Well that's more like it. Charlton finally picked up their first win of the season on a blazing hot day at the Valley, and perhaps most satisfyingly of all, the pride and passion returned in abundance in an excellent performance against Leicester, one of the leagues in-form teams.
Pre-match there was a good few eyebrows raised by the already nervous and pessimistic Addicks when the team was released including a number of changes and a 3-5-2 formation. If it was a brave gamble, Powell got this one spot on. Isn't it typical of Charlton that when all hope looks lost they pull out a result?
No Solly. Not even on the bench. We were told he has a knee injury, but could it be his time with Charlton is up? Monday's transfer deadline day will reveal all, I guess. Fingers crossed he stays as I can't see any funds generated from his sale going back into the team.
But today we never missed him. In Solly's absence, Wilson whizzed up and down the right hand side superbly and on the other flank, Wiggins looked more the player we know he can be. Pritchard returned from suspension and gave us a typical lung-busting performance, covering every single blade of grass. Quite how some Addicks can't see how important he is to our side is beyond me. Kermorgant was a beast! Church deserved a goal for his non-stop running up top.
Morrison's first half goal calmed the nerves and Big Yann's header lifted the roof in the second half. Leicester pulled one back but our defence held firm, even throughout 6 agonising and unjustifiable stopage time minutes. The final whistle blew, the Valley erupted. Relief. Huge relief.
Off the pitch it was great to finally pick up a copy of @ValleyTalkBlog's brand new Charlton fanzine, Valley Talk. I met briefly with Joe, the man behind the new publication, before the game and I was struck with his drive and passion. If you follow him on twitter you'll know he's a breath of fresh air amongst hot-headed Addicks with his fair-minded and balanced views on Charlton and I wish him success if he tries to make the fanzine a regular feature. Oh, and by the way, my contribution to the publication can be found under the title 'The Valley; A Story of Destiny and Desire', wrote under my real name of Rod (no, I'm not called Hungry Ted as that would be odd).
Anyway, I'm off now to cook my dinner and have a celebratory beer. The season is finally underway for Charlton and we finally have a performance we can be proud of.
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