Charlton Athletic 1 v Notts County 0

I said in the week that following Scotland has been like following Charlton for the last four years - depressing. That was after a last gasp goal had seen Scotland secure a victory they didn't deserve. Appropriately enough, that was just what I have witnessed at the Valley, although Notts County possessed far more threat than Liechtenstein and should have wrapped the game up way before Joe Anyinsah's late winner.


There has been a lot of talk about our misfiring midfield pairing and there were expectations of personnel or tactical changes for today. We got neither as we went out 4-4-2 again with Semedo and McCormack in the middle. The first half as a Charlton fan was dire. Nothing in the middle again. No link play down the flanks and nothing from Abbott and Benson. County were a yard quicker, more cohesive and should have gone in one up at the interval. Lee Hughes missed the best chance when a long downfield punt bounced clean over Doherty and on to Hughes whose header was just too much and it popped over  Elliott's bar.


McCormack paid the price at half-time and was replaced by Thierry Racon who looks incapable of seizing his chance. We were better defensively in the second period but there was still little co-ordination or urgency about our play. As the game wore on there looked like only one winner and when Matt Fry's inexperience saw him stick out a leg in the box in desperation after Reid had given the ball away unforgivably just outside the box, it looked like curtains. Lee Hughes stepped up but drove the ball down the middle where Rob Elliot managed to get a trailing leg to it and send it over the bar. That was a signal for another change and Joe Anyinsah came on for Abbott and Akpo Sodje shortly afterwards for Benson. As if to highlight the inefficiency of Abbott and Benson, Anyinsah and Sodje were everywhere and all-of-a-sudden there was some urgency. Within a couple of minutes we were in front and the robbery complete.


A quickly taken throw-in down towards the corner saw Martin wriggle free and he rolled the ball inside to Sodje who took a touch before sliding it inside to Joe Anyinsah. Anyinsah looked like Racon for all the world  as he ran in on Burch but he slid the ball expertly under the advancing keeper where Thierry might have panicked.


Craig Short will rightly bemoan his luck this evening and I hope Parky has the sense to acknowledge that we were very fortunate and that we are far from a decent side right now. Where Scotland's win propelled them to the top of their group in the week, our win seems only to have moved us up a couple of places which means most of the sides above us also won.  We have to improve much more quickly than shown so far or we are headed for more reversals in the coming weeks. At least the next two up, Tranmere and Dagenham & Redbridge are both struggling at the bottom for now.