Saturday, April 30, 2011

Second best at Bescot



It was kind of ironic that a town famed for it's old trolleybus service, would be the destination of a coach load of Addicks in fancy dress. We took Sonic the hedgehog, a penguin, a Mexican and even Pamela Anderson who has certainly let herself go of late. Judging by the defending for Walsall's first goal, we even had someone dressed as a Charlton full back.

Only one change to our starting line up was a return for the birthday boy, Robbie Elliot, recalled to replace the loanee John Sullivan.
A bright start saw Paul Benson hit the woodwork after only four minutes. That along with his header that went just over the bar in the second half were to be our best two opportunities of the game.
Walsall, to give them credit, looked far more up for it as you would expect for a side fighting for League One survival. They did appear to be under the instruction of shoot on sight. Their first goal however was almost passed around the keeper after a nightmare in the Charlton rear guard. William Grigg slotted home to send the home fans wild. A real sense of belief was evident in their play after that and the experienced Jon Macken up front was proving a real handful, as was Matthew Richards in the middle.
The second and final blow came from a certain Julian Gray. Yes another ex Palace player rubbing our nose in it. After a lot of stick from the travelling five hundred Addicks, he certainly let us know he'd scored!

So where does this leave the table? Well, we are now in 58th place in England. A lowly 14th in our division. Leyton Orient's defeat at home to Tranmere has killed off their hopes of a play off spot. Bournemouth and the franchise now guaranteed top six finishes. Results in the Championship confirm that Scunthorpe and Sheffield United will join Preston in division three with us next season. Once again Palace have survived. Unless of course the FA can find a way of stripping them of ten or so points for some reason or another.
Bristol Rovers look as good as down with their awful goal difference, to the delight of many from SE7. Plymouth have a game in hand but that's entertaining Southampton on Monday. So they are as good as down. Walsall and the Daggers have it all to play for next Saturday although there is an outside chance Notts County could get dragged in.
The top of League two hasn't changed. Still only Bury and Chesterfield that we know to be definite opponents come August.

So next Saturday is our final game of the season. Both ourselves and Hartlepool have nothing to play for and as a football match, will probably be very quickly forgotten. Unlike the pre match drink in the Rose of Denmark. Plenty of the Charlton twitterers are gathering for a few jars of London Pride. I for one, cant wait.

Friday, April 29, 2011

Happy Day!



Today i watched the Royal Wedding. A few years back, everybody would have been glued to the only tv set in the street to watch it as well. Unfortunately, a lot of the younger generation today saw this as nothing more than an extra day off work. Alf Garnett would have had a field day today! I love events like these, not just weddings, but events that show the rest of the world what a wonderful country we live in, and what a fantastic city London is.
Today was a day when we could shout out loud how proud we are to be British! From the flags lining the route, the hero's that are our armed forces in their dress uniforms to the wonderful fly past from the Battle of Britain hero's, the Lancaster, Hurricane and Spitfire. Each of these moments brought real tears to my eyes of great pride and loyal belonging to our dear kingdom. Unlike the idiots calling themselves nationalists, who wave the flag with racist undertones that we had to endure in Brighton last weekend. No, today is what it means to be British.
As far as the wedding went, everything had a real wow factor and was just as it should be. I love weddings. It is for me, a union very worthy of celebrating, especially in this day and age when people's views on it have shifted so dramatically.
I've been lucky enough to have two wedding days. They rate higher than the play off final in 98, but below the day i allowed Jesus into the driving seat in my life. A close second though.
When i became a widower, i never would have guessed I'd be fortunate enough to fall in love with a second gorgeous lady but i did.  Not a day goes past without me realizing how lucky i am, that's why a wedding photo is always pictured on this blog. Every time i now see a young couple commit to each other i always compare it to ours, even the royals. Yes, like many others, i was covered in goose bumps when they sang 'Jerusalem', but then i was when we sang 'The Stand' (check out Hillsong) at ours.
Whenever i hear 'From the inside out' ,again Hillsong, i picture Heidi walking down the aisle and well up. Heidi planned ours by herself and could not have got any one part better than it was. A good effort today, but ours is still the best!
So today has been a day of pride. The good pride that stands those hairs up on the back of your neck. There is a bad pride also. That's the one that gets in my way so often, the one that prevents me dropping my guard. No one thing stops me advancing in my christian walk more. that however is another story.
Today isn't about me, today is about a beautiful young girl and her knight in shining armour, who have today in front of God, the most important guest in attendance, declared their love for each till death. Well done.

And with that i raise a glass......................................to the happy couple!!!

Monday, April 25, 2011

It ain't ARF hot mum.


It's been quite an Easter. The weather has been better and hotter than any of us could have wished for, and with it, people's smiles have been so much bigger.
None more so than those rugged Charlton fans today who saw the Addicks put in a performance of note against play off hopefuls Rochdale.
Cameo roles have been the staple diet of Nathan Eccleston up untill this weekend, yet today both him and Dean Parrett put in strong performances which would warrant places in Chris Powell's plans, if they weren't due to return to their parent clubs this summer.
Encouraging football then to see the season out and two great team performances over this Easter weekend. Perhaps next season really could be ours, it's not all doom and gloom. For Swindon it is though. We sometimes forget how tough times are for others. We've all got an attitude that as Charlton fans, we are all long suffering and although we hope our children will follow in the tradition, we wonder if its fair to put them through it.
This time last year we were getting excited about the prospect of the play offs and another day out at Wembley. As we all know, Swindon stood in our way. Twelve months on, and that side have been relegated to Division four. They were victims of giant killing Crawley in the FA cup, now they'll have to go back there as equals. Paul Hart is only contracted to the end of the season and i doubt he'll be keen to take the reigns permanently. We think we've got some rebuilding to do!
We did need to go into the summer on a high otherwise we could be carrying on in August where we left off in May. It's just a question of how much the cast will change as we know it will. Can we keep the headliners, and will the new supporting roles be of the necessary quality.
The whole 'you have been watching' thing really struck me today. It sounds like you've seen them for the last time, and in two weeks time we may well have.


Today had a very strange twist. I couldn't make the game as i had already arranged to meet friends in Belvedere. I left them, and with Heidi on the back, rode past The Valley at four o'clock on our way home. Very strange to be there but not be there.
No, instead , we were the privileged guests of Paul Raisey and his wife Kay to their daughter Charlotte's birthday party.



Charlotte has been back home for a short while after a lengthy stay in hospital. Paul had kept the whole Charlton twitter community up to date with her condition and I'd told him that she was on my prayer list.
Charlotte lives with her friends Kerrie and Nik. They've all known each other for years and have a great team of carers. They call themselves the Abbey Road Friends and ARF have a blog page which i strongly recommend as a great read. http://abbeyroadfriends.blogspot.com/

It was a real honour to meet Paul and his family today. It's easy to say that you don't realise how easy we have it until you meet others in a different situation. All i know is, there was so much love in that flat today. Charlotte is a very beautiful, special young lady with an awesome family around her. Once again, through Charlton, I've been lucky enough to meet some of the loveliest of people.
Thanks again Paul!

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Pirate Radio


While the lads were running around in this beautiful Easter sunshine, i was at home laying a carpet in the lodgers room. Needed to be done while she was on holiday, so the hottest weekend of the year was an ideal opportunity!
Quick glances on twitter and a quick check on the radio were my efforts to keep up to pace on a game of real drama.
Being Charlton, we were never likely to tick these remaining fixtures off in a quiet, mundane fashion and an early goal for the visitors through Paul Benson, starting up front alongside Nathan Eccleston, was a great way to start. Eccleston, getting a very rare chance to play more than fifteen minutes, was in for the rested Bradley Wright-Phillips. Another rare starter was Kyel Reid. The second half was going to be one he'd remember, as will the travelling red and white army, for a long time to come.
A goal up at the interval, no-one would have predicted how the events would then unravel. Charlton doubled their lead only a minute into the second half. It was a peach of a goal from Reid from all accounts and one worthy of winning us the three points. The pirates, and the ref (possibly the biggest pirate of them all) had other ideas though.
Just around the hour mark, the addicks who were cruising had the wonder goal hero sent off for two bookings in about the same amount of minutes. Not much time passed before Semedo also fell foul of the man in charge and we were going to have to cling on with only nine.
As it turned out, even Sir Chris was sent packing to the stands, maybe a little too much sun for everybody. Bristol Rovers pulled the two goals back to take a share of the points, which they needed a lot more than us in their relegation battle.
It was nice to see that over 400 addicks made the trip west on this rather meaningless fixture. Although we fell foul of the pirates at the end, they certainly got value for their money. Three to go then...



Whilst we've got a sort of link to the radio..............ok, a very poor link.....
there has been a song playing at work on the radio every day that has really managed to get stuck in my head. It's called 'If you Wanna' and it's by The Vaccines. The name vaccines rang a bell with me so i checked my iTunes library to confirm. Yes, i had a track by this same group already.
Every week, iTunes have a single of the week which you can download for free. The other week it was a song called 'Norgaard'. I heard my thirty seconds, liked it, and downloaded it. So now I'm keen on two songs, and the album is available for under a fiver, well, what are you going to do?
It has got to be one of the freshest albums for ages. Its got the energy and catchiness of The Ramones, yet has wailing guitars and an almost dark edge which is so reminiscent of The Jesus and Mary Chain.
Wrecking Bar (Ra Ra Ra ) is the opening song. In true Ramones style, it's only one and a half minutes long and really ought to start 1-2-3-4 !!!
If you wanna follows, and to put it into perspective, this catchy single is in fact one of the weakest tracks on the album. Wetsuit, All in White, and Family Friend will, i think, go on to be Vaccine classics if the band don't turn out to become one hit wonders.
Out of twelve tracks, only three are over three minutes long. This is Indie with a large hint of punk energy. Listen to this album, it really will make an excellent addition to your collection. I was so surprised it's their debut album, it's going to be a future classic for sure.


With a cool, cool breeze and dirty knees,
I rest on childhood memories.
We all got old at breakneck speed,
Slow it down, go easy on me...................

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Heidi's Art

Spending an afternoon off work looking at some of the great paintings my wife has created, and i got to thinking, why keep it to myself. So here is some of it.
Painted on canvas, material, walls,  and some created on the computer, she does seem to turn her hand to anything.
ENJOY !!!!

This is an old college piece.


As is this huge piece. God bless these children.



No aerosols or stencils here.

The art of photoshop.


An old friend

This she did for a t-shirt design for me.


That's the wall of our lounge.


Another she did of/for me.



This is one of three large canvas pieces for the coffee lounge of our church.



One of the extravagance pieces....



And with the other two on the wall of Ginger Moo in Crawley.



And to finish, a small sample of the stuff she often has to produce for myself and the rest of the children's ministry at church.

I hope this has given you all a little pleasure at the start of this Easter weekend.

Have a great Easter and let's hope for three points in Bristol Saturday.

Monday, April 18, 2011

The Talented & The Devoted

This was never meant to be, or never going to be a solely Charlton blog. The title tells you that from the offset. My wife may well think my world revolves around the addicks but she'd be mistaken.
She is, and quite rightly, more important and special to me than a football club could ever be. And you can multiply every little bit of pride i have for the club tenfold, it still wouldn't be close to the pride i have for Heidi.
And when God dished out talent, he gave her a bucket load. I never get tired of realizing this.
Sunday's are always days we try to spend some quality time together, especially as I've spent most of my post work Saturday thinking, talking and breathing football. It's a little like redemption time.
Now the spring is really and truly here, Sunday's begin with a boot sale before church. This really isn't my thing. I'm not of a mindset to hunt through other people's crap searching for a bargain that i didn't know until then that i needed. But she loves it and to her credit, she's already thinking about the Christmas shopping and a couple of people are already sorted.
Church followed and i was once again on a break from Sunday school. I'm sure they think I'm overworked and need the break. That's three weeks off in a row, I'm sure next week they'll have a real gem of a morning lined up for me!
So home and an afternoon in the kitchen. Now I've already put pictures up on here of Heidi's amazing art work. And some of you have seen the odd cake she's baked, (and some have been a little odd!). But yesterday was an adventure into making Easter eggs. You can see the results. Awesome. Now you start to get the idea, I'd have been just as proud if they'd turned out badly. But they didn't, so I'm blowing her trumpet for her.


Another highlight of yesterday was Sutton United's crowning as champions of the Ryman League premier division. And that was without kicking a ball. On Saturday they had beaten Hastings 2-1 at Gander Green Lane. Their closest rivals, Bury Town, played yesterday away at Cray Wanderers. A win for the home side would seal the title for Sutton. OK, sounds pretty normal situation, but what really brought a smile to my face was that there were three sets of supporters at the match. A small pocket of the Sutton faithful made the trip (albeit not a huge distance) to Cray to watch as neutral observers. Being about the only two sides that play in chocolate and amber, I'm sure they slotted in quite well!
Cray got the victory and the trophy should be presented Bank holiday Monday down the lane, which interestingly is against bitter rivals, Carshalton Athletic. Sometimes you have to love how the fixtures pan out no matter what level you're playing at.
So for the fifth time, Sutton are champions of the Ryman league, and will line up at Conference South level next season. Much nearer where they belong. Congratulations!!!


Saturday, April 16, 2011

Terrierbly Unfair.

Last summer you would have had money on today's game being a six-pointer. Two of the losing play off sides both determined to go one step further next time around. It obviously hasn't worked out that way. Both Swindon and ourselves are a shadow of our former selves. Huddersfield, however, have firmly got their eyes set on the Championship. With something like twenty games without defeat, i was expecting an onslaught! And with Brighton already promoted, this side are pushing Southampton all the way for that second automatic spot.
The Huddersfield we got today looked more like a side in our position, not a side in the top three. Their fans certainly seemed more committed to promotion than the players. The Rose of Denmark was full of blue and white and full of good cheer. Not to mention a huge blue Union Jack draped across the front of the pub.
No, Huddersfield looked very ordinary and definitely there for the taking.
With the skipper suspended, we had Forch and Doc at the heart of the defence. I don't mind admitting, i was a little worried. Although they both looked clumsy, the visiting strikers didn't seem to take advantage.
The first half was very short on chances at either end and neither keeper was really tested. I think everybody in the ground would agree that Charlton edged it.
Michael Stewart had a great chance at the beginning of the second period but didn't connect well. Otherwise i think he looked like a fantastic option for us. An attacking edge to the middle of our midfield. I did get to see a little of him at Hearts and always liked what i saw. I think of him as a player who wears his heart on his sleeve and if we can get him to sign he could become very passionate about our club.
Again we looked the better of the two sides. I thought that after waiting forever for a goalless draw, we were going to get two come along together. How wrong i was.
A free kick to the visitors in dangerous territory was fired directly at our wall.  Substitute Kyel Reid put his hands up to protect himself and the ball struck them. It was a hand ball no question, so the wall was moved back ten yards to a position of extreme danger. Joey Gudjonsson fired home and that was that. We deserved a point, and got nothing. Not for the first time.
Once again we left the ground feeling like we had been robbed. But a spirited performance and a great effort from Scunthorpe at Selhurst eased the pain.
I must mention the gentlemen sitting a couple of rows in front of us. I think possibly they spent the first half in the pub. Fair enough i suppose considering how much we have to play for. Second half they amused themselves through forty five minutes singing incoherent songs. One young lad could hardly keep his eyes open whilst a much older acquaintance was up and down like a yo-yo. I've got to say, drunks can be a little embarrassing at best. When they're old enough to be your dad, it really was something to make you cringe. What made it a little bizarre was the fact he was sitting in front of a bee gee. Obviously not the volatile one.
I once again watched the match with Dean (whereslordlucan), and had the pleasure of a pre match pint with Marco (Marcocasual). Thanks guys for adding to my match day experience.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Brighton Rock


They certainly have this season. And tonight they got promoted after a seven goal thriller against Dagenham & Redbridge. We saw first hand how good this side are. A four goal rampage at The Valley back in October was a real lesson to us.
 I'm glad for them. Anyone who has a hatred of Crystal Palace has got to be good in my book. Add to that a lot of connections over the years, and ex-addick Radostin Kishishev a real former favourite of mine, and i have to say, the best team won. A new ground for the new season which looks fantastic when I've driven past it all makes the dark days of ground sharing a distant memory. I'm happy for their boss as well. Gus Poyet always seems an honest kind of guy, always happy, and a great knowledge of the game. When we got shot of Parky, there was a big shout to get Poyet into SE7. It was never going to happen. He'd already started achieving too much on the south coast. It's only taken him since November 2009 to turn the club around. He did have half a season to come to grips with an average league one squad before making it his own last summer. Powell doubters take note!!
They have without doubt been the best side in this division and have shown the rest of us how to get out of it. Playing great football, playing with confidence as a team. It's a great advert for the game. It's how football should be played. And as happy as i am for them, i cant help but feel it should be us............

I'll be going to Brighton Thursday afternoon for a wander through the lanes and a stroll up the pier. But i won't let the party atmosphere dampen my mood.

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Come on you yellow's !!!

Before a ball had been kicked at Boundary Park this afternoon, we knew Charlton's season was over. Before half time today Christian Dailly's was. Third red of the season, and that's a five match ban. From all accounts a moment of stupidity, which has prematurely ended not only his season, but possibly his Charlton career. The ageing defender is out of contract this summer after good service to our club. It would be a shame if his last moments in a red shirt were walking to the dressing room with his head hung low.

Once again a busy motorcycle shop in the sunshine ruins my Saturday. I was never going to get to Oldham, but there was a small chance of making it up the A217 to Gander Green Lane. Home of Surrey's finest team in amber and chocolate colours, Sutton United.
I've been down the lane more times than i care to remember and really fancied a top of the table clash today against Bury Town. But alas, the motorcycling public wanted my attentions to themselves. Why cant bikers enjoy football too, whats wrong with them all ??!!?
As it turned out, a two one victory for the U's has put them within touching distance of the title and promotion from the Isthmian (Ryman) league back to the Blue Square South. I can only imagine what a great atmosphere it would have been inside the ground. Andy Forbes and Craig Dundas both finding the back of the net as they have done so many times this season, before Bury pulled one back through a penalty to make the final period of the game a touch more interesting.
I've only made one appearance down the Lane this season. New years day and a local derby against Tooting and Mitcham. A game Sutton had in the bag yet still the visitors came away with a point. But over the years i've been fortunate enough to see a few classics.

I only used to live a ten minute walk from Gander Green Lane. Charlton were playing their home games at Selhurst which was an easy bus ride for me. But my folks were never going to let me travel the country on my own, so away days meant a trip to see my local non league side.
My first Sutton match was at Wembley! 1981 and an FA Trophy final against Bishop's Stortford. Sutton lost to a side that i believe had John Radford in it.My dad took me and i loved it. My first ever Wembley day out.
After that i was lucky to enjoy the late 80's with Sutton. I got to watch players that went on to play professional football. Paul Rogers, Stuart Massey, Paul McKinnon. I had my own Sutton hero's, Lennie Dennis, Mickey Stephens, Mark Golley. I even took a school friend who became so hooked, he became youth team secretary! But it wasn't always Waltham and Hersham that we played. I was there for Coventry.
Steve Ogrizovic, Brian Kilcline, David Speedie, Cyrille Regis and all. Even nearly got a hiding from disgruntled Coventry supporters on my way home. The last non-league club to beat a top flight side. Stuff of dreams. I even remember watching manager Barrie Williams and goalscorer Matthew Hanlan appear as guests on the Wogan show.I was also there at Carrow Road for the next round, an 8-0 thumping at the hands of Norwich!
But it was the season prior to that, that i most fondly remember.Third round of the FA cup and Middlesbrough came down the lane. A well earned 1-1 draw meant a midweek trip to Ayresome Park. And that went to extra time! If my memory serves correctly, Nigel Golley hit the bar and could so nearly have won it. Sutton eventually lost to a single goal and set off on a well deserved lap of honour. The whole of the ground gave them a standing ovation and i remember being so proud that i was crying my eyes out. Not bad for a seventeen year old with a big attitude problem!
That's why i struggle to get behind my now local side of Crawley. Never been to see them, only will if they play Charlton and I'll be out singing my neighbors! Unfortunately that could happen sooner rather than later. They got promoted to The Football League today. I was rooting for AFC Wimbledon if i'm honest. Can only have a place for one non -league side in my heart. Be lovely to see Sutton rise again. Come on you yellows !!!!!!!!!!

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

tweet with care

Last night saw another trip to the coast, this time to Southampton. I don't think many of us thought that even after Saturday's win, we could get more than a draw out of this fixture.
Listening to the commentary on BBC London radio, we were a long way off a draw. Average at best, against a Saints side that can play nice football, our defeat was deserved.
League tables don't lie. Last season Norwich played great football, this season Brighton and Southampton are doing the same. Fact is, we are not good enough. It was only last month that the Saints came to The Valley, put in one of their most disappointing performances of the season, and still came away with a point.
A lot to do in the Summer then. Chris Powell sees these lads every day. He sees how they train, their timekeeping, their attitude towards the club and each other. Hopefully, what he is seeing is a group of footballers that want to play for Charlton Athletic, and are proud to do so. He will also be aware of what his players are saying to friends, colleagues, supporters, press and on social networking sites.

It's great to be able to keep up to pace with the players on Twitter, it's a real bonus of this modern age. It is also however a spotlight on their thoughts. It's so easy to type a short statement in the heat of the moment criticizing or complaining, i know, I've done it. When however you have a few hundred or even a few thousand followers reading these thoughts it can cause uproar. I'm not condoning what the player(s) have said, and I'm glad they actually care enough to say it. It's just not the right place to do so. I'm amazed the club hasn't put a ban on players using Twitter. Gossip is rife, abuse is hurled and morale of the players and the fans is dented. Three hundred odd supporters went to St Mary's last night and were a real credit to the club. They sang their hearts out and supported their team. Many others sit at home ready to slate players and manager alike when things aren't going to plan on the pitch. I want to see enthusiasm, passion and desire from both the players and supporters. What i don't want to see is all this negativity and hatred. This is Charlton, stay proud to be a part of it.

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Intruder !

In forty years we've always been fortunate. Never once have we been burgled. You hear all these horrid stories from people who have had intruders in their house. The whole idea of a burglar is a nightmare, someone in your private space un-invited and having their grubby hands all over your possessions. What right do these toads have to take without asking the rewards of your hard earned?
So last night while Heidi and I lay in bed watching a film there was an almighty bang! I recognized it straight away as the front door. The bang was a very heavy (and loud) door knocker i had fitted that same afternoon.
First thing that sprung to mind, what can i quickly throw on to investigate. Why cant this happen while I'm dressed! So covered in dressing gown and Dangermouse slippers, i went gingerly onto the landing.
I'll add at this point that i live in a flat above the motorbike shop i work at. The front door is down a bleak looking passageway on a road with nothing but restaurants and take aways. Once inside the door you are faced with a staircase leading up to the flat.
Now it's not just the fact they're inside your house, it's the fact they could be armed with crowbar, knife, or who knows what this day and age. Not content with losing my telly, i could get a wallop thrown in as well.
So there i am speaking in a voice much louder than normal in the hope anyone within earshot will take that as a hint that i mean business. I know, I'll pray for them if i see someone, that'll scare them off! I made it to the top of the stairs and looked down. Door wide open but no-one in sight, so i ran down them and looked outside. Again, not a soul. Maybe they'd got up the stairs while i was still covering my modesty with the dressing gown. Back up and search the rooms. I burst into every one flicking the light switch as i went. We were ok. Whoever had been there had obviously not expected anyone to be in. The outside light had been on for our lodger who was working a late shift. Maybe they thought that light meant no-one was in. Who knows, main thing was, although the yale lock was damaged i could still shut the door and worry about it Sunday.
Shaken, we both went back to bed trying to ring our lodger to explain how to open the door. Would she pick up. No of course not. Heidi was concerned how we would sleep after this drama. She needn't have worried, five minutes later she was snoring like a good 'un.

After church today we went to B&Q. A new yale lock and an outside light with a movement sensor were purchased and then installed before the in-laws came round for Mothers Day.
I'm hoping Heidi doesn't even think about it tonight, and goes to bed without giving last nights events a second thought. We can put this behind us and put it down to experience.
It could have been so much worse, and i am so thankful something startled him and they ran off. Someone looking over us.
Sleep well.

Saturday, April 2, 2011

We thought it may never happen...

Today, however, it did. Charlton Athletic finally won. Today we had a happy Valley again and the boo boys sang the teams praises for a change. Eleven games without victory is an awful long time and at a quarter to four this afternoon, i really didn't think that poor run was going to end today. A first half of drab football and a goal for Leyton Orient, from ex-addick (always the way) Scott McGleish, and once again Charlton heads seemed to be on holiday already.
But what did Chris Powell say at half time? Whatever it was, it certainly had some effect. We saw a totally different team for the second forty five minutes. No sooner had we kicked off than Paul Benson latched onto a rebound after their keeper, who was in for quite an afternoon, saved the original shot from Wright-Phillips.
After that the Addicks really were on top and Benson could have easily doubled his tally from a Parrett free kick, except for a tremendous save, point blank from their stopper, Jones. He then produced another incredible save moments later from a fierce drive from Racon, tipping it over the bar.
Maybe it was going to be our day after all, and then one chance for the visitors and bang the balls in our net. The Orient lads ran off to celebrate only to be cut short as it didn't stand. Phew, they had been penalized for a foul in the build up. Charlton breath again.
But there was still so much more to come. Up the other end immediately and Jones, remember him, well he more than made up for those two fine saves.
In true stuff of nightmares, he threw the ball straight at Wright-Phillips who was only a few yards away, for what will remain in all Charlton memories as the funniest goal seen at The Valley for many a year. An easy slot home for the striker to keep up his good record. An easier goal he will never score. So 2-1 and we are actually winning. Could today really be the day?
Not only a win but to top it off a Semedo goal. Yes you did read that correctly. Semedo. He headed home from a couple of yards out after a cross from new boy Michael Stewart.
Fair play to Orient, they didn't roll over and hit the woodwork a couple of times in the last few minutes of the match but all to no avail.
We had done it. We had taken as many points today as we had in all those eleven games put together. The result was the one our performance deserved and the confidence that will give the lads for Tuesday's trip to Southampton will be immense.
I know its easy to get carried away with one great result, but i feel that with nothing more to play for than pride and a possible contract offer, we could enjoy some great football for the last seven games of this season.
It's been a while since my Saturday evening has been so elated.
Singing Valley Floyd Road, my only desire............