler’s sending off then watch it as it is hilarious. MKD and Scunthorpe were goalless and Exeter move off the bottom with a 3-1 win at home to Rochdale, for whom Nathan Eccleston scored on his debut.