Two wins out of two in front of the Sky cameras this season for the Addicks with a good refereeing decision played its part.
Stadium:mk is a magnificent arena with the infrastructure already in place to expand capacity if needed. All the seats are wide and padded with plenty of roon for even the longest of legs. The stadium has a huge car park and if England host the 2018 World Cup, Milton Keynes would be a worthy host venue. The downside of course is, sparse attendances like last night’s tend to get lost in such a spacious arena.
Both sides fielded strong teams with Dailly, Reid and Abbott replacing Fortune, Fry and Benson in the Addicks starting line-up.
Charlton started sluggishly and were made to pay inside the first two minutes. Good work on the right by Angelo Balanta and Lewis Guy saw the latter put Luke Chadwick clear of a static Charlton defence for the simplest of finishes.
The Addicks responded well and had the lion’s share of possession without ever seriously threatening David Martin’s goal. All that was to change in the second half though.
Jon Fortune came on for flu victim Gary Doherty at the interval as Charlton cranked things up a notch. Eight minutes after the break Semedo was fouled but referee, Trevor Kettle, opted to let play go on and the advantage could not have worked out better for the Addicks. Racon switched the ball to Kyel Reid on the left. Luke Howell’s slip on the greasy surface gave Reid all the room he needed to drive on and stand up a perfect cross for a delighted Pawel Abbott to head home.
Charlton took control and despite needing Elliot to make a smart save, the visitors always looked the more likely to snatch a win. Again, it was a late goal that clinched it. Reid, supplying his fourth ‘assist’ in a week slid the ball across for Scott Wagstaff to stab in his fifth goal of the season at the far post.
Wagstaff celebrated with the small pocket of travelling fans who were behind the goal and was promptly booked. The yellow card did not put a dampener on the yougster’s night and Charlton saw the game out with some comfort.
Parkinson is to be congratulated for adopting a far more positive approach after the break. A more attacking mindset may well see the Addicks reap a rich harvest of points in an ordinary looking League One.
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