League Cup... 1st Round Charlton Athletic v Colchester United Tuesday 12th August 2014 7:45pm Kick-Off Referee: Charles Breakspear (Surrey) So the first match of the season is done and dusted⦠A 1-1 draw with Brentford was played out on Saturday afternoon meaning the points were shared, yet it could have been so much more for the Addicks⦠After a first-half that was mostly controlled by the Home side, Charlton struck first mid-way through the second half with a goal on his league debut from Angolan Striker: Igor Vetokele, all three points should have returned to SE7 yet Callum Harriott was unable turn his chance into a goal after his shot hit the cross-bar with just 10-minutes to play and Charlton would be made to pay for that miss with new Brentford signing⦠Tommy Smith grabbing a late equaliser with 5-minutes to go, a goal which epitomised last season for Charlton as it took a wicked deflection of Defender: Tal Ben-Haim leaving Stephen Henderson no chance of stopping the effort. And so as per tradition with English Football we now take a break from League action to begin the First Round of the League Cup, a competition that over the years hasnât been kind to the Addicks with them being involved in a number of upsets over the years⦠Last season though, Charlton survived the First Round by defeating Lower League opposition Oxford United 4-0 (a match that would mark the debuts for Joe Pigott and Jordan Cousins), before being defeated in the following round by Huddersfield Town⦠For Colchester United the League Cup was extremely short-lived last season with a 5-1 defeat at the hands of Peterborough United in the First Round. When you look for links between the two sides, the very first name youâd instantly think of would be club Legend: Mark Kinsella, signed by the Addicks from Colchester in 1996 it was a deal that almost never happened, with talks between the two sides stalling , it was Chairman: Richard Murray who stepped in and bought the Midfielder from his own pocket and the rest as they say is history (Certainly one of the best deals made by Charlton in the 90s), of course there will be a reunion for Mark Kinsella tonight as he returns to the Valley with Colchester United as Assistant Manager, a position he held under another link between the two sides (ex-Charlton Manager: Phil Parkinson), other links include; Keith Jones, Kevin Lisbie and Kemal Izzet. Colchester United this Season: Of course with just the one game played its difficult to describe a teamâs fortunes so far yet like Charlton, they too began the season with a draw after a 2-2 result as they hosted Oldham Athletic⦠after taking the lead early on in the match, Colchester would find themselves 2-1 down shortly before half-time before an equaliser from George Moncur (son of West Ham player John Moncur and currently on loan from the Premier League side) midway through the second half ensured the game ended all square. In terms of transfers, no fees have been paid out by Colchester this season with Goalkeeper: Chris Lewington arriving from Dagenham and Redbridge whilst Dan Holman (Striker) has arrived from Non-League Braintree Town after scoring 13-Goals last season. Last Colchester Victory at Charlton Colchester fans looking for a bit of hope donât need to go too far back in history for their last victory at the Valley⦠with the Addicks well on their way to the League One title (and undefeated at home all season), Colchester arrived one Tuesday night and brought the Addicks fans back down to earth with a bump⦠Anthony Wordsworth would strike a peach of a goal in just the 5th minute, with Steven Gillespie sealing a 2-0 victory with 20minutes to spare. Charlton Team News In his press conference after the Brentford game on Saturday, Bob Peeters confirmed that there may be chances for others to state their claims for a place in the starting eleven⦠that could mean Nick Pope may get his first start in Charlton colours whilst Morgan Fox, Simon Church, Joe Pigott, Michael Morrison and Zak Ansah could all play a part themselves⦠Frank Moussa could be expected to start after a lack of game time in Pre-Season due to a back injury whilst the most eyes will be on Academy Defender: Joe Gomez⦠impressive during Pre-Season, Bob Peeters has confirmed that the youngster will be involved this season so it remains to be seen whether that time is now. Possible side to face Colchester United Pope Wilson â Morrison â Gomez â Fox Nego â Cousins â Jackson â Moussa Church â Pigott Substitutes Bench Henderson â Bikey â Wiggins â Munns â Buyens â Ansah â Tucudean A4Lâs Prediction: 3-0 (Jackson, Church, Pigott) Over to Captain Blackadder for the Match Updates
Nice one A4L ..... so who's going 2nite? By the time I get home from work and take the dog for a walk it's going to be tight and I only want to go if I can guarantee a brand new seat 2-0 (Pig and Morrow)
Not me... Partner's Birthday tomorrow so heading to Gravesend after work to spend the evening / tomorrow with her
Great preview A4L I'll be there tonight, so I won't be able to do match updates I'm afraid. Somehow I expect us to lose this one, not because I'm feeling negative about us this season, but because this has the feel of an underwhelming League Cup performance. 1-0 to Colchester.
i'm going to this, looking forward to it. am expecting the second string to play though - in which case i think we'll lose.
Couple of Charlton loving mates here with me tonight, so we'll pprobably drift into the Alcatraz pub to follow it.
Mighty Simon Church! That's his goal for the season sorted. Wilson was great even without his goals, Gomez... FHB you were right, he is a class act, Gudmundsson was calm and collected. Oh and Bikey is a pure monster Once sending off was a training game, nice and easy, but good win all the same.
Thought the first half was pretty poor all round, never really threatened the goal with the exception of the shot leaading to the pen. But started threatening a lot more once passes came together and was pleased to see Bobby P give the new boys a run out on the Valley pitch rather than hide them away... Gudmundsson looks a handful for any team. Was a bit disappointed we didn't see Munns or Sho-Silva given a 15 minute run instead of Simon Church, but a pretty good evening. Henderson - 7 - Not a lot to do, but came for a couple of commanding headers and got down nice and sharpish for the sears shot on 46. Gomez - 8 - Classy. Relatively quiet game but didn't put a foot wrong all through it. Morrison - 7 - Decent enough showing, but with Bikey alongside him he could sit back and relax... which I was a bit worried he was doing for the first 10 minutes Bikey - 8 - Was sceptical at his signing, but if he dominates the box like he did tonight then this is a seriously good bit of business. If I was being totally objective about my Man of the Match award he'd probably win it... but I'm not. Fox - 6 - The weakest of the back 5, but put a couple of great through balls in, one to Church which he failed to capitalise on, and one to Igor which was cut out at the last minute. Seemed happy to go forward, but still a bit nervous Wilson - 8 - Man of the Match - Yes, he used to be ****e, but was our main threat in the first half and carried that right the way through (at least until after he'd scored the 2nd goal and started to do a bit of show-boating!). Took the goals like a polished centre-forward, though, and demonstrated to Peeters that there's a real challenge in the RW position. Cousins - 7 - Improved as the game went on. Was guilty of some sloppy play in the first half, and just balls played a few yards too far backwards to help the momentum, but involved more and more in a positive way as the game progressed. Buyens - 7 -Another slow starter, was worried after 15 minutes that this midfield duo would be shown up, but whether it was his well taken penalty or something else, he grew into the game and started imposing himself, one of the main reasons Colchester didn't get a sniff after they went down to 10 Harriott - 6 - Frustrating again, Callum. Showed the talent again, beating his man easily, and 2 or 3 sometimes, but wasted another good chance and guilty of over-elaboration... and whingeing. Tucudean - 6 - Would like to see him again, seems solid but needs to do more to show he can really add value at this level. Could see how he'll link up nicely with Igor Moussa -5 - Improved considerably in the 2nd half and was involved in one of Wilson's goals, but had a bit of a 'mare in the first half when he could only keep the ball if he was going backwards. But I'll give him a break and put it down to a bit of rustiness. His pace will trouble teams. Subs - Igor - 6 - was pleased to see him come on and showed some very strong touches and a real physical presence. Not a lot to say about him in front of goal though, seemed quite close to a good Fox cross. Gudm'son - 7 - Right foot seems mostly for standing on, but who cares when you have a left foot than can distribute and hit a ball like this one. Church - 6. Standard score of 6 - gets +1 for his tap-in, +1 again for putting it on a plate for Harriott, but -1 for a poor miss when clean through, and seriously -1 for one of the most abysmal headers I've seen at the Valley. Didn't much appreciate the finger to the lips gesture either, not sure what he thinks he's proved by scoring a goal my Guinea pig could have scored. Bob - 7 - Slow start (for the 2nd game running), but picked a good team with Gomez given his chance and Wilson on the wing. Also, as mentioned, was very happy with 2 of the 3 substitutions.
My thoughts pretty much echo what TVR says. It's nice to have Gudmundsson as another option in midfield, even if tonight, against a poor League 1 side down to 10 men, was perhaps the easiest time to play in that position. Tucudean produced some wonderful touches, including a backheel in the build up to our 3rd (I think), but lacks confidence in front of goal, as was clear when he rounded the keeper but couldn't finish before a defender got back to clear off the line. Nice to see him geeing the crowd up too, right after that. Joe Gomez will be an absolute star, whichever position he plays in.
Slightly embarrassing before kick off when Kinsella (Colchester) got a bigger cheer from our fans thean Bob Peeters did. Well done to the Club for the reduced prices last night. Positives - very impressed with Gomez, even at full back he oozed class. Bikey has also looked decent in the opening games. Gudmondssen and Buyens both seem to have some quality about them . Fox put in some decent crosses from the left. Negs. Not impressed with Tucadean at all so far. Looks like Yann-lite. Moussa is not fit ! Bigger tests to come but well done Peeters so far.
Good feedback from all of those that were there - can't wait for Saturday now! (except for the #SeaOfRed thing...)
I was saying all last season that Gomez was going to be a bigger star than Poyet or Cousins! If Bob is being fair to Pope and Henderson then I can't understand why Pope wasn't given his chance to impress last night? Trying to give Henderson experience of playing on the new Valley pitch prior to the League games? You just know that the draw tonight will give us Udders away in the next round!!
Oh and I forgot, best thing of the night... due to my baby face, despite being 21 I was sold an u21 ticket at the ticket office for a fiver... RESULT!
I do that too, and I'm also 21 Agree with AllHell that I would have liked to see Pope last night. It was refreshing to see, whenever Henderson had the ball, that he rolled it out to a defender, who then tried to pass it through the midfield. Buyens and Gudmundsson in midfield will definitely help us in that regard. Plus, Tucudean's relative weakness in the air means that we surely won't be resorting to long balls to often.
