Charlton 2-1 Portsmouth: Addicks continue promotion hunt

Joe Aribo and Lyle Taylor fired the Addicks to an important win over Portsmouth at The Valley.

With important points on the line, both sets of fans made a lot of noise attempting to inspire their teams to all three points.

Jamal Lowe looked bright early on, finding space in the channels on both the left and right wings.

It would be Lowe to have the first sight of goal. Following Oli Hawkins flicked header, Lowe found space on the right-hand side of the box to shoot but his effort was blocked.

Charlton would have their first flurry forward not long after as Anfernee Dijksteel’s drilled cross landed at the feet of Igor Vetokele, however the forward could not connect and the ball span clear of the area.

Aribo was the bright spark for The Addicks in the first half gliding through the Portsmouth midfield on multiple occasions.

Jonny Williams would create the first clear-cut chance of the game. His drilled ball found Josh Cullen with space to shoot in the box, however his goal bound strike was inadvertently blocked on the line by Vetokele.

Pompey seemed to struggle with crosses into their box and following a Cullen corner, Aribo found himself unmarked, but his effort looped over the bar.

Charlton had mounted significant pressure onto Portsmouth for the majority of the first half but lacked any real cutting edge.

Charlton would finally make their pressure pay in the 40^thminute. Cullen’s cross-come-shot landed at the feet of Aribo who beat his man and fired the Addicks into the lead.

The goal forced Portmouth to put Charlton under pressure and would not take long for Portsmouth to equalise, a wonderfully weighted corner found left-midfielder Ronan Curtis with room to emphatically head home and put his side level.

After the break Portsmouth looked to take their momentum into the second half. The South-Coast side had the ball in the net in the 48th minute, but the linesman ruled the goal out for offside.

Charlton would score just moments later though as Lyle Taylor restored their lead. Following a determined run from half-time substitute Ben Reeves, the ball fell to the feet of Taylor who had an easy finish into the open net.

Substitute Tariqe Fosu almost netted an excellent individual goal; after beating a defender with a step-over, he burst into the box firing his effort narrowly wide.

Fine goalkeeping from Craig MacGillivray denied The Addicks an opportunity to double their lead; Taylor’s flick on fell to the feet of Bauer who had his effort saved.

Portsmouth’s best chance of the second half would fall to Lowe. As the ball dropped nicely at the back post Lowe failed to direct his effort on target leading to jeers from the Charlton fans.

The South-Coast side failed to make a flurry of chases pay in the closing stages with Charlton able to see out the closing stages to gain an important three points in the race for promotion.

Joe Aribo proved Charlton’s man of the match as his vital opening goal and effective attacking play saw Lee Bowyer’s team through to a crucial three points.

Charlton:

Dillion Phillips, Anfernee Jijksteel, Krystian Bielik OFF 45’, Patrick Bauer, Lyle Taylor (Goal 52′), Igor Vetokele OFF 83′, Ben Purrington, Joe Aribo (Goal 40’), Jonny Williams OFF 58′, Naby Sarr, Josh Cullen

Subs: Chris Maxwell, Chris Solly, George Lapslie, Darren Pratley ON 83′, Tariqe Fosu ON 58′, Ben Reeves ON 45’, Josh Parker

Portsmouth:

Craig MacGillivray, Nathan Thompson, Christian Burgess (booked), Matt Clarke, Lee Brown, Tom Naylor (booked), Jamal Lowe, Gareth Evans OFF 75;’, Ben Close OFF 60′, Ronan Curtis (Goal 44’), Oli Hawkins OFF 60′ (booked)

Subs:Alex Bass, Anton Walkes, Brandon Haunstrup, Dion Donohue ON 60′, Viv Solomon-Otabor, Brett Pitman ON 75′, James Vaughan ON 67′