Charlton Athletic 2-3 Port Vale – a second-half thriller with Ojo to the fore

Port Vale picked up their first away win since New Year’s Day with a game of two halves on Saturday afternoon.

Welcome to our new feature for the 2023-24 as a selection of supporters offer their opinions on the game.

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Rob Fielding – an excellent three points

The Match

The Valiants put their opening day shocker firmly to bed as they recorded their first away win since New Year’s Day and their first win at the Valley since 1996.

To some surprise, Vale started with James Wilson upfront. It looked to be a poor decision initially as the home side bossed the opening period with Vale unable to make the ball stick upfront. However, there was controversy about the way Charlton took the lead. There appeared to be no contact between Connor Ripley and the Charlton forward but the ref saw it differently and awarded a penalty. Ripley could not repeat his Reading heroics as May gave the home side the lead. It could have been worse later in the half but for a Dan Jones goalline clearance.

However, things changed dramatically in the space of two second-half minutes. Firstly, James Wilson leapt to expertly steer a header home from a Vale free-kick. The away fans barely had a chance to take that in before they were leading. A gaping hole in the Charlton defence was exploited by the excellent Chislett who broke clear and finished expertly to put Vale ahead. Unfortunately, Chislett then had to depart injured.

The home side pushed for an equaliser and it looked like it may finish in a draw but Vale still had a goal in them and Charlton’s defence still had a mistake left. Sub Josh Thomas, on for Wilson, harrassed a Charlton defender who made a hash of his clearance. Thomas broke clear but although his shot was saved he was aware enough to pick himself up and sidefoot the ball to Ojo who tapped the ball into an open net.

There was still time for nine minutes of extra-time which saw a couple of excellent Ripley saves as Vale held on to take home an excellent three points to Burslem.

Talking Points

Perhaps Vale are cautious about rushing Mitch Clark back after his injury but his absence was felt on the right flank where unfortunately the hapless Tom Sang was all at sea. The newcomer does not look to be a wingback and unfortunately for him the ball followed him like a magnet during a poor opening 45 minutes. Hopefully, he will recover from this game.

I’d also hope Ethan Chislett’s injury isn’t a serious one as he’s been a real asset to the Vale side this season. His run and finish were excellent but his performance was also littered with clever touches and movement.

Finally, fans may have raised eyebrows at the length of Funso Ojo’s contract extension this week but how he showed his worth on Saturday! He was everywhere including popping up on the six yard line to tap home Josh Thomas’ pass. The man of the match without question.

This was Port Vale’s first away win at Charlton since Tony Naylor’s stunning hat-trick way back in 1996!

Player Ratings

Connor Ripley 7 – I didn’t think he was to blame for the penalty and he once again made some important saves

Tom Sang – 5 – Looked out of sorts on the right flank

Dan Jones – 7 – A good performance including a vital goal line block

Nathan Smith – 7 – As battling as ever in the back three

Alex Iacovitti – 7 – Also did well clearing his lines and powerful in the air

Conor Grant – 6 – Anonymous at times but possesses moments of quality

Funso Ojo – 9 – My man of the match. Seemed to be everywhere

Oliver Arblaster – 7 – Another impressive display from the youngster

Ethan Chislett – 7 – Looks a quality addition to the midfield but unfortunately injured

Ben Garrity – 6 – Not as influential as his midfield colleagues

James Wilson – 6 – Couldn’t hold the ball up in the first-half but did score a crucial goal

Subs

Massey – 6 – brought some energy to the side when replacing Chislett

Thomas – 7 – set up the all-important third with a determined run

Clark – 7 – replaced the out of sorts Sang to shore up the right flank

Lowe – 6 – brought on to aid the defence and saw out the Vale win

Plant – 6 – brought on to counter Charlton’s pace and didn’t let anyone down

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The Evil Dead – a deserved three points

The Match

A similar pattern seems to be emerging with the Vale here. Another example of a game of two halves. A pretty lacklustre first half display. Nothing too worrying but not a lot being offered in the final third. Charlton took the lead with a penalty from Alfie May. The less said about that decision, the better. An outrageously bad dive paired with an equally appalling decision to award the penalty. Frustrating.

The second half was a complete contrast. Where have we heard that again? Vale levelled the scores with a deft header into the far corner from a lovely Ethan Chislett delivery from a free kick. Within 60 seconds, the Vale were in front. A long ball and poor defending allowed Chislett a run through on goal, with the classy midfielder curling the ball over the goalkeeper to send the travelling fans wild. The hosts were back on level terms thanks to a great header from Daniel Kanu.

I guess we’d take a point away from home? No, not this Vale side. A long punt upfield, defensive hesitancy, a never-say-die attitude from Josh Thomas saw the Vale take the lead again. The goalkeeper initially saved the striker’s effort, but he got back to his feet to slot it into the path of Funso Ojo for a simple tap in. Nine minutes of injury time followed but Vale saw it out with relative ease for a deserved three points.

Talking Points

Pre-match questions would’ve pointed to the fact, after two excellent defensive displays, would we able to add goals up the other end? Would we finally get that first away win since the win at Forest Green Rovers on New Year’s Day? As Meat Loaf would say, two out of three ain’t bad. The goals came, the win came but the defensive excellence was missing on this occasion. After that opening day disaster, it’s actually turning out to be an excellent start to the season. We’ve turned in three good performances against the more fancied sides. With newly promoted Carlisle up next at Vale Park, can we now put the lesser fancied sides to the sword?

Star Man

Ethan Chislett – another display just oozing class. He’s that creative spark that we’ve missed for a long while. A goal and an assist. Wonderful player.

Player Ratings

Ripley 6 – solid afternoon for our number one. The penalty was a terrible decision so nothing to blame him for that. Couldn’t do anything about the second either. Great header. Made two or three good saves late in the second half.

Jones 6 – A ropey first half with a fee stray balls and lack of concentration. However, a much better second half display with some excellent balls, last ditch blocks and helping to clear the lines.

Smith 7 – typical Smudge. Head in where it hurts. Battling, digging in. Love to see it.

Iacovitti 6 – another battling effort from The Yak. Won headers, dug in towards the end and made one excellent clearance off the line to deny the home side.

Grant 5 – did his job ok. Nothing to write home about but nothing to pick up on.

Sang 4 – struggled playing at wing back for me and was constantly targeted by their partnership down the left. Poor day.

Ojo 7 – our Belgian maestro. Scored the winning goal. Industrious in the middle. Constantly recycles possession. He never gives the ball away, we would sing? Would’ve been my MOTM but has dropped to a 7 as I definitely think he was lucky to avoid a red card for the last ditch tackle where he clearly took the man out.

Chislett 8 – see Star Man. MOTM.

Arblaster 6 – another good effort from the young man. Keeps the ball well. Did lose it on occasion but held his own.

Garrity 6 – another grafting performance, chasing lost causes. Good to see.

Wilson 7 – a great goal to get off the mark and bring us level. Clearly not 100% yet but showed bits to be positive about. Hopefully he stays fit.

All subs made a positive contribution and would get a solid 6 for endeavour and helping the team. Thomas gets a 7 as his tireless energy and endeavour forced the winning goal. A great outlet to have.

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