Charlton were beaten 2-1 by Celtic at Dragon Park this afternoon, the Welsh equivalent of St. George's Park. The Charlton team that played in the second half did better than the first half team.
On five minutes DJ had to clear off the line as MacGillivray came out. Clayden did well on the right and along with Stockley won Charlton a corner.
Pearce conceded a free kick in front of the 'D' with an industrial challenge, but the shot came off the wall. Charlton were having to defend well.
Stockley got a long telling off from the referee after a collision. Stockley is not known to be a Welsh speaker, but he got the message that it would have been a yellow card in a competitive game.
Celtic mounted a good attack down their left and on 24 minutes Dembele pounced to make it 1-0, taking advantage of a defender's stumble.
Morgan put in good work on the right and Dempsey drew a good save from the keeper.
On 39 minutes Purrington was unable to stop a run by the impressive Dembele, the ball went to an unmarked Celtic player who made it 2-0 with a header.
As the half closed, MacGillivray was able to parry the ball away to prevent a third goal. Charlton had been on the back foot.
Player of the half: DJ looked lively all over the pitch.
HT: Charlton 0, Celtic 2
Charlton made a better start to the second half. Charlie Barker, playing at right back, put in a great cross. He will be a contender for the first team squad, but probably needs more time in the under 23s.
Celtic had a chance but Famewo but in a good block. The Addicks had a good 10-15 minutes, but then Celtic came back into the game.
A Washington shot was blocked along with the rebound. Davison put in a ball that was too high and fast for Washington.
Charlton looked threatening on the break. Harness in goal had to make a double save. A Johnson shot came off the post with Harness rooted to the spot.
On 76 minutes Charlton broke. Davison spotted the run of Washington who was one on one with tje keeper and put his shot through the keeper's legs to make it 1-2.
Harness came out well to clear a threatening ball. Washington put in a great curling shot, drawing a good save by the keeper.
Player of the half: Conor Washington, often underrated by fans but our second highest scorer last season.
As Louis Mendez said, it's all about players getting minutes into their legs. Celtic were already some weeks into their pre-season.
No sign of Inniss, Matthews, Gilbey or Welsh wizard Gunter. Gilbey has picked up a niggle, Inniss will be back in full training on Monday and Matthews joined late.
In their first Football League season in 1921 Charlton played one practice match in front of several thousand at The Valley. This season many of the matches will be behind closed doors, although hopefully with streaming.
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