Charlton have suffered back-to-back defeats for the first time under Nathan Jones following a 1-0 reverse at Stevenage.
Here is the lowdown on the match.
THE LINE-UPS
Stevenage: Cooper, Wildin, Butler, Thompson, Piergianni, Kemp (Phillips 82), List (Reid 57), White (King 86), Thompson, Roberts (Freeman 85), Simpson (Young 57). Subs not used: Ashby-Hammond, Freestone.
Charlton Athletic: Mannion, Ramsay, A Mitchell, Jones, Potts (Gillesphey 75), Edwards (Berry 75), Coventry, Anderson (Watson 88), T Campbell, Godden (Aneke 57), Kanu (Docherty 88). Subs not used: Maynard-Brewer, A Campbell.
SNAPSHOT OF THE GAME
Jordan Roberts’ goal on the counter came from Charlton’s own corner midway through the second-half – Conor Coventry’s delivery too near the keeper. The Addicks, who saw Chuks Aneke waste a huge opening shortly before the deadlock was broken, were unable to recover.
TACTICAL APPROACH
Nathan Jones rung the changes and switched to a 3-4-3 to try and shake his side into life and it seemed to have a positive outcome as the Addicks gained plenty of territory in the opening 20 minutes. But chances remained hard to come by and Stevenage regained a foothold before the break as the good start faded.
Chuks Aneke was introduced just before the hour-mark and blazed over when Tyreece Campbell slipped him in one-on-one. Roberts’ goal gave the home side the advantage and despite trying everything – including playing defender Lloyd Jones as an extra forward in the closing stage – the Addicks could not breach the Stevenage defence.
STAR MAN
Will Mannion. The keeper claimed a number of crosses well and made an impressive stop from Jake Young’s hit from a tight angle.
BEST MOMENT
Tyreece Campbell’s measured ball through for Chuks Aneke – but the Addicks forward spurned the opportunity.
MOAN OF THE MATCH
League One football really can be quite a grind, can’t it. Especially when it’s your fifth season in a row watching it.
A TALKING POINT DOWN THE PUB
Charlton’s issues with decision making and quality in the final third just isn’t going away. Even after making six changes today, Jones will still ponder how to get his side to be more fluent and creative in and around opposition boxes. They can’t rely on waiting for Chuks Aneke to come on every week before beginning to engineer chances. Despite the sloppy goal today, Charlton’s defensive record has been good – conceding less than one a game so far. But in tight games like today, you must be able to make more of your time in possession otherwise you risk coming out on the wrong side of them.
WHAT THE BOSS HAD TO SAY
“We’ve defended our box well again but just haven’t shown enough quality in the final third. We’ve had enough situations, especially first-half. Second-half we’ve piled on the pressure, got in areas.
“But we don’t show enough quality in the final-third and that’s why we’ve ultimately lost the game.”
