Charlton Athletic completed the double over West Bromwich Albion with a breathtaking 1-0 victory at The Valley on Saturday. Sonny Carey completed the comeback with a last minute winner! The match, which saw Charlton extend their unbeaten run to five league matches, highlighted the resilience of the home team despite facing several enforced changes due to injuries.
Carey has been arguably Charlton’s key player so far. What an epic way to snatch a win – he scored in the fifth minute of stoppage time! This accomplished goal is his fifth of the season. It turned out to be decisive in a game that everyone thought would finish as a draw. The late winner sent the home crowd into raptures. Well over 17,000 to 20,000 fans rooted and hollered for their squad from the first whistle to the last.
Charlton’s Strong Home Record
Charlton has been electric at home! They’ve only lost one of their last 22 league matches at The Valley. Out of these matches, they have won 16 of them with a certain pride on home soil. When the team plays in front of their passionate and engaged home crowd, that’s when the magic happens. This link has been instrumental to their recent success.
Even with injuries that kept players like Reece Burke, Amari’i Bell, and Charlie Kelman out, Charlton continued to be a threat. Manager Nathan Jones was understandably complimentary of his side’s display, saying,
“We were excellent tonight, apart from the odd counter attack against us. We should score the penalty and be 1-0 up. Then their keeper made a world-class save from Sonny Carey. You will not see a better save than that for a long, long time.” – Nathan Jones
During the game, Greg Docherty took the opportunity to take the penalty. This came on the heels of Matt Godden being ruled out with a knee injury. Docherty’s first-half penalty was saved by West Brom’s goalkeeper Joshua Griffiths, denying Charlton an early lead.
West Brom’s Missed Opportunities
Ever since the second leg against West Bromwich Albion, I’ve been thinking a lot about taking our chances. In the 38th, Lewis Price made his opportunity count with a low right-footed effort. Fenton’s ball flashed across the face of Charlton’s goal but sadly went just wide. The team’s failure to finish opportunities proved too great a deficit to overcome in a game decided by a razor thin margin.
When Karlan Grant went back to south east London Charlton fans booed him back onto the pitch. He never had much luck making a strong impact on the game. At one point in the sixth minute, he dribbled over the bar. This error was the start of a rough evening for West Brom. Manager Ryan Mason expressed his disappointment after the match:
“When you lose games it is the coach’s responsibility. At the moment it is not good enough. I need to find a way to change it.” – Ryan Mason
Mason’s fiery frustration came through as he shed light on the lack of belief that needed to be addressed among his squad.
A Tale of Two Halves
The opening 45 minutes featured an intense battle, with neither side able to string together passes or find a way to crack their opponent’s defensive third. Charlton’s struggles were apparent as they failed to create clear goal-scoring opportunities before Docherty’s penalty miss. This was different, though — the second half erupted with a sense of urgency and threat from Charlton, who were now the more attacking side.
That game-changing moment eventually arrived late in the contest when Carey was given room to shoot. The goal not only secured three points but solidified Charlton’s position in the league standings as they continue to build momentum.
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