Charlton Athletic 2 Barnsley 0

A very enjoyable day at The Valley yesterday with my son and a handful of mates. Pre-match I had a couple of beers with Dave, and then outside the ground bumped into fellow Bermuda Addick Matt.

The watching Charlton experience has been turned on it’s head since Christmas with whatever going on off the pitch for once being over-shadowed by what’s happening on it

The home crowd while still sparse was noisy and spirited. There was a lot more bounce about the old place and Dean Holden has bought into that and Addicks’ fans have bought into him.

Barnsley impressed with their style of play, and we rode our luck more than once, particularly in the first half. It’s nice not to focus on stats like we did under Garner, but Barnsley’s 23 shots, but just 2 on target and two-thirds of possession tells a story we know well.

There was a lot of ‘by hook or by crook’ defending, but the players put their bodies on the line, defended high up the pitch and quickly moved the ball forward utilizing the pace and directness of young Campbell, and Rak-Sakyi.

Lucas Ness was outstanding I thought and Fraser found a second wind in the 2nd half and he, Leaburn and Dobson in particular looked knackered after the exertions of Tuesday.

Holden has brought a more simplistic approach playing to our strengths and instilling a discipline and resolve we haven’t seen for many seasons. I am still at the holding hands stage with Holden, but I like a lot of what he says.

A great day for Tyreece Campbell who finished excellently for our first, and Macauley Bonne was lively when he came on, and it was his turn and shot that hit the post that Rak-Sakyi pounced on to secure the points.

Todd Kane became the latest new Addicks’ signing to get injured. He had a promising debut despite being switched to left back after Sessesgnon pulled out in the warm up. A word on Aaron Henry. He also makes an impression on me when he plays.

A rare clean sheet, but a good momentum building win and a very enjoyable day in SE7.

Dean Holden: “It was an exciting game for the neutral. I’m sure the supporters enjoyed it. We played some outstanding stuff, some of the stuff wasn’t so great. I genuinely don’t care how we win at the moment. It’s about getting a foundation – three wins on the spin. We’ve jumped a place higher up the league. What happens off the back of that is that you build momentum – support base, players and staff.”

Stats (CAFC first): Possession – 39% / 61%; Passes – 279 / 423; Accurate passes – 177 / 300; Shots (on target) – 8 (4) / 23 (2).