Lethargy and a need for Brownie Points meant I stayed in South-East London this afternoon and followed the game on BBC Radio Kent (always better than Radio London). On reflection I'm glad I did, as again, it sounded frustrating and we appeared vulnerable. Ultimately, we need to improve away from the Valley if we harbour realistic hopes of automatic promotion.
We started well enough settling quickly in defence and Lloyd Sam gave us the lead on 15 minutes after picking up a reverse pass from Danny Mills, cutting into the box and firing home from 8 yards for his first league goal. We should have had a penalty five minutes later when Luke Varney was clumsily pulled down but referree Swarbrick waved play on. Coventry managed a brief spell of pressure before the break forcing three successive corners but Charlton were good value for the half-time lead.
An open-mike at half time gave us the naffest "club-song" I've heard in years - a razzmattazz Sky Blue something-or-other. At least they followed this with Amarillo which would have had the 2,000 Addicks fans singing along.
Coventry upped the tempo in the second half and forced a series of corners. Weaver saved well from Mifsud and Powell cleared under pressure from Tabb. Adebola was introduced to maintain the momentum and Danny Mills had to clear off the line from him almost immediately. Varney and Iwelumo were being caught offiside as Charlton tried to break and Varney was replaced for fresh-legged McLeod on 65 minutes. The game became heated for a while; Zheng Zhi came in for some rough treatment, Mills clattered Mifsud and Pardew and Parkinson were warned on the touchline.
A mixup between Fortune and Weaver nearly cost us the equaliser after 76 minutes but we cleared our lines and Zheng Zhi immediately broke to feed Lloyd Sam in space but his shot went wide. Danny Mills was booked for a challenge on Mifsud and with six minutes left, Mifsud got his revenge. Adebola collected a long ball and played him in to beat Weaver and set-up a frantic finish. Charlton then went closest to taking all three points as Reid whipped in a cross which Iwelumo met inside the six-yard box but somehow managed to miss the target.
On balance, the draw was a fair reflection of the play and with everyone else in the top 8 also drawing, our second place is safe at least until West Brom play QPR tomorrow. We will need another point at least on Tuesday at Hull, if we are to have a chance of being in an automatic promotion spot after 10 games as per Alan Pardew's plan.
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