Charlton went up to 8th in League One after a 3-2 win over Wycombe Wanderers. They went behind in the first half, but equalised before half time. After going 3-1 ahead, a late Wycombe goal produced a tense end to the match.
Charlton started brightly, but Gareth Ainsworth's side took the lead when Randell Williams cut inside to place an excellent shot past Charlton keeper Jed Steer. However, the Charlton marking that led up to this goal was very poor.
The home crowd went silent, broken only a rise in the level of moaning from the row behind. Their main complaint was that Wycombe were a League Two side, but they got promoted on merit.
Ajose just could not handle his man and was consistently lightweight, leading to his half time substitution.
The Chairboys gifted the Addicks an equaliser 30 minutes later when Lewis Page's cross was deflected into his own net by Sido Coelho Jombati. Charlton nearly went ahead prior to half-time but Karlan Grant's close-range effort was denied by Ryan Allsop before Lyle Taylor's overhead kick just shaded the crossbar.
Brian Cole paid a heartfelt tribute at half time to West Sussex CASC secretary Vernon Roper who died this week.
Charlton started the second half with only ten men, Reeves only appearing to replace Ajose after a few minutes. I wonder if Ajose threw a last minute strop during the break (apparently he was injured).
The Addicks took the lead when Patrick Bauer stretched to find Taylor, who could not miss from the goal line.
Naby Sarr then doubled Charlton's lead nine minutes later after he poked the ball home from Ben Reeves' free-kick. Taylor was fouled right by the East Stand, but the lino failed to flag. When he was replaced by Dijksteel a few minutes later, Taylor had just finished having a few words with the asso.
After the failure to flag for the foul, Wycombe then got a corner and substitute Paris Cowan-Hall's bullet header in added time gave Bowyer's red and white army a few late nerves but the Addicks held on to claim all three points.
I thought that the late card to Steer for 'time wasting' was harsh. Referee Salisbury obviously thinks that he is 'firm but fair'.
The Bloke Beside Me (Paul from Bexleyheath, now writing in the programme) was very sceptical when Lapslie came on in place of Darren Pratley who was in danger of getting a second yellow (but also injured). However, he had to admit that Lapslie's pace and dedication helped to prise open the tiring Chairboys.
He also said that coming from behind to win was a special feeling and he could now face Sainsbury's with equanimity.
On the bus a Wycombe supporter said they had done well against Charlton, a Premiership side. Not for ten years, lady. On the tube some Wycombe supporters complained to me that Taylor fell over a lot, but I don't think he was faking it.
The Chairboys were surprised at the small number of home supporters. However, as I heard a fan say to his son before the game, 'If we did't have that tosser in charge, we would have six or seven thousand more in the ground.'
'The Beast' lumbered around, but his main utility seem to be as a distraction rather than a serious threat. I do think that Wycombe will stay up.
Wycombe manager Gareth Ainsworth was co-host on Quest last night. The second longest serving manager in the EFL came across well. He defended sticking to his style of play, saying it just needed tweaking.
Newly installed supremo Lee Bowyer was interviewed and was clearly unhappy with the performance, saying sometimes it was necessary to 'win ugly'. In training the players found each other well and had good one touch, two touch, but there had been none of that.
Some fans were surprised and unhappy that Dillon Phillips was replaced, but I always thought that Steer was meant to be number one. Bowyer said that his distribution was better and this was shown when he put a great long ball up to Taylor.
When I arrived at the ground, there were no VOTV sellers outside Sam Bartram's old shop as is usually the case. I did wonder whether Roland had landed inflatables with his agents on the Thanet coast during the night and intercepted the white van on its way up from Ramsgate. However, I was able to buy a copy from the Rickster himself and I think he is justified in claiming that it is a particularly strong issue. It even has a story about how his neighbour Dave [sic] reacted to the white van being loaded before the Fleetwood game.
