Stevenage 1 Charlton Athletic 1

A solid platform to build on. Yet, at half time that platform was anything but solid as nothing had appeared to change from Dean Holden’s time to Michael Appleton’s.

The 2nd half was a lot better, it needed to be, but particularly the final 25 minutes plus a long added time where we were the stronger finishers.

Mostly that had to do with Chuks, who was a surprise inclusion on the bench, and when he came on with 76 minutes on the clock he was all raw action as he has always been when fit.

In fact all of the subs, six of them in the end, played their part in a far more dynamic latter game display.

In true Charlton comedic value with Miles Leaburn starting and Aneke on the bench, Alfie May was then missing due to suffering a midweek training concussion. You have to laugh. Nathan Asiimwe was also out with a “minor quad injury.” That’s 6 months then….

It was good to have Miles back, but I have to think he is better in a front two, and not a three, and one of Appleton’s tasks will be to mould this squad which is very unbalanced positional-wise, but showed today that there are options, into a formation that best suits our most impactful players.

Another immediate job for Appleton now he has seen 17 of them in a game situation is to sort the bloody defence out. They were all over the shop again and there were so many things wrong with the goal we conceded it took Brownie and Curbs the entire half-time break to dissect it.

I’m not fond of the keeper. I said last week that Harry Isted has yet to make a save, and not in a commendable way, and today he literally jumped over the ball when Stevenage’s Reid scored.

We could easily have conceded twice in the 2nd half as Stevenage players had free reign on goal following more indecisiveness at our back.

I can’t not mention the referee. He, and his linesmen were dreadful. Two, maybe three, penalties were stonewall. The referee couldn’t be any closer to watch Anderson be taken out at the shin, and in the 2nd half we won a corner only because their player punched the ball out. The linesmen just yards away.

In fact our penalty was slightly fortuitous, but 1,400 Addicks and George Dobson forced the decision on the ref, who I have to say Steve Evans side had worked very well. Something we are never cute enough to do.

CBT taking the ball for the penalty made my heart beat a lot faster, but he finished it beautifully.

A platform then, our first point on the road, and against this morning’s table-toppers and Steve Evans, who we have a poor record against.

Interestingly Appleton said after that the club’s sports scientists commented that he had upped the intensity on the training ground, and they as a whole did look fitter.

One final thing that was glaringly obvious is that there are just too many young players starting. For all of their individual talent, they don’t have the physicality, the judgement or the nous to carry the team at this cutthroat level.

MoM: Dobbo was good as were the subs, but I’m going to give it to Aneke.

Appleton of my eye: He said he learnt within 10 minutes what he did wrong, what he can and will do better. An honest assessment from the new boss, who managed to turn it around during the break.

Elsewhere: The top four are Exeter, Port Vale, Oxford and Stevenage. The Grecians beat Cheltenham 1-0, Vale beat Northampton by the same score and Oxford won away at Fleetwood, where Lee Johnson did not get off to a good start.