Charlton Athletic 4 Exeter City 2
A happy Valley last night, sadly with swathes of empty seats in it, but smiles all around after a much needed win. Can we play a team from Devon every Tuesday night please?
I missed the game due to work stuff, so had to grab sneaky looks at my phone and how nice it was to see the GOAL GIF flash up not once but four times, the last two at very good times in the match.
I will have to watch the goals later as I’m about to run to a breakfast meeting, but what was it…. a deflection, an own goal, a tap in and a bullet header from the smallest man in the league.
Still leaky at the back, but in fairness one was a cracker it sounded and you have to have a soft spot for Jay Stansfield, and the other a dodgy penalty.
Here’s hoping that young Leaburn is now not going to out injured. Garner having the ability to recycle him, Stockley and a fit Aneke, even piecemeal is a huge boost.
We now have to make this winning a habit.
Ben Garner: “I’d like to thank the supporters. For the run that we have been on, it could have been a bit flat, it could have been a little bit toxic but it wasn’t, it was positive.”
Stats (CAFC first): Possession – 49% / 51%; Passes – 394 / 399; Accurate passes – 309 / 311; Shots (on target) – 15 (6) / 12 (4)
Chicago Addick 
Dear CA. Sorry you missed the match. It was a bit of a treat after the poor performances of the last month.
I wrote a few weeks ago that our problems would continue if BG stuck to his prefered 4-3-3 and was entrenched in his style of play…so fair play… he has changed formation and it has worked for us.
I reckon Miles is now established as our number one striker. Yes, he is raw, but he has skills that Stockley just does not possess. Yet to hear the result of Mile’s injury assessment but if he has turned his ankle it could be a couple of weeks out.
So there were actually positives to come out of this game…mainly that we hit the net 4 times as opposed to Exeter’s 2….And Exeter had more possession in the game! Meaning that possession stats mean absolutely nothing! Surprise, Surprise.
How nice to wake up in the morning knowing that you won the night before.
Onto Pompey.
If we can repeat last nights performance then we should give Portsmouth a few problems.
Wayne – the only other game we have had less possession than the opposition this season is Derby..
A much-needed win and performance.
The 4-4-2 formation did leave us at times being overwhelmed in midfield, particularly when one was caught out of position. The goals though were well taken, Miles Leaburn’s great first touch and pull back for goal one hints at a cool head on his shoulders, yes it needed a deflection but if you don’t shoot, you won’t score and he got a shot away. The second might also have been a deflection – but the ball was put into the danger zone and then anything could happen – in essence we made our luck there, similarly Chuks was on hand to finish after a blocked shot after good work by CBT on the left-wing and then by Dobson in the box. Generally we are better when we move the ball at pace – the slow build up looks good but it gives teams time to get back into defensive positions. A bit of pace and direct football might not fit the way that Garner sees us playing but it can catch teams out.
I thought that BG got the subs right, things were flagging around the 60-65 minute mark and the introduction of CBT, Morgan Payne, Clare and then Aneke gave us renewed impetus and the five experienced replacements finished the game well and they looked hungry. Against a tiring team who had younger inexperienced subs that was the key difference.
A welcome result. Can it be repeated on Monday V Pompey with the Sky cameras present?