Charlton Athletic 0 Queens Park Rangers 0
As the clocked ticked around to 90 minutes I was bemoaning that it was two points dropped. We had done more than enough to win the game.
Then during the 8 minutes of injury time, QPR had 5 chances and we were clinging onto the point
Other than our pretty recognisable ability of not being able to put teams away, there was a lot to like I thought in the game. It was certainly the best 1st half for a long time and the match was very watchable.
Once the two teams had settled down, we got well on top in the first 45 playing some incisive and aggressive football. It was much more the side we were earlier in the season snapping into tackles, pressing better and jumping positively on second balls. Clarke and Chambers are a massive plus too.
In the first half Dykes, Chambers with a cheeky free-kick and Coady all came close but we went in goalless.
The 2nd half started much the same. Kelman had a shot saved, as did Chambers and Dykes, who was very unfortunate when Joe Walsh saved his not easy shot and the rebound was bundled away. It was no surprise that Walsh won Sky’s MoM.
Ramsey blazed a shot over, and Carey twice when set up found the Covered End, the second effort landing near the back. Carey tries to do too much, and should have put Clarke in another time, when the loanee was far better placed, but no one is near Carey’s goal return this season, so it is hard to knock him. He just needs a little more awareness. Talking of which TC when he came on was a disaster, three times giving the ball away and then looking like he was a passenger at the end, at a time that we needed an engine driver.
In fact the subs were the difference. QPR’s gave them impetus, ours did the opposite. By the time Godden came on, we had tired, and he was feeding of scraps. Berry for Docherty was confusing. We were getting overrun in midfield and Coady was out on his feet. Docherty had a good game and I like him alongside Coady.
QPR’s first shot on goal came in the 94th minute and it was a super save from Kaminski. Dykes then cleared off the line and Kone had a backward header that sneaked just the ‘right’ side of the post.
My heart was in my mouth when the referee finally blew the whistle.
We have to somehow find a way to win these games, but we were much better again, and gained a clean sheet into the bargain. We do look far better organized and balanced following the transfer window.
🎙️”If you take out the last eight minutes, I would have been really disappointed with the result. In the first half, we were outstanding. It’s a shame we couldn’t score when we were on top. We have had enough set plays, territory and situations to do that. We needed to maintain the first half, and we didn’t have an impact off the bench which was strange today, normally we have real impact.” – Nathan Jones
⭐️ Lyndon Dykes
🏟️ 21,290 (3,300 from QPR)
📸 Keith Gillard
The same problem as usual, though, believe QPR”s GK MOM.
We could so easily have lost even one point, but, as Jones stated, yet again, that little bit of quality undid us. We wonder how many times he has said this, and it’s getting very worrying.
A point is a point and I was hoping for 7 at the end of our 3rd game, but football and CAFC do not do things that easy do we?
In Thailand there was no coverage and had to revert to update on Sky Sports, and there are no other sites available, and or not scheduled.
Even Ben’s site stating live broadcast was not even that.
I had to take in the Leeds v Forest game and the former had no trouble in finding the net.
I thought that we made very hard work in the first half of punishing a team that hadn’t really turned up and didn’t look anything like promotion prospects. We really tried but we never had that moment of luck that we needed.
It continued very much the same way in the 2nd half until TC arrived. Apart from one good run and cross down the left, he looked entirely incapable of controlling the ball. Several times his passes were too slow and well short of his colleagues, putting us into dangerous situations. Very strange indeed!
I do not know how we came out of the 8 minutes of added time still level. As we all saw, it was just as if their manager had pressed a button as they suddenly began to play good football and threw attack after attack at us. However, we never deserved to lose and we didn’t! We gained a point on our rivals and, whatever the scores today, we cannot end up in the bottom three. In addition, we gained consecutive clean sheets!
I just hope that TC has returned to our world by Tuesday night!
After Millwall you would be delighted with 4 points from 2 games, really did play well COYR
We huffed,puffed but couldn’t blow the house down despite really being positive and determined to win.Thevperformance was a total turnaround from last game.
QPR were saved from defeat by their keeper combined with some poor finishing from some of our players….but its a valuable point for us.I feel that new players are bedding-in and more training should gel and be a real threat…..the green shoots of improvement are clear to see last night.
COYRs
Some really good stand-out performances by Jones, Chambers, Clarke, Bell, and Dykes put in a solid shift. A couple of below performances too without naming names. Far more concentration needed!
On the play itself, l thought Dykes consistently struggled to get the ball under control or lay it off quickly enough but this might be due to often looking isolated up front. Agree about Carey but he has a lot of heart in that midfield – he can’t be faulted for effort.
I can’t help feeling that’s 2 points dropped. I do wish they would play more on the floor becsuse on the rare occasion that they do, they can look accomplished.
Great summary of a very enjoyable game, apart from them last 8 minutes.
Agree, we look much more positive and balanced, even if the season long issue of sticking the ball in the net persists. We’re a team built on defensive organisation and thank goodness the clean sheets are starting to feature again.
The TC thing was strange, after 3 or 4 disasterous interventions he seemed to be sulking and sloping around which could’ve and nearly did cost us, that’ll take some forgetting.
But for now 1 point closer and that’s all that matters.
TC’s body language is appalling sometimes.
It seems to have been a win that escaped. Three consecutive home games is such an opportunity to gather points at this stage of the season. Perhaps we need to be more “front-footed” 🙂
One more welcome point toward safety.
That game could have gone either way. We mustn’t forget that QPR were missing five players who would have started if not for injuries. Having said that,you can only play the eleven in front of you,and over the 90 minutes I thought we edged it. Both keepers were the men of the match.
A much better display for the first 85 minutes, although I agree with Norfolk Red’s wish that we would play it more on the floor – there were too many sessions of head tennis.
Nice to see Docherty having such a good game; it was noticeable that the mid field largely vanished after he went off.
Our two new wing backs have settled in quickly and give much promise for the rest of the season.
I agree that was the best performance for sometime, especially the first half. Why NJ took Docherty off I don’t know, he was playing well, unless he took a knock.
TC didn’t play well when he came on and nearly cost us dear. The new players are all doing well, I really like Chambers, he has a bit of class about him and very accurate with passing and crossing. Last 15 minutes or so had me very worried, but we managed to hang on thankfully. 3 points would have been great and just about what we deserved.
Let’s hope that’s a start of something better than recently.
My main take away was that we played with a level of intensity that we haven’t seen since the last international break.
That’s two clean sheets in succession and bar that injury time period we didn’t really look like conceding. By then we were running out of steam and QPR maybe sensed that they could grab something from the match.
We need to translate that pressure into goals though – we left a few chances out there – some good goalkeeping by Walsh but some more clinical finishing is needed.
I like the new signings, Conor Coady ran his socks off, Luke Chambers has a good left foot that nearly contributed a goal, Lyndon Dykes ran for everything and there were a couple of times that Harry Clarke was excellent. I noted that he reacted angrily to players not being in the right position to receive passes or fluffed second balls. We need a bit more of that attitude.
TC had a poor game when he came on, perhaps it wasn’t really a match for him, the game was played at a high tempo and he wasn’t up to speed.
In the end it’s 1 more point to the target total. Could it been more – Yeap, lack of composure in the final end, could it been less – Yeap , good saves from TK as we simply went backwards in the last 10 minutes. Positives were the clean sheet and performances from Bell, Chambers, Doherty and Coady. Jones seems to have Kone in his pocket everytime plays against him. I am concerned about the recent form of TC, he has been ineffective when coming off the bench in the last 2 games. He added little to this game and lost possession, nearly costing us a goal.
We created some good chances and lack quality of our finishing or good keeping kept the ball out of the net.
QPR’s best chance, their player was at least 2-3 yards offside in the build up.How the assistant referee missed it , I don’t know. 🤷🏻♂️. Dykes battled away, had a couple of good chances, and sporting a real shiner! Rumours that the Kenyan lad has left his mark on a few.
2 more home games , 4 points from them will be a good return.
Before these 3 home games, I stated would have settled for a minimum of 7 points and still on, but as we all know football does not work like this, well in CAFC’s case LOL.
Other clubs can and have done so. and this season too.
Yes, we desperately need to be scoring a lot more and it has been very very poor, but at least somehow getting clean sheets.
COYR and after the late results of Saturday maintained that very small cushion of 4 points.
COYR you need to get out of this scrap on our own efforts, but obviously would appreciate some help from other teams ha ha
Yes, we could have won it, but we could’ve easily lost it too. I feel like in the games since Millwall we have bounced back to some thing reminiscent of the early part of the season. While I tend to be the eternal pessimist, I feel like we’re in a good position to achieve goal at the start of the season which is survival. I’d much rather be an our position with the team performances of the last couple of games than West Bromwich Albion or Leicester.
2 points lost could’ve won the game and was there for the taking but in every sport there is a lot of should ves and could ves lets not forget QPR are a well established championship club who are also fighting for promotion so a clean sheet is actually a decent result. Hopefully get something from our midweek game . Still surviving COYR
If Kyrell Lisbie could be grabbed from Peterborough it would be a great signing…..hat-trick yesterday and he a regular scorer
I’m sure Kevin would drive him to Sparrows Lane anytime 😊
I m sure kevin would love for him to come to Charlton he s really fondly thought of down in SE7
His other son Kyreece is at Colchester. Sign them all up 😀
Get Kevin signed up too 😃
At the age of 47 kevin will show our forwards how it’s done…