20/20 maybe all the rage, but I'm more of a test cricket man myself. On a similar note, end of season 5-4 jolly-ups keep the young fans happy, but I much prefer these ugly, MMA one nils. This to my eye was an utterly brilliant game of football, and one in which we narrowly deserved the win against a very good team.
There were loads of talking points all over the pitch and in a switch from normal "match report mode" I want to touch on a couple.
Let's talk about Ryan Johnson. His continued inclusion over the last few weeks has sparked many a pub debate, I think that discussion is surely over after this. He was magnificent here from minute one (aside from one "a swing and a miss!" in the box which we've all done). Towards the end the "magnet mode" function on his forehead went into overdrive. At one point I counted four defensive headers inside a two minute period. Ryan is back, it's great to see and the manager has been vindicated for sticking with him.
Sam Hutchinson is a fine footballer isn't he? A couple of his through balls looked about as out of place in L2 as Del & Rodney did in fancy dress. My only regret while watching them was that he didn't play for us when we had Ali. Our revered front man could have gotten a hat trick every week with his pace and Sam's vision. One small word of caution. A fella bought me a Jaegerbomb in the pub last night and foolishly I drank it. Finally accepting that I'm not eighteen years of age anymore is a constant challenge for me. Sam probably doesn't do Jaegerbombs, but he DOES like an "all-in" tackle. He was booked for one when he got there a bit late, then was extremely lucky ten minutes later when the old legs didn't quite get him there in time to make any contact at all. If they had, he was gone and his reaction revealed that he knew it. That's the thing with 35 year old legs, they're a bit slower. Time to use his experience a bit and only go in when the time is right. And obviously don't do Jaegerbombs.
Omar Bugiel, our best player, is a giant when he's in this mood. He was absolutely magnificent and if we DID get promoted, would be in my opinion be easily able to make the step up. My one gripe with Omar is that the difference between when he's like he was yesterday and when he's not really at it is a bit too big. If he can add consistency to his brilliance, he might even go further than league one. He is a superb player.
Matty Stevens, I think this was his best goal of the season, an absolutely superb finish. The centre half thinks he's heading it out and six feet before the ball is due to hit his head, he is. Mattys little bit of movement in front does for him completely though. The poor lad is left heading thin air and our man gets another goal. This is a finish way above L2 level, if any scouts of bigger clubs were there we might be looking at offers for our man in January. Players who have that knack, that fox in the box instinct are very rare. If I was managing Charlton or a team at a similar level I'd be seriously asking myself if what we had is better than Matty Stevens. I have a feeling that is already happening. Matty is undoubtedly a better player now that he was earlier in the season, his rise and style reminds me a little of Alfie May.
We are a good team. We are in my opinion one of the best five teams in the league, and NONE of that five are outstanding. That is to say that I think we are as good as anyone else in the league. If we can continue to hang on in there despite our injuries, we could even win the thing never mind reach the playoffs.
COYD
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