Home   Dartford   Sport   Article

Charlton Athletic 1 Rotherham United 1 - Championship match report

Guy Luzon’s first home game in charge of Charlton ended in late drama after Rotherham’s equalizer in stoppage time saw the home side extend their winless run in the league to 11 games, writes Josh Fordham.

The Addicks looked to be heading for victory when Jordan Cousins’ goal in the last 10 minutes looked to be enough to secure a much-needed victory for the new manager before Danny Ward levelled the scores late on.

Jordan Cousins
Jordan Cousins

The home side have not won since November and frustration was evident amongst the fans when cries of ‘you don’t know what you’re doing’ rang around the ground when Luzon substituted Igor Vetokele in the second half.

One glimmer of hope was that Charlton finally managed to find the net after not having scored since their Boxing Day game against Cardiff.

The draw sees Charlton drop down a place to 18 in the table and just six points off Millwall, who are third from bottom.

Neither side had luck on their side in the first half as both Charlton and Rotherham managed to hit the inside of the post before the ball bounced clear on each occasion.

First, Rotherham hit the upright in the seventh minute after Ben Pringle’s floated cross was misjudged by Rhoys Wiggins at the back post. Connor Newton’s sliced shot beat Dmitrovic in the Charlton goal but fortunately for the home side the ball hit inside of the left upright and bounced clear.

Next it was the Addicks' turn, in the 18 minute, when Johan Gudmundsson’s chipped shot looped over Adam Collin and bounced back off the inside of the post. Vetokele had initially done well to play in Callum Harriott down the right. His cross to Gudmundsson was deflected but the Icelandic winger picked the ball up with his back to goal, turned and shot and very nearly pulled off the spectacular.

The only other half chance fell to Andre Bikey when he skimmed the top of the Millers’ crossbar in the 38 minute. Gudmundsson’s corner found Bikey who used his chest to control and showed surprising agility for a man the home fans call ‘beast’ when he attempted a bicycle kick 12 yards from goal but could not quite find the target.

The second half’s main talking points were penalty appeals turned down by the referee for both sides.

Rotherham players were screaming for a penalty in the 68 minute after they were convinced Bikey handled the ball in the Charlton penalty area. The referee waved away the appeals despite eight of the away players crowding around him.

Charlton had their own appeal for a penalty turned down in the 75 minute when Yoni Buyens’ shot was blocked in the box. Tony Watt had done well in the build up to turn his marker on the edge of the penalty area. Before he could pull the trigger he was tackled and the ball fell kindly to Buyens who was convinced he should have had a penalty.

Matt Derbyshire thought he had secured all three points for the Millers in the 77 minute when he put the ball in the back of the Charlton goal before looking across to see the flag of the official raised to indicate offside.

When it looked like the sides were heading for stalemate Cousins found himself with space in the box to slot home a scrappy goal in the 84 minute. New signing Christophe Lepoint held the ball up well in the box and his shot was deflected to Cousins who slotted home past the helpless Adam Collins in the Rotherham goal to give the lead.

Just as the home side thought they were getting their long-awaited victory, Rotherham substitute Ward managed to fire home past Dmitrovic in the Charlton goal in the second minute of injury time to extend the Addicks' winless run.

Charlton: Dmitrovic, Veljkovic (Lepoint 80mins), Bikey-Amougou, Gudmundsson, Harriott (Gomez 89mins), Vetokele (Watt 62mins), Wiggins, Buyens, Solly, Cousins, Ben Haim. Subs not used: Ethridge, Wilson, Onyewu, Fox.

Attendance: 14,447.

Close This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies.Learn More