Charlton boost their promotion hopes with a win at Rochdale

Charlton Athletic maintained their promotion charge and ended the day in the Play-Offs as they eased past strugglers Rochdale.

The Addicks sailed to another win on the road as they beat Rochdale 2-0, with both goals coming in the first-half through Chuks Aneke and Deji Oshilaja.

In what was a convincing win, Charlton can take many positives from a game in which they dominated from start to finish. Despite making four changes, Lee Bowyer’s side looked in control throughout and started the game in a 4-4-2 formation with Aneke and Jayden Stockley providing a physical threat upfront.

It took just seven minutes for Charlton to get off the mark as Charlton’s forward fired them ahead notching his tenth goal of the season.

The striker received the ball with his back to goal, after showing great strength to hold off the defender he then spun and dispatched a lethal finish into the far corner to open the scoring.

The visitors continued to dominate as they looked to build on their early lead and they almost added to it shortly after through Liam Miller whose shot was goalbound, however it was Ollie Rathbone who made an important block diverting it onto the crossbar and behind for a corner.

Despite Rochdale’s best efforts in defence, Charlton did in fact double their lead just before the half-hour mark. The goal came through an unlikely source as it was defender Oshilaja who got the all-important goal, despite an initial great save from the Gavin Bazunu.

The ball got recycled and it was the defender who flicked it past the Rochdale goalkeeper for his first-ever Charlton goal.

Credit: Charlton Athletic

Charlton weren’t happy with two and were on the hunt for more. Aneke looked in the mood and almost grabbed his second of the day just minutes later.

After some good work down the left-hand side, the striker found himself in space just inside the box, however, his shot was deflected and struck the post as the woodwork denied the Addicks for the second time.

On a day where Rochdale struggled, one positive was the performance of youngster Kwadwo Baah who looked threatening down the left side. Baah, who was recently signed by Manchester City, has been loaned back to Rochdale for the remainder of the season, the winger looked sharp as he drove at defenders beating them at will.

The starlet managed to carve out an opportunity just before the break as he skipped past the defender before cutting inside, his shot was, however, blazed well over the bar, but at just 18-years-old he looks a real prospect for the future.

The Dale came out in the second-half looking more resolute in defence, although they lacked creativity and failed to test Ben Amos in the Charlton goal.

This defeat left them hanging precariously just four points above the relegation zone in 18th position and with just two wins in their last ten league games. Manager Brian Barry-Murphy will be hoping for a change of performances in the coming weeks.

Charlton themselves didn’t create much after the break either, however, their two-goal cushion was enough to see them through in what was a comfortable day out for the Addicks.

Leading goalscorer Aneke proved to be the difference and on another day he could’ve grabbed himself a hat-trick hitting the post while also coming close on a few occasions in the second-half.

The physical partnership upfront of Aneke and Stockley proved too much to handle for Rochdale, as the pair were a real handful and caused issues to the returning Dale captain Eoghan O’Connell.

The Irishman had been out for the previous six weeks due to injury but really struggled as he battled with the pair all afternoon and eventually getting booked for a coming together with Aneke. It was an afternoon to forget for the defender.

Next up for Charlton is a home fixture against mid-table side Gillingham, a game Lee Bowyer will be hoping to win and continue their momentum after a solid performance at The Crown Oil Arena.

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