Six love

I was 11 when I was at The Valley with my Dad to watch us beat Southampton 6-2 on a school night. That was in 1976, the same season we also beat Burnley 5-2. I thought thrashing teams was a regular thing.

However it took until yesterday, 37 years later, in South Yorkshire for a Charlton side to once again put six goals past an opponent. It was The Addicks biggest ever away victory and Barnsley’s joint worst home defeat. 600 Addicks were there and I expect in years to come thousands will talk fondly of being present, like they do for the 7-6 Huddersfield Town win.

There were plenty of occasions when we scored 5 in a match, well plenty is exaggerating but I remember some of those very fondly.

After that 1976/77 season it was another five seasons before we scored 5 in a game again. He may now deny he ever played for us but I was there the night Paul Walsh scored a hat-trick for us in a 5-0 League Cup win over Brentford. That was early in the 1980/81 season. Alan Simonsen I remember scored twice in a 5-2 stuffing of Chelsea in 1983. I looked the attendance up and just 11,211 at The Valley that day.

Barnsley fans look away now, but remember when we were 0-3 down in 25 minutes at home to the Tykes in 1985? Ron Futcher had scored a 10-minute hat-trick in front of the Covered End and was later sent off. It was 3-3 by then with Steve Dowman, Robert Lee and Mike Flanagan all scoring. Then Ronnie Moore converted a penalty and Dowman thundered in a 5th. Only 3,882 at The Valley and I blogged on this game a few years ago.

Christmas at Selhurst Park during the 1986/87 season brings back a rare good memory from that place when we sent Man City home packing 5-0 and then one of my favourite weeks of being a Charlton fan was in September 1995. In the space of 4 days we put 5 past both Wimbledon back at Selhurst and Ipswich at Portman Road. I was at both games and when Carl Leaburn scored a hat-trick at Portman Road (Lee Bowyer had scored one against Wimbledon) I looked around me and I think most Addicks thought they were dreaming.

We were dreaming after our first Premier League home game when we hammered Southampton 5-0, we went top of the table that night after Super Clive scored a hat-trick. We were eventually relegated of course.

In our Championship title year we won 5-2 at Grimsby on a Friday night. Richard Rufus scored twice. It was then 10 years before we scored more than 4 in a game, MK Dons at home in the 2009/10 season. The next season we won at Peterborough 5-1, which was until yesterday our most recent biggest away victory.

Preston were dispatched at home in last year’s promotion campaign and then I would be amiss not to mention the earlier game in this season when we came from 0-2 down to beat Cardiff City 5-4 in a cracking game under the lights at The Valley.

The photo I have borrowed from Blackheath Addick’s blog, which you must read as he was witness to yesterday’s marvellous achievement.

So another club record set with the name Chris Powell next to it. Oh, and look out for next November’s fixtures because we’ve scored 5 goals in a game in each November for the last four seasons!