Tonbridge Angels (1) 5 Boachie 26 Soares-Jr 57,75 (pen) Fagg 69,85
Charlton Athletic U21 (0) 1 Viggers 47
Attendance: 833
Admission: £8
Programme: None
Mileage: 38/216
Weather: 17degC., cooled to the point that I wished a coat
Four pre-season games in and you start to see a pattern of team selection and have your own thoughts on who might make up the starting XI come 5th August and then along comes some individual performances within a great team performance that absolutely blow those thoughts out of the water!
Let’s not get carried away, this was a younger Charlton Athletic side than their Under-21 billing suggests but for 45 minutes they remained competitive with Jeremy Santos, given the warmest of welcomes, still drifting around the Longmead midfield with a purpose.
I had nine names in my thoughts, possibly 10 as Ruben Soares-Junior enjoys a productive pre-season, with just the man up front open to question. But then Tommy Fagg produces a performance that shouted to his manager, “don’t forget me”; and in midfield where Lewis Gard and Scott Wagstaff sat out the first half, there was Johl Powell making his point and further forward, Nathan Green, also giving due notice that he doesn’t want loan spells away this coming season.
It was massively encouraging, as was an attendance of 833, that, you can guess, came along principally to see Tonbridge, as there had been no pretence that this would be anything other than an age group Charlton side, especially as Addicks fans would have known that their first team is presently in Spain.
Jay Saunders side were not only good, they were very good! Barring a couple of lapses of concentration at the back with wayward passes, they played with a flair that was very pleasing on the eye.
After 26 competitive minutes the Angels went in front as Soares-Jr weaved his way towards the right-hand bye-line to cross short to the new post from where Joe Boachie, another staking a claim, found the net with a cheeky back heel.
This was followed, just two minutes later, with Fagg hitting the bar from 20 yards.
Charlton fashioned an equaliser within two minutes of the restart through Ryan Viggers but from that moment on, the home side took control of the game and never loosened their grip.
On 57 minutes, a right hand corner saw a towering header at the near post from Jamie Fielding come back off the crossbar for Soares-Jr to stab home from close range.
Fagg got the goal he deserved on 69 minutes when a cross from Gianni Crichlow was nodded in at the far post and six minutes later when a panicked Charlton hand in the box led to a penalty, up stepped Soares-Jr with the confidence to Panenka the goalkeeper.
After Fagg hit the post a second time, the game was wrapped up with five minutes to play when the makeshift striker scored with a spectacular near post header from a Crichlow cross after some good work from the Academy’s Hayden Velvick.
Proof is that with three friendlies yet to be played, no one in the squad can rest assured of their place at Worthing.
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