Charlton Athletic 3 v Lincoln City 1

A penultimate home win of the season at least gives Nigel Adkins the satisfaction of taking it to the last day of the season on Sunday however unlikely it is that we will squeeze into the play-offs.

Once again this season it was a game of two halves and last night's example typified the season in many ways. The starting eleven looked overly conservative and unambitious once again. One up front at home and relying upon a left-back to create from the right side. It may have worked in Adkins' first game when Maatsen enjoyed the rarified atmosphere and managed to score but he has proven since then that he isn't comfortable on that side in an attacking role. There have been times this season when we have been forced to adopt this formation because of injuries and suspensions but Aneke and Washington were on the bench last night.

Cue no surprise at all when we failed to create an attempt on target in the opening 45 when Lincoln had the best chance and should have taken the lead. The game was crying out for Aneke and a reshuffle at the break and to Adkins' credit it came at the restart but Ben Purrington will have been miffed that he was hooked out so Maatsen could be accommodated in his place as we moved to a 4-4-2. It was the formations the fans had been calling for throughout the first-half and it took two minutes to pay handsome dividends.

A particularly well-worked goal at pace and with movement finished with Chuks knocking the ball down into the path of Jayden Stockley who was being shepherded out of the box. Stockley only had one sniff at the dropping ball but he seized on it to smash the ball first time high into the top corner and prove that his feet aren't just spring-loaded to get him airborne.

After that we played like a different team for thirty minutes and scored two more as Ryan Inniss and Chuks Aneke both added trademark goals of their own to end the contest. 3-0 after 66 minutes sent me scrambling for the league table and suddenly there was a view that three more and a another 6-0 scoreline could overcome our goal difference handicap for Sunday. That, of course, was getting ahead of ourselves and we managed to concede in the 88th minute to ensure that goal difference isn't going to be the deciding factor of the season.

It's very simple now. We have to win at home to Champions Hull City and hope that Portsmouth and Oxford United both lose at home to Accrington and Burton respectively. The bookies have that scenario at a highly unlikely 50-1. 

So, this season is nearly done. Adkins deserves credit for a bounce that kept our interest until the final game of the season and his appointment has been justified both in terms of results and timing, even if that was forced on us by Lee 'Me' Bowyer. He has had invaluable game time with his new squad and should me clear on who he thinks can get the job done next season and who is going to hold us back if they are still here.

Frankly, we have flattered to deceive and I believe we should be grateful we aren't going up. Promotion with this squad may have resulted in an over-reliance on too many players who are not good enough for the Championship. When you get promoted, you really need to win it with a swagger and with a squad of players who, by-and-large, you are excited about seeing take the challenge of the next step. That's how you build a springboard for a double-promotion, even if that takes a couple of seasons.