Barnsley 0 v Charlton Athletic 0

Ultimately a frustrating afternoon for the Addicks who lost ground on some of the sides above us at the bottom. A point and a clean sheet at Oakwell would usually be considered a decent result but we have a lot of ground to make up on our rivals and this sounded like a match there for the taking.

In a dull first half not helped for CAFCTV listeners by an equally dull and inept radio commentator (yet another one), there was a chance apiece for an unchanged Charlton side (Elliot- Youga, Ward, Hudson, Murty - Soares, Spring, Racon, Bailey - Dickson and Kandol). Mifsud shot wide after 15 minutes and Hudson saw a good shot saved by Muller.

Things picked up in the second half and Charlton had several chances to take the lead but Racon, Bailey and Dickson were all foiled by Muller. Racon and Dickson in particular were prominent as Charlton pushed forward in the second-half but there was little mention of Bailey and Kandol. Soares didn't do a great deal either so it was frustrating that we didn't use any of our substitutes as the game drew to a conclusion. No doubt Parky will say he didn't want to disturb the side as they were doing well and improving towards the finish. For me it was the wrong decision; Lloyd Sam's pace is always worth a chance against tiring legs and Jonjo Shelvey may have given us the bit more quality we needed. At the back, Elliot made a couple of good saves, notably from Moore and Macken, but Ward and Hudson won everything in the air and Murty and Youga held the line.

Unfortunately, Southampton beat Preston 3-1, Watford won 2-0 at Blackpool as Plymouth and Norwich both got home draws. Next week we go to Swansea and whilst none of our rivals have easy games either, it looks like we'll be down to a dozen matches in which to pull off a recovery of Lazarus proportions.