All’s Square In Love and War: Charlton Athletic 1-1 Imps
The Imps’ unbeaten run extends to six games, but it had to be earned against a Charlton side that was certainly looking to improve for their new manager.
The game was a tale of broken love affairs, with Tayo Edun and Reeco Hackett facing off against former clubs and Conor McGrandles sitting in the stands. At times, it was a war, not an aggressive one, but just hard to watch for everyone involved. In the end, a point shared was probably fair.
Sadly, Michael Skubala was once again restricted in who he could pick, with Ethan Hamilton missing out, along with the injured Jack Burroughs and Adam Jackson. McGrandles was unavailable due to him being on loan from the Addicks, but Freddie Draper did make the side, meaning Ben House dropped to the bench.
It was an interesting night in terms of opinions for me, as my mate Pete was watching on iFollow. We don’t usually see games at the same time, so to have a neutral perspective was fascinating, and I’ll share a bit of that as we go through the report.
City had to weather the first five minutes or so as Charlton had a bit of the ball, but it wasn’t really with a purpose. There were a few big balls forward, but the Imps managed to get a foothold in the game. It wasn’t particularly pretty. Mandroiu and Bishop weren’t having bad games, but the midfield dynamic didn’t quite work as it did on Saturday. I still feel Mandroiu and Bishop are a bit like our Lampard and Gerrard, although, in fairness, Mandroiu was playing out of position. I felt he was off the pace, but interestingly, Pete felt I was being a little harsh. One thing is for certain: we never had the midfield dominance we enjoyed on Saturday, and McGrandles’ return will be welcome against Exeter City.
The first chance of the game fell to Bishop, and it came from an error by the home side. A header from George Dobson, who I liked at Walsall, was aimless, freeing Lasse on the right. His cross was delicious, and Bishop decided to feast, but like trying to eat soup with chopsticks, his effort wasn’t successful. He might be frustrated at not doing better, but it was an early indication of how soft the Addicks’ defence could be.
