Yann you believe it?

A much better performance than recent weeks as we more than matched the runaway leaders. Deserving of at least a point, a sloppy injury time goal by Charlton striker Yann Kermorgant robbed us of any, and finally ended our play off hopes.

Bradders showed some balls by reverting back to the 4-5-1/4-4-1-1 formation that worked for him earlier in the season, dropping record signing Tubbs and using Mcdermott in the hole, with Fogden coming in on the right. A fit again Cook also replaced Zubar at the back. A brave decision to drop Tubbs - remains to be seen how will that go down in the Demin and Mitchell households, seeing their expensive flagship signing sitting on the bench? Is this the first sign of Bradders refusing to fall in line with Director of Football Tom Mitchell`s recruitment policy?

Danny Hollands got an excellent reception from the Dean Court crowd, applause and even a couple of songs. Rhoys Wiggins, er, didn`t. Enough said!

An even first half had few chances. Flahavan made a couple of sound stops from Green and Wright-Phillips after they had broken through for half-chances, and a couple of long range efforts from Mcdermott and McDonald failed to test the Charlton keeper.

Chance of the first half though fell to Thomas, as a ball in from the left from Malone found its way right across goal to the far stick. Thomas at a slight angle and stretching was only able to crash it against the post and out for a goal kick. A bit unlucky, but in a tight game, the sort of chance you need to go in.

Neutrals would not have known who the runaway leaders were as a decent, even first half came to an end.

HT Bournemouth 0 Charlton 0

Second half continued in a similar vein to the first, as we attacked the North Stand. A ball back in to the danger area from Francis saw Thomas fail connect, Fogden then unable to turn on the edge of the six yard box, before Mcdermott effort was blocked. Malone had a half volley sail over from 18 yards out, and Thomas also saw a decent header flash a yard past the post.

Tubbs was eventually brought on for Malone with 10 minutes left, although this seemed to be more forced by injury than tactical.

Finally a few minutes from the end, Arter ghosted past a couple of defenders into the box, and with the right hand corner of the net begging unluckily steered his effort just past the post.

Inevitably, deep into injury time, Charlton won a corner, and in copycat fashion to last weeks MK Dons goal, snatched a winner. The corner was helped on at the near post, and Charlton won the second ball six yards out. The header was fairly weak but slipped under Flahavan and just over the line before a defender hacked it clear. A Charlton forward attempting to get a touch may have distracted Flahavan but he should probably have done better. A shorter keeper may have got down to it a bit quicker..... Was it over the line? The Charlton fans both sides of the ground celebrated immediately and Willo said he thought it was post match, so seems highly probable it was.

Wild celebrations from the large Charlton travelling contingent for an unjustified win. Despite our battling display, play offs must surely be out of reach, given the points gap and games in hand everyone else now has.



FT Bournemouth 0 Charlton 1

Flahavan 6 - Couple of good routine saves in first half, but generally not much to do. Should have done better on the goal.

Francis 7 - Defended well and attacked fairly well. One second half whipped cross crying out for someone to nod in but eluded everyone.

Cook 6.5 - Resolute and determined. Distribution not as good as normal.

Addison 7 - Strong and effective.

Daniels 6 - Defensively sound, didn`t see much going forward.

Fogden 6 - Works hard but no real threat.

Macdonald 6.5 - Worked hard in middle. Not sure about balance with him and Arter though.

Arter 7 - Tried to keep playing and probing. Unlucky with late effort.

Malone 6 - Not a left winger. Threatened occasionally with his pace.

Mcdermott - 6.5 Gave ball away a few times, but our most creative threat

Thomas 7.5 - Held ball up brilliantly, but needed a goal from his chances to cap it off

No one really stood out above the others. Probably Thomas just for me, although really needed a goal to round off a strong hold up display. Much improved display, but still same end result. Need to use the rest of the season to mould the team into a force for next year. Squad still very unbalanced. We probably need another centre back - Addison permanent could be good. Midfield still is our Achilles heel. If Fogden for the next 3 and a half years on the right is the answer, Bradders is asking the wrong question. Industrious and hard working, but not a threat. Our threat on the right comes from Francis who delivers quality crosses when he gets forward, but he is not an up and down energetic fullback. Malone on the left is found out when up against a half-quick full back, and is not disciplined enough defensively to oust Daniels. Centre mid combo still unimpressive. Last season, the 2 out of the trio of Robinson, Bartley and Hollands were way above what we currently have. Mcdermott is a frustrating luxury. Most creative player we have but tendency to lose the ball to much, or overdo it. Yet to recapture form of last season. Pugh is always solid enough and guarantees a good 10 plus goals a season, which is what the rest of the midfield don`t. Upfront, everyone knows Tubbs isn`t an £800k player. If we had signed him for £200k, fair enough, he is a tidy little player and will probably get 10-12 goals over a season. Will not repeat his lower league scoring here or at higher level. Doesn`t have any unique strength about him to really frighten anyone. Thomas is strong and holds the ball up well, but needs a good foil alongside him. Could he work with Tubbs - possibly, but still wouldn`t be the volume of goals there we need. Tubbs fee is money down the drain - why we didn`t decide to get a couple of big name loans in for the rest of the season (eg a striker and centre mid on say £10k a week) is beyond me. Could have signed a decent striker for £200k, couple of big name loans in, and still have had change left from the Tubbs money we spent.

How patient will Tom/Eddie/Demins be? Are they expecting immediate return on their investment? Will Irena decide she wants her hubbie to splash the cash on her instead of writing the Mitchells blank cheques for them to waste on their ego trips? Only time will tell. Lets enjoy the rest of the season and see if the team can gel.

Disclaimer - I am not the real Neil D, and I find dwarves to be lovely people

Report by 'Neil Doorson'

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