Sheffield Wednesday 0 v Charlton Athletic 0

Normal service has been resumed after the heroics of Friday night. Charlton drew a blank here but can have few complaints.

The only Charlton change was Jon Fortune back in for the unfortunate Madjid Bougherra who sustained a foot injury in the Palace game. We started threfore with Weaver, Youga, Fortune, McCarthy, Halford, Ambrose, Holland, Zheng Zhi, Sam, Gray and Varney.

Wednesday started quickly and saw a lot of the ball in the opening five minutes managing their first corner and a header at Weaver from Showumni. Luke Varney got Charlton's first chance after 12 minutes having been played in by Lloyd Sam but the ball was on his weaker left foot and he fired wide. The match was scrappy and the referree was stopping it too frequently for niggly fouls. Things livened up after 25 minutes when Youga and Johnson clashed on the left and squared up to each other. Johnson threw a right arm which hit Youga but in the ensuing melee and clamour from the crowd, referree Keith Stroud took the soft option by booking both players. Weaver then saved from a Tudgay header that Richard Wood touched on and Charlton followed this with their best opportunity of the half when Zheng Zhi found Varney who ran on and pulled the ball back to Matty Holland but his shot clipped the upright.

Jermaine Johnson had been switched to the right side so that Wade Small could continue the harrassment of Kelly Youga and it paid dividends when Youga was given a final warning following a 50-50 tackle. Alan Pardew had seen enough and Youga was reluctantly substituted for Jose Semedo before the break.

The second half wasn't much better than the first. Charlton were unable to raise the tempo and conceded a succession of corners and free-kicks which Ronnie Wallwork largely wasted. Weaver saved smartly from Lee Bullen on the hour and Paddy Mccarthy stopped everything else that Wednesday could muster. Iwelumo came on for Gray on 63 minutes and Lee Cook made his debut for quiet Lloyd Sam minutes later.

Charlton had their best chance to win the match after 71 minutes when Greg Halford found Iwelumo and his flick was picked up by Zheng Zhi on the edge of the box. Zheng found Varney and he found the net but the linesman was flagging with Varney looking level to the BBC London commetary team. Zheng Zhi ballooned another opportunity from an Iwelumo knock down before the end but a winner might have been unfair on Wednesday who made a game of it.

For me this was another game in which our two wide men didn't do nearly enough. Ambrose and Sam are simply not pulling their weight and it's time we tried something else, especially away from home. Having said that, I don't think Lee Cook did anything of note in the 25 minutes he was on the field but the bloke's not played any football for ten months....

Alan Pardew will probably see this as a point won but we've lost ground at the top. Watford, Bristol City and Stoke all won tonight and move above West Brom who could only draw at home to Sheffield United. Bristol City's 1-0 victory at Scunthorpe probably hurts the most. Palace lost again and have slumped to 9th but that's a small consolation. We've now brought some pressure to bear on ourselves for the Watford game but maybe that will help. We will need another performance like Friday nights to reduce their 7 point advantage.

Preston NE 0 v Charlton Athletic 2

Ultimately a fourth successive clean-sheet win for the Addicks. A rare live TV victory and it never really looked in doubt.

Charlton were first out of the blocks and controlled much of the first half. Thomas was finding a lot of space and no real challenge on the right. Zheng Zhi was busy in front of him and Iwleumo laboured tirelessly up front. Lloyd Sam saw less of the ball and Andy Reid had a very quiet game or Charlton might have wrapped this up long before the end. The back four looked comfortable throughout. Basey and Mills were sound and it was left to Sodje and Fortune to huff and puff against what pressure Preston did have. Charlton created the few real chances of the first half and it was no surprise when Zheng Zhi controlled a ball on the penalty spot away from all of the rest of the players with his first touch and pushed a low shot back against the on-rushing defence and through a narrow hole into the far corner of the net. It was perfect timing, coming as it did on 47 minutes.

Preston tried harder in the second period and forced three good saves from Nicky Weaver; the reflex stop from Sedgewick's close shot was the best since he's been at the Valley and he deservedly collected the Sky Man of the Match award. Charlton didn't create a lot in the second half but continued to have plenty of possession in the opponents half and you felt we had another gear if we had to use it. Holland, Ambrose and Varney were introduced towards the end of the game and it was left to Varney to add the second late in extra time; Iwelumo headed on a throw from Count Basey into the channel and Varney latched onto it, accelerating passed the last defender and turning in to goal where he beat the unfortunate Lonergan on his near post.

This was a good, professional performance and came on a day when Watford, Bristol City, Ipswich and Coventry all lost. The Addicks have stormed into second and closed the gap on the Hornets to 5 points. We are a point in front of West Brom and they are now under pressure to beat Wolves in their derby game tomorrow. With two home games coming up this week we again have the opportunity to consolidate our automatic position, especially as West Brom face tricky away games at Plymouth and Palace after their derby tomorrow lunchtime.

Let's get behind them this week!

Southampton 0 v Charlton Athletic 1

Overdue some good fortune and a decent referring performance, Charlton got neither today at St. Mary's as they had to play for 55 minutes with ten men. However, they put in a battling performance and thoroughly deserved their late Iwelumo winner.

Charlton started with a quick-supporting 4-5-1 formation. Luke Varney was dropped in favour of a five man midfield with Sam, Semedo, Reid, Zheng Zhi and Thomas supporting the lone Iwelumo. The back four was the same that finished against QPR with Mills, Sodje, Fortune and Basey protecting Nicky Weaver.

The Addicks began brightly enough forcing a couple of corners and duly missed their best opportunity of the half when Sam Sodje's header from Reid's corner hit the bar after six minutes. Weaver saved smartly from Stern John before Jose Semedo was booked for a foul on Idiakez. The game was open and attacking. Andy Reid was prompting for Charlton and John, Wright-Philips and Viafara were combining well upfront for the Saints. Phil Ifil was booked for a foul on Thomas and Lloyd Sam followed him minutes later. On 35 minutes, Referree Hill decided to book Semedo again for an unnecessary tackle on Viafara. It was a harsh decision bearing in mind he was already on a yellow but the red card was flashed quickly enough and Charlton's chances of a win looked to have disappeared.

Unsurprisingly, Southampton finished the half strongly with Viafara shooting over after good work from John and Wright-Philips. John then missed a gilt-edge chance firing wide from 8 yards. In between, a Zheng Zhi break found Lloyd Sam but the youngster failed to hit the target by blasting over.

Charlton started the second half playing deeper and being urged on by the 2200 Addicks behind the goal. They were still looking to break whenever they could but were vulnerable to the counter-attack when they did so. Christian Dailly went off for treatment, giving Charlton parity and the open game of the first 35 minutes returned with both sides pressing. Zheng Zhi missed a sitter from seven yards out after Sodje knocked on a Mills throw in. Wright-Philips skated through the Charlton defence and only a last ditch block by Jon Fortune prevented Southampton from taking the lead. Dailly eventually returned after about 12 minutes but Charlton continued to take the game to Southampton. Andy Reid collected a pass from a Thomas run on the left after 70 minutes and his shot flew inches wide.

Zheng Zhi was booked for back-heeling the ball away after the referree had blown for a free-kick - another careless card. Moutaouakil was the first Charlton substitute as Charlton continued to match the Saints. On 80 minutes the home fans were becoming restless as Charlton continued to dominate. Grant Basey hit the side netting when he latched onto a corner and the Charlton faithful thought they had done it. Substitute Varney had a header tipped over the bar but Charlton weren't to be denied and Varney found Iwelumo six yards and his header beat Kelvin Davies.

This was a fine team performance. The back-four kept the first clean sheet against Southampton this season. Sam and Basey had very solid performances. Mills and Fortune stood up too and we can expect an unchanged defence at City on Tuesday. Reid and Zheng Zhi carried the game to Southampton when Charlton broke but we didn't get as much from Thomas or Sam as we might have expected. Iwelumo played his lone striker role well enough but it needed the injection of his strike partner to win the game.

The losing run has been stopped and Charlton can now travel to Bristol City with confidence on Tuesday. We're up to 4th and a win against City on Tuesday will put us within two points of them.

Up the Addicks!

Coventry City 1 v Charlton Athletic 1

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.

Charlton Athletic 2 v Leicester City 0

Well that looked straightforward enough. Two first half goals for the first time this season and another clean sheet. Interesting to see Alan Pardew compliment the Centre-half pairing again. Looks like Fortune and Bougherra might now get a run at it. Confidence in the camp must be at a high and the Luton game this week offers us the prospect of getting more of the squad players involved.

Coventry will be a good test on Saturday of just how far we have progressed. Iain Dowie won't get the same reception from that he got at Selhurst Park but by the same token I don't think our fans will be chanting his name. I'd settle for escaping this week unbeaten.

Meanwhile, Murrayfield yesterday was a disappointing non-event. Scotland's B team were never going to trouble World Cup favourites and the game was over as a contest after 5 minutes. The second half was boring and Scotland never looked like scoring. Frank Hadden has piled the pressure on his team ahead of the Italy decider on Saturday, although they should be too strong for the Azzurri.

Charlton Athletic 2 v Norwich City 0

It's looking good. The team are beginning to get to know each other and dictate a pattern of play. We played like a proper home team for 90 minutes and deserved our win.

The midfield was dominant for the opening 30 minutes with Reid pulling the strings and venturing forward at every opportunity. Semedo and Zheng Zhi were quick to the breakdowns and Lloyd Sam looks increasingly comfortable in the shirt. At the back SAP brought in Bougherra for McCarthy and it made all the difference with Fortune looking very asssured alongside him. Powell played a tidy game and Danny Mills provided the abrasion for Huckerby and finally Dublin.

Iwelumo headed onto the bar in the first half and Norwich cleared the rebound under presure from Varney. Varney looked a class act from the off and was unfortunate not have opened his account when put clear in second half only to slam his shot against the advancing Marshall.

Norwich came for the draw and it wasn't until 10 minutes before the break that they attacked with any purpose and caused Weaver to make the save of the game with a left handed reflex save from a snap-snot inside the box.

The game tightened in the second half but Charlton were still creating chances. Following Varney's miss, Reid had a golden opportunity to break the deadlock firing wide from 12 yards out when all around him were at sixes and sevens following a spell of pinball. As the clock counted down it looked like a draw might be on the cards. SAP had other ideas and brought McLeod on for Varney. The impact was immediate. McLeod hared into the box and fired inches wide from a tight angle. Minutes later he repeated the burst but this time from the right and this time Gary Doherty, who struggled all evening, put in the clumsy challenge that begged a penalty. Referree Singh obliged and Andy Reid smashed the opener. Before the Valley could draw breath McLeod seized the ball again and hurtled goalward. This time the challenge looked less obvious and it was closer to the edge of the box but the result was same. Singh pointed immediately to the spot and Andy Reid repeated the trick. In the dying minute as the Norwich faithful were waved on their way, Dion Dublin clashed with Danny Mills and stupidly kicked out during the follow-up which earned him a straight red card.

Up to third with Leicester at home on Saturday. This performance deserves a decent increase on the 21,533 there tonight, just less than 20,000 of who were Charlton fans.