Greg Morley reports from a five-goal thriller…
Charlton Athletic came from a goal down to beat Reading 3-2 on a thrilling Saturday afternoon in South London.
Pavel Pogrebnyak gave the visitors the lead five minutes before the interval with a fine finish following a relatively even opening 45.
The Addicks started the second half in much better fashion, and were given the chance to draw level on 58 minutes from a handball by Reading’s Michael Hector.
Yoni Buyens stepped up to send Federici the wrong way and make it 1-1 with half an hour to play.
Buoyed by the goal, the home support were in full voice at The Valley, with Reading, who play Arsenal at Wembley for an FA Cup final place next month, struggling to get a foot on the ball.
The comeback would be completed for Charlton just over 10 minutes after their equalizer.
Joe Gomez was allowed time and space on the right hand side to deliver a perfectly weighted cross into the box. Buyens arrived perfectly on cue to send a curling right footed shot into the left corner of the net, for his and Charlton’s second of the game.
10 minutes after, a third goal arrived for the hosts to put the game beyond any doubt.
Once again Charlton were awarded time and space on the right channel, with Tony Watt beating a man before darting inside to the by line. He cut the ball back well to find Simon Church, who had the simple task of making contact with the ball from just a few yards out to make it 3-1 to the in form Londoners.
Reading’s Daniel Williams was then giving his marching orders five minutes from time for a second bookable offence, which looked to ensure a comfortable last few minutes for the Reds.
But some sloppy defending in stoppage time allowed Pogrebnyak to slot home from close range, after Charlton had plenty of opportunities to clear a right-wing cross.
Nevertheless, the visitors couldn’t find an equalizer which now means Charlton have now won seven of their last nine league matches. That impressive run means they now sit comfortably in 11th position, safe of any relegation fears they had over the poor Christmas period. Next up for them is a trip to bitter rivals Millwall on Good Friday, who incidentally are seven points away from safety down at the foot of the table.