I’m too frustrated to comprehensively sum up this afternoon’s performance. We started out in control, which resulted in going into the half with a one goal lead. Cambridge were well organised behind the ball throughout. They had their opportunities in the first period, but never looked like scoring. We were comfortable, if not ruthless before scoring on about the 40 minute mark. Good team movement and three players in and around the six yard box resulted in a Scott Fraser tap in. We should have looked to push on now that the Cambridge dam had been broken.
In the second half, we lulled ourselves to sleep. Cambridge remained resilient, but brought more energy to their second half performance than their first. That was enough to work their way back into the game. They found the back on the net on about 60 minutes.
Garner made changes, some tactical and some enforced (CBT came on and went off with a knock). I don’t think we corrected course enough and in time to make a real difference. Once Leaburn and Aaron Henry came on with about twenty minutes to go, we began to threaten again. We had more urgency and began to make chances. Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough to find a winner. Two points dropped.
Charlton 1 Cambridge 1
Over to you.
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Comments
We didnt show enough intensity throughout the game today - Cambridge on the other hand, turned up looking to show their Manager that their 4-1 defeat in midweek was a one off mistake.
We're clearly not going to put in performances like Tuesday night every week.
We're going to drop points on the odd occasion.
Just need to make sure that it doesnt happen too often like what we saw last year
Poor performance but really didn't think we were going to lose at all, which is still a huge improvement on last season.
Said at the end of last season that I didn't think Stockley is capable of leading a side chasing promotion, hasn't proven me wrong yet.
I don't think Innis has the application to play regular football - something his concentration/motivation levels have not had to do all career.
We really need to start using our cheat codes
Really need to not let arsehole referees and time-wasting shithousery from away teams affect us so much
A disappointing afternoon but, in reality, we were well below our best and I thought that a draw was a fair result.
A cagey first half, with a tactically astute approach from Cambridge in declining to be drawn out and allow us to play between the lines. Decent counter attacking from them on occasions as well. Some poor corners from us in the first half, which was unfortunate given our strength in the air. We played a lot in front of Cambridge but our one ‘out ball’ was the long, sweeping pass out to the left, with Clayden prominent and, shortly before half time, a lovely cross from Kirk led to Fraser’s goal.
A poor goal to concede on the hour after Inniss lost the ball and was unable to get back into position. A good save initially from Wollacott but poor marking all around from us, allowing Treacy to turn the ball in from inside the 6 yard box after their forward screwed his shot across the goal. Cambridge’s best spell of the game followed and they looked the more likely winners, with Charlton looking leggy and second best in midfield.
Ironically, our best spell of the second half came in the 6 minutes of injury time and it was good to see us finish the game strongly. Alas, however, we couldn’t find a winner.
A word about the ref, a man who clearly has never heard of playing the advantage - I thought he was pretty hopeless.
Early days. Still August.
Today was a good look at how a lot of teams will set up against us and we will need a plan B if we want to break sides down. Could have played another hour and we wouldn't have scored a second today.
Subs added nothing today bar Leaburn moving out wide. We need bodies through the door if we're already starting our injury crisis
There will be results like this in any season, it’s about how we bounce back.
Innis’ 30 seconds of madness aside, we would’ve won that 1-0. When it’s still only 1-0 though, you risk an individual error costing you.
Last season, I think we might have gone on to lose that but we did re group, the subs mostly did ok, and we finished the stronger of the two teams.
Not too much damage done, a bit of a reality check, and a reminder that there are few easy games in this league.
Hopefully CBT’s injury isn’t too bad. On to the next one and trust the process.
Last season, we'd have shat ourselves at conceding and would have been relieved at a point
Also another game, just like Wednesday where it’s a shame we don’t have a player of Aneke’s quality to bring on.
And then in the second half we looked tired and lost our way, lost our shape, and we were punished. They weren't brilliant, but they are good at what they do and they know exactly what they want to do. They were very clever at where they closed us down and where they let us play. That was entirely to be expected.
The worst outcome from today will be if CBT has to miss any significant time. JRS is still getting up to speed. Kirk is inconsistent (though starting to show his promise), and DJ is ineffective. CBT can really open teams up with his pace and not having him for a few weeks would be a large blow.
Huge credit to Henry for coming on and really showing his quality. I wasn't convinced that he's ready for this level. And I don't think one performance means he is. But he looked quite good.
That said, we really could have used another attacking midfielder at the end of the game. Even if JFC and Gilbey are both going to leave, they're still our players. And they're still decent players at this level. Why not have them on the bench? I've been baffled by this for weeks now. We're paying their wages. We have five subs this season. Surely they're better than Chin (who I know is a fullback), but JFC has covered at LB).
Lastly, to play with the intensity, the pressing, the movement off the ball that Garner wants to play week in, week out, he's going to need to rotate. So far, he largely hasn't rotated that much, and when he has it's largely been enforced. Obviously we'll rotate for Tuesday, but there should be some players who started today who should be looking over their shoulder next weekend. If fit, Payne, CBT, Aneke, Sess, and Lavelle should all be pushing for a starting berth. The problem is, only two of those are currently fit (assuming CBT is out for a bit). Aneke is once again a black hole. Pearce picked up the fact that Stockley can't play at this tempo for 90 minutes. We need another striker. We've got two expensive ones at the moment who both have question marks. The problem remains.