I can’t believe that anyone does not think that the assault on Vetokele 1st half was not a straight red. He was clearly out of control which is a red card. It was reckless, which is a red card, he bought down the last player in a goal scoring opportunity, which is a red card.
I thought we were the better side first half, but they scored a very good goal, Phillips saved a good shot, and they carved one just past the post.
It was not one way traffic though. As said, they should have had a straight red on what was a good scoring opportunity. Taylor was fouled as he then hit the crossbar.
Second half was just wow! Deffo penalty, but was surprised that the the ref spotted it. He had hold of Taylor and tripped him. Thought the Williams one was as well. A very good side were in full panick and lost a lot of control. They are still a good team, just not as good as us when we are full strength.
Hello, Hello, Igor is back, Igor is back!
Fantastic from Igor today. Love the guy and so good to see him score today.
Love Taylor. Not just the way he plays. It is the way he encourages and supports his team mates. Igor is back because of him, and the joy Taylor had in his goal was fantastic, and for his set up for his second. I think he is destined for greater things. Can see him being a politician of some sort. Natural leader and good man.
Great to meet CatAddict today as well. Thanks mate. Really appreciate it, hope to see you at Oxford. I will buy you a whole pint as well!
The 2nd half was the best football I’ve seen us play all season, players certainly put in a shift, keep up that intensity till the last kick of the season, and we will get promoted.
If the ref had sent the goalkeeper off, he may have received a 3 match suspension thus weaken the Luton team for the run in, just the same as CAFC were weaken when LT got sent off.
This is neither knee-jerk nor bitter but the fit Igor we have back now is streets ahead of Karlan IMO!
These 2 have hit off just at the right time!
Over reaction of the week winner. Until he scored yesterday all we had was a fitter, improving Igor
To be fair I can see where the OP is coming from
Igor hasn't just shown his fitness these last two games but has also started to bully defences
Grant on the other hand had a raw pace that is beyond anything that anyone has here at the club and must be horrible to play against in a League mostly dominated by defences with less technical ability
The high I felt walking away from the ground yesterday. Just wow. These are the games that make it all worthwhile.
I think it's all been said, but Luton came out full of the belief and confidence garnered from a 28 game unbeaten run, backed by a vociferous crowd who clearly felt invincible. (That we reduced their crowd to arm-folded silence and by the end their players to shell-shocked, don't-want-the-ball uncertainty was testament to the scale of Bowyer and his players achievement). I'm no expert but it looked like both teams matched up with a midfield diamond, but it seemed that in that first half their full backs were bombing forward and overloading our hard pressed defence. Something our full backs couldn't or wouldn't do. ( Or so I thought, haha, until the second half). Thought the first half was pretty even, but they looked the more incisive and clinical. The tide turned in the second half as we pressed higher, got forward quicker with our fullbacks getting forward more and more. We imposed ourselves and as the goals came we sucked the belief from them, packed them up and sent them out of London with their tails between their legs. A masterclass of tactics and delivery that confirmed that what we have here now is something special. In the hands of most any other owner we might be perfectly placed to shoot for the stars, but as things stand we are still made of glass.
Not a lot more I can add, just to say that the Luton mates of CatJnr (ST + regular away) that we travelled back with thought we deserved the win. From their view in the JS they thought when Lyle hit the bar he had his arm back pulling the defender's shirt down. Obviously they were unhappy with the ref over the penalty but refused to comment on the keepers 'challenge' on Igor...
As to @Redrobo - happy to help and I'll accept a drink off almost anyone...
Watching highlights back on Quest, Igor was involved in everything going forward, outstanding performance, as was many of the players, Cullen was quality in the first half.
This is neither knee-jerk nor bitter but the fit Igor we have back now is streets ahead of Karlan IMO!
These 2 have hit off just at the right time!
Very much knee-jerk. Grant was regularly getting goals and assists, and was causing problems from deeper positions with his pace running at players.
Get him in positions like he did yesterday and he’ll score and set up a few, but that’s harder to do with him not being as quick as Grant.
What does Igor have to his game that Grant doesn’t?
Igor still improving and at the right time too. Grant was good this season and his blistering pace caused problems But the old Igor when he first came here was IMO a better all round striker. If he can get back that level it’s he I’d rather have
This is neither knee-jerk nor bitter but the fit Igor we have back now is streets ahead of Karlan IMO!
These 2 have hit off just at the right time!
Very much knee-jerk. Grant was regularly getting goals and assists, and was causing problems from deeper positions with his pace running at players.
Get him in positions like he did yesterday and he’ll score and set up a few, but that’s harder to do with him not being as quick as Grant.
What does Igor have to his game that Grant doesn’t?
Igor still improving and at the right time too. Grant was good this season and his blistering pace caused problems But the old Igor when he first came here was IMO a better all round striker. If he can get back that level it’s he I’d rather have
Him and Taylor on form would cause devastation to opposition defences. There was glimpses of it yesterday and that third goal is what happens when you have strikers playing off each other. It just works.
This is neither knee-jerk nor bitter but the fit Igor we have back now is streets ahead of Karlan IMO!
These 2 have hit off just at the right time!
Very much knee-jerk. Grant was regularly getting goals and assists, and was causing problems from deeper positions with his pace running at players.
Get him in positions like he did yesterday and he’ll score and set up a few, but that’s harder to do with him not being as quick as Grant.
What does Igor have to his game that Grant doesn’t?
Igor still improving and at the right time too. Grant was good this season and his blistering pace caused problems But the old Igor when he first came here was IMO a better all round striker. If he can get back that level it’s he I’d rather have
If he gets back to the level he was when we signed him nearly 5 years ago then I agree.
Suggesting he’s back at that level now is a knee jerk reaction. He’s clearly not as quick as he was for one thing.
I’m not saying he can’t do a good job for us, but Grant was on his way to getting 20+ goals and 10+ assists. Igor’s not yet shown that during a run of games. Hopefully he does though I still see Grant having the better career.
I can’t believe that anyone does not think that the assault on Vetokele 1st half was not a straight red. He was clearly out of control which is a red card. It was reckless, which is a red card, he bought down the last player in a goal scoring opportunity, which is a red card.
I thought we were the better side first half, but they scored a very good goal, Phillips saved a good shot, and they carved one just past the post.
It was not one way traffic though. As said, they should have had a straight red on what was a good scoring opportunity. Taylor was fouled as he then hit the crossbar.
Second half was just wow! Deffo penalty, but was surprised that the the ref spotted it. He had hold of Taylor and tripped him. Thought the Williams one was as well. A very good side were in full panick and lost a lot of control. They are still a good team, just not as good as us when we are full strength.
Hello, Hello, Igor is back, Igor is back!
Fantastic from Igor today. Love the guy and so good to see him score today.
Love Taylor. Not just the way he plays. It is the way he encourages and supports his team mates. Igor is back because of him, and the joy Taylor had in his goal was fantastic, and for his set up for his second. I think he is destined for greater things. Can see him being a politician of some sort. Natural leader and good man.
Great to meet CatAddict today as well. Thanks mate. Really appreciate it, hope to see you at Oxford. I will buy you a whole pint as well!
It clearly wasnt a red card, using your "language". You used the term "reckless", which defines a caution in the Laws of the Game. The tackle by a player which the referee defines as "using excessive force" is a red card. If that same foul committed by the keeper yesterday was committed on say the halfway line, nobody would be shouting for a red card. Supporter emotion often comes into play when a half chance was thwarted by a foul such as that undertaken by the keeper yesterday.
Great result and performance. Aribo however is way off where he was.
I'd play Bielik in his place & then there is room for Fosu or Reeves. Bielik ran the 2nd half with his surging runs.
^^^ this is funny.
Dropping Aribo for Fosu right now is a joke, surely? Dropping Aribo for Reeves right now isn’t that much better either. I like Reeves but what Aribo adds is far more to the side than Reeves, they’re also different types of players.
Then you also have to take into consideration that Bielik is a centre back playing at the base of the diamond because of his athleticism and use of the ball. To play him in Aribo’s place and expect him to get out wide and get back in again is ridiculous.
Leave it alone. Fosu won’t play anything meaningful for us again. Reeves isn’t as good as Aribo. Bielik does a fantastic job shielding the back four and starting attacks. Just because Aribo wasn’t at it as well yesterday doesn’t mean much at all. He has played every game since coming back from injury, including 3 in a week. How about he might have just been a bit tired?
The game has been summed up very well by previous posters.
With hindsight, the non-red card (I believe it was one of the easier red cards for serious foul play you could see) actually added to the drama of the game. Having won, it's good to look back on beating an 11 man Luton rather than 10 men. It says plenty for the attitude of the players and the Charlton crowd who were fully behind the team.
Went with a Luton mate and he had mentioned how good their full-backs were getting forward and there has been a lot of interest in the right-back, Stacey. I was very impressed with Mpanza...very strong and can play. They should still win the league comfortably.
The hard part for us is trying to overtake 3 teams to get 2nd place. All 3 seem to have just enough form to keep us at bay but it's fun watching us have a go!
To be fair I'd agree the penalty was soft and probably changed the game in the sense that it brought us level and put more pressure on the Luton defence to make those two mistakes
The fact remains though that Williams should have had a penalty minutes earlier so evened itself up
If anything; Sonny Bradley was an idiot to put himself in a position only moments after that decision when it would have been fresh in the referee's mind
Not sure about the Williams penalty. Thought he was looking for the challenge and as he had been diving all over the place previously he had wound the referee up, so he wan't going to give him anything. I can also see why the keeper wasn't sent off; there were two Luton players goal-side of the incident. Mind you, at the time I couldn't understand how the keeper stayed on the pitch. OK, so Lyle's pen certainly changed the game but we had been getting closer to the equaliser. After that though, we simply played them off the pitch, they simply had no idea how to cope with us.
Cracking game payed by two great footballing sides. We started the stronger without cutting a clear chance. When Luton scored it took the wind out of us a bit. But steadily we improved and got our mojo back. Definitely a sending off in my opinion but as most refs do, he bottled it. 2nd half was incredible and still waxing lyrical about it. Taylor and Igor are blossoming right now. Beliek was insane, Johnny class and Bauer Sarr are def our strongest central defensive pairing, sorry Pearcey'
Why is it all "high profile" games are policed so poorly. That paper thin segregation on Floyd Road is a waste of time. We must be the only club in the country where we do not hold opposing fans back when there is a conceived threat of trouble. The little scuffles that went off were totally avoidable but doubtless the police will have knicked a few soft targets.
Finishing on a more positive note, this little precursor to what I feel will be play-offs for us, unfortunately, is standing us in good stead. Went to both Plymouth and Wycombe last week. Both games we had to survive a few hairy moments but had enough about us to get the job done. Yesterday again we were up against it. The competition for places in the side is incredible and the fact that we are grinding out results, be it through perseverance or class could not be coming at a better time. I hope I am wrong and we sneak in through the back door, if not, there will never be a better time to go in to the lottery that is the Play-Offs. COYRS !
Now had the chance to reflect on yesterday’s match ... OUTSTANDING. The second half was as good as I’ve seen in years. Our midfield was untouchable and the Lyle / Igor partnership pulled them all over the place. Also liked the way Phillips just didn’t kick the dead balls straight upfield for their big Centre half’s to head it straight back. We played it from the back and forced them to push on which left gaps for Beilik, Williams and Cullen to exploit. Got tickets for Oxford and Gillingham but not Scunny or Rochdale. After yesterday, I’m erring towards breaking my boycott once or twice again. Really, really enjoyed the day for more than one reason
To be fair I'd agree the penalty was soft and probably changed the game in the sense that it brought us level and put more pressure on the Luton defence to make those two mistakes
The fact remains though that Williams should have had a penalty minutes earlier so evened itself up
If anything; Sonny Bradley was an idiot to put himself in a position only moments after that decision when it would have been fresh in the referee's mind
Not sure about the Williams penalty. Thought he was looking for the challenge and as he had been diving all over the place previously he had wound the referee up, so he wan't going to give him anything. I can also see why the keeper wasn't sent off; there were two Luton players goal-side of the incident. Mind you, at the time I couldn't understand how the keeper stayed on the pitch. OK, so Lyle's pen certainly changed the game but we had been getting closer to the equaliser. After that though, we simply played them off the pitch, they simply had no idea how to cope with us.
Williams does tend to go down easily. You can take the boy out of Palace but you can't take the Palace out of the boy...
Why is it all "high profile" games are policed so poorly. That paper thin segregation on Floyd Road is a waste of time. We must be the only club in the country where we do not hold opposing fans back when there is a conceived threat of trouble. The little scuffles that went off were totally avoidable but doubtless the police will have knicked a few soft targets.
I knew there would be some aggro after the match, not helped with the crap timetable where there are no trains between 5:06 and 5:20 meaning a massive crowd waiting to get into the station. If we play the likes of Sunderland or Pompey in the playoffs, they will have to do something better.
A good excuse for a quick pint in the River Ale house while waiting for the crowd to disperse though!
Comments
I thought we were the better side first half, but they scored a very good goal, Phillips saved a good shot, and they carved one just past the post.
It was not one way traffic though. As said, they should have had a straight red on what was a good scoring opportunity. Taylor was fouled as he then hit the crossbar.
Second half was just wow! Deffo penalty, but was surprised that the the ref spotted it. He had hold of Taylor and tripped him. Thought the Williams one was as well. A very good side were in full panick and lost a lot of control. They are still a good team, just not as good as us when we are full strength.
Hello, Hello, Igor is back, Igor is back!
Fantastic from Igor today. Love the guy and so good to see him score today.
Love Taylor. Not just the way he plays. It is the way he encourages and supports his team mates. Igor is back because of him, and the joy Taylor had in his goal was fantastic, and for his set up for his second. I think he is destined for greater things. Can see him being a politician of some sort. Natural leader and good man.
Great to meet CatAddict today as well. Thanks mate. Really appreciate it, hope to see you at Oxford. I will buy you a whole pint as well!
These 2 have hit off just at the right time!
Until he scored yesterday all we had was a fitter, improving Igor
Igor hasn't just shown his fitness these last two games but has also started to bully defences
Grant on the other hand had a raw pace that is beyond anything that anyone has here at the club and must be horrible to play against in a League mostly dominated by defences with less technical ability
These are the games that make it all worthwhile.
I think it's all been said, but Luton came out full of the belief and confidence garnered from a 28 game unbeaten run, backed by a vociferous crowd who clearly felt invincible.
(That we reduced their crowd to arm-folded silence and by the end their players to shell-shocked, don't-want-the-ball uncertainty was testament to the scale of Bowyer and his players achievement).
I'm no expert but it looked like both teams matched up with a midfield diamond, but it seemed that in that first half their full backs were bombing forward and overloading our hard pressed defence. Something our full backs couldn't or wouldn't do. ( Or so I thought, haha, until the second half).
Thought the first half was pretty even, but they looked the more incisive and clinical.
The tide turned in the second half as we pressed higher, got forward quicker with our fullbacks getting forward more and more.
We imposed ourselves and as the goals came we sucked the belief from them, packed them up and sent them out of London with their tails between their legs.
A masterclass of tactics and delivery that confirmed that what we have here now is something special.
In the hands of most any other owner we might be perfectly placed to shoot for the stars, but as things stand we are still made of glass.
Get him in positions like he did yesterday and he’ll score and set up a few, but that’s harder to do with him not being as quick as Grant.
What does Igor have to his game that Grant doesn’t?
They got lucky with that decision.
I hope karma might operate and even things up somehow.
I thought the challenge on Williams happened once the defender had got the ball, ie on his follow through, but Taylor's was def a pen.
and no Premier League clubs have wanted to buy him!!
As to @Redrobo - happy to help and I'll accept a drink off almost anyone...
Suggesting he’s back at that level now is a knee jerk reaction. He’s clearly not as quick as he was for one thing.
I’m not saying he can’t do a good job for us, but Grant was on his way to getting 20+ goals and 10+ assists. Igor’s not yet shown that during a run of games. Hopefully he does though I still see Grant having the better career.
Dropping Aribo for Fosu right now is a joke, surely? Dropping Aribo for Reeves right now isn’t that much better either. I like Reeves but what Aribo adds is far more to the side than Reeves, they’re also different types of players.
Then you also have to take into consideration that Bielik is a centre back playing at the base of the diamond because of his athleticism and use of the ball. To play him in Aribo’s place and expect him to get out wide and get back in again is ridiculous.
Leave it alone. Fosu won’t play anything meaningful for us again. Reeves isn’t as good as Aribo. Bielik does a fantastic job shielding the back four and starting attacks. Just because Aribo wasn’t at it as well yesterday doesn’t mean much at all. He has played every game since coming back from injury, including 3 in a week. How about he might have just been a bit tired?
Why is it all "high profile" games are policed so poorly. That paper thin segregation on Floyd Road is a waste of time. We must be the only club in the country where we do not hold opposing fans back when there is a conceived threat of trouble. The little scuffles that went off were totally avoidable but doubtless the police will have knicked a few soft targets.
Finishing on a more positive note, this little precursor to what I feel will be play-offs for us, unfortunately, is standing us in good stead. Went to both Plymouth and Wycombe last week. Both games we had to survive a few hairy moments but had enough about us to get the job done. Yesterday again we were up against it. The competition for places in the side is incredible and the fact that we are grinding out results, be it through perseverance or class could not be coming at a better time. I hope I am wrong and we sneak in through the back door, if not, there will never be a better time to go in to the lottery that is the Play-Offs. COYRS !
A good excuse for a quick pint in the River Ale house while waiting for the crowd to disperse though!