Welcome to a brand new series where I take a look back at every calendar month in the 2019/20 season and see whether it was a successful period for the Addicks or one to forget about!
Today I look at Charlton’s opening month of the campaign, which marked an unbelievable start to life back in the Championship under Lee Bowyer and leaves us beaming with confidence heading into the international break.
Charlton’s season began with a long trip up to Ewood Park against Blackburn Rovers. There were many doubts heading into the game, with Bowyer having only six midfielders to choose from and several supporters from Championship clubs expecting Rovers to give us a thrashing. However that wasn’t the case at all, as the Addicks came out 2-1 victors on the opening day. Ben Purrington netted his first goal in the Championship just before half time, but Blackburn equalized after Anfernee Dijksteel’s defensive header bounced off Dillon Phillips and into the goal. Charlton snatched the three points in the 77th minute through Lyle Taylor, who flicked on Jason Pearce’s header from a corner into the net, sending the travelling Reds into delirium.
The first Championship game at The Valley in three years saw the Addicks take on Stoke City. Last season saw Lee Bowyer’s men did not lose a League game at home since Coventry in October 2018 and they were able to keep that streak going against the Potters with a 3-1 win. Taylor’s powerful effort from outside the box was too strong for Jack Butland and gave the home side the advantage, but Tom Ince’s long range strike made it 1-1 at the break. Nathan Jones’ side struggled to take their chances and couldn’t find the net when it mattered. Summer signings Chuks Aneke and Conor Gallagher grabbed their first goals in a Charlton shirt as they ran away with the three points.
However, this month saw yet another early exit in a cup competition for the Addicks. They drew League Two side Forest Green Rovers at home in the first round of the Carabao Cup and played out a boring 0-0 stalemate, with Jake Forster-Caskey missing a penalty just before the end. Due to the cup’s layout, the tie went straight to penalties, which saw Forest Green win 5-3 after Albie Morgan hit the post from his spot-kick.
Lee Bowyer’s men put that cup upset behind them by continuing their unbeaten start in the Championship, starting with two decent draws against newly promoted Barnsley and Nottingham Forest. Against the Tykes, Cauley Woodrow’s spectacular volley gave Barnsley the lead, but Conor Gallagher smashed home Jonny Williams’ cross for 1-1. Conor Chaplin’s 48th minute goal was thought to have won the game for the home side, but after Gallagher was taken down in the box, Taylor casually dispatched from twelve yards in the 89th minute and made the points shared at Oakwell.
The Montserrat international made it four in four against Nottingham Forest when he completed a 22 pass move by latching onto Jonathan Leko’s cross with a bullet header. Despite a very dominant first half performance, Albert Adomah drilled in the equalizer from a corner after Bowyer made a double substitution. A frustrating result as we should have had more, but a good point nonetheless.
Charlton capped off a brilliant month with two victories against Brentford and Reading. Heading into the first London derby of the season, the Bees had only found the net twice in the Championship and they failed to improve that record despite having 22 shots in the game. The Addicks meanwhile scored with their only shot on target, with Jonny Williams’ defence-splitting ball being smashed home by Gallagjer for his third goal of the season and Jonny’s fourth assist. Brentford’s attacks were kept out by some amazing defending by Pearce, Tom Lockyer and Darren Pratley, which helped to protect that fantastic unbeaten run at home.
Bowyer’s fearless team took their brilliant form to the Madejski Stadium and extended that impressive run with a 2-0 win over the Royals. Reading had some great chances from summer signing George Puscas, who struck the bar and was put one on one with Phillips, but the Addicks keeper kept it out. The second half was an incredible display from Charlton, with Jonathan Leko’s long range shot taking a freak deflection and bouncing into the bottom corner for his first senior goal and they doubled their money at the death after Aneke was bundled over in the box. Taylor walked up as usual and calmly placed the ball in the corner for his fifth goal in six games.
August proved to be an unbelievable month for Charlton. Going unbeaten and sitting in second after just six games is not what people expected. We are certainly flying at the moment, but we mustn’t get too ahead of ourselves. After all, it’s still very early in the season and we’ve got some tough games coming up. But I say we’ll be up for it and grinning with confidence after an excellent start.
Bring on September!