The lowdown on Charlton 1 Shrewsbury Town 0 – Lloyd Jones’ impressive stats as Small makes big contribution
Thierry Small scored a very late winning goal for Charlton Athletic as they defeated Shrewsbury Town 1-0 at The Valley.
Here is the lowdown on the match.
THE LINE-UPS
Charlton: Maynard-Brewer, Small, Gillesphey, Jones, A Mitchell (Ramsay 75), Edwards, Coventry, Docherty (Godden 74), Berry (Anderson 74, T Campbell, Leaburn (Aneke 63). Subs not used: Mannion, Edmonds-Green, Kanu.
Shrewsbury Town: Blackman, Hoole, Benning, M Feeney, J Feeney, Lloyd, Ojo (Perry 78), Gilliead (Shipley 58), Castledine, Nsiala (Nurse 84), Marquis. Subs not used: Savin, Biggins, Gape, Stewart.
SNAPSHOT OF THE GAME
The real drama in this match came very late on. Shrewsbury looked set to make it a smash-and-grab raid when Luca Hoole’s cross put a shooting chance on a plate for Jordan Shipley but he produced a truly horrible – and terrible – finish. Costly. In fact, super costly. Because the next moment there was a chance for Small at the other end of the pitch and he swept it convincingly home to spark mass celebrations, the Charlton bench flooding on to the pitch. A big three points and a result that the hosts fully merited without creating bundles of chances. The Shrews offered precious little in the final third.
TACTICAL APPROACH
Manager Nathan Jones named an unchanged starting 11 for the seventh match in a row – no mean feat. The backline looks very settled although Small now has extra pressure to keep producing big performances now that Kayne Ramsay is back available and an option at right wing-back. Jones had the luxury of being able to bring on two experienced frontmen in the closing stages with Chuks Aneke and Matty Godden replacing Miles Leaburn and Greg Docherty.
STAR MAN
Lloyd Jones. Can’t be a coincidence that Charlton defence is more stable now that their vice captain is back. Completed the most passes (107) of any player. He was also top for clearances (14) and aerial duels (10).
BEST MOMENT
This wasn’t a classic, so it’s not going to come as a huge shock to anyone that it was Small’s goal. The Addicks are two points off the top six and have a game in hand of Barnsley, who lost today and occupy that final play-off position.
MOAN OF THE MATCH
Hard to decide between the poor set-piece taking of the hosts and also referee Scott Tallis. You know an official is disrupting the flow of a match when it feels like it is just a steady stream of free-kicks. Maybe if he had let some moments go then it could have been a better spectacle.
A TALKING POINT DOWN THE PUB
Thierry Small. Will he stay or will he go? Not in this month’s window, but at the end of the season? The club activated an option to keep him at Charlton this season but he will be out of contract in June. Charlton are protected in some respect by the fact he is under the age of 24 and so commands compensation, although that shrinks if he opts to move outside of England. Small has had a nomadic career and he needs to settle down somewhere.
WHAT THE ASSISTANT BOSS HAD TO SAY
“Having another clean sheet is a huge bonus for us because we know that when we go into the games, the players we have on the pitch, will create chances and the lads we can bring off the bench – the game-changers – have made a real impact in the last few weeks.”
PICTURES: PAUL EDWARDS
