Blackett-Taylor wreaks havoc as Charlton dominate Doncaster Rovers

Corey Blackett-Taylor was the star of the show for Charlton Athletic as they ran out 1-0 winners at relegation-threatened Doncaster Rovers in South Yorkshire.

Charlton’s wing-back was in impressive form on a glorious afternoon at The Eco-Stadium, contributing an assist for Jayden Stockley’s winner in the 67th minute.

The 24-year-old’s afternoon had started brightly from the outset, and in the opening 45 minutes, he gave Doncaster full-back Aidan Barlow a torrid time which led to Rovers boss Gary McSheffrey withdrawing him at the break.

As early as the fourth minute, The Addicks should have taken the lead. Blackett-Taylor had Barlow and his suitors tangled in knots following a burst into the box, and as the ball fell back into the path of striker Stockley, his effort was cleared off the line with goalkeeper Jonathon Mitchell beaten.

Ten minutes later, Charlton had a golden opportunity to take the lead, and once more, it was born out of some brilliance from Blackett-Taylor. Having received the ball just inside Doncaster’s half, he breezed past the attentions of Barlow. Although he appeared to overrun the ball as he progressed into the box, a poor challenge from Kyle Knoyle led to referee Sam Allison pointing to the spot.

As Mitchell read the striker’s tactic, Connor Washington’s spot-kick was poor, gathering the ball well and low to his right.

Blackett-Taylor in action against Lincoln City earlier in the season

Not deterred by the miss, Blackett-Taylor continued to lead the charge and had the beating of Barlow at every opportunity. He almost found himself in on goal after an exchange of passes with Scott Fraser just after the half-hour mark but could not connect on the midfielder’s return pass, which would have seen him clean through on goal.

The former Aston Villa academy graduate then turned provider, and if Washington had been more alert to the play, he too would have found himself in the clear but was too slow to react to Blackett-Taylor’s crisp pass.

The experienced Adam Clayton had to come to the rescue twice to save teammate Barlow and deny Charlton’s number 23 as he quickly brushed aside the full-back and charged into the box with a combination of power and skill.

To compound a miserable half for Barlow, he was booked just before the break for hauling his man down and was subsequently replaced at the interval, having left himself in a precarious position against such dominance.

Rovers’ Ollie Younger was tasked to quieten down Blackett-Taylor in the second period, and for a spell, Charlton could not get him on the ball as Doncaster started the second half in better shape.

Blackett-Taylor soon got into his stride and was unfortunate not to pick a man out following some excellent wing play, beating his man before standing up an inviting cross to the back post with his left foot.

He did get his rewards, however, on the 67th minute. Picking the ball up in the final third, Blackett-Taylor beat Knoyle all ends up with powerful play, and as he reached the byline, his pinpoint cut-back was swept home by Stockley in front of a delighted away end.

He almost crowned his afternoon with a goal himself a few minutes later as another marauding run saw him burst into the penalty area, only to see his left-footed strike beaten away by Mitchell.

Confusion on the touchline brought Blackett-Taylor a booking in the dying moments in a contentious moment that had incensed the home support, which threatened to blemish his afternoon.

As the wing-back had finished receiving treatment and was waiting to be allowed back onto the field of play, referee Sam Allison signalled for Doncaster to continue with their set-piece in the final third, much to the annoyance of the Charlton dugout.

As the visitors defended and subsequently broke, Blackett-Taylor ran onto the pitch to nick the ball away from John Bostock to get Charlton clean through on the counter.

 

With the home support up in arms and Allison brandishing a yellow card to Taylor-Blackett for which appeared unsporting play, his manager Johnnie Jackson attempted to clear the situation up and defend his player at full time.

“I’m just glad it can speak about the comedy now because it hasn’t cost us. I was trying to bring him on and we told the official that.  We then had to defend the set-piece situation with 10 men, which we shouldn’t have to do.

“The fourth official then sends him on at admittedly a terrible moment. He should never have sent him on so it’s not the lad’s fault. And then the next thing, we’re obviously clean through which would have been scandalous, to be honest.”

Asked about the performance of his starring player, Jackson was delighted Blackett-Taylor was back to his best following his move from Tranmere Rovers.

“He’s in great form. He’s enjoying his football and enjoying the role (wing-back). We try and provide a way to get people on the ball, which I was really pleased with how we have done that today.

“And then you know it’s down to him. He’s playing wing-back when really he is a winger and that’s how we use him. He gave them an incredibly tough time and they had to make a change at halftime because he was causing so much havoc.

“It’s good that he’s back free from injury and he’s able to put those sort of 90-minute games in He is getting better physically and what he’s bringing to the party in terms of his play, is excellent.”

He has had to adapt to his new position but Blackett-Taylor is thoroughly enjoying the new experience and working hard on the training ground to be more adaptable for the team.

“In terms of attacking, I’m believing in my ability to create chances for goals and that’s what I seem to be doing of late and feel that I’m doing just that.

“I’ve never played it (wing-back) before. When I first played it, I struggled a bit, because I was getting used to a lot of work and training on it.

“But now in games, it’s paid off. It’s just positioning, doing things on the training pitch and then looking at the analysis. A lot of those sessions do help. And then game by game and the more you play, the more you get better. So that’s how I feel like I’ve improved.”

On this showing, with his Michel Antonio style running, the challenge for the former England Youth international is to build upon his solitary goal and three assists following a disrupted campaign.

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