Charlton lost further ground on the top six and their play-off aspirations were dealt a major blow as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Fleetwood. Charlton are now six points below Sunderland, who have a game in hand over the South-East London based club
The Addicks got off to a flying start in the sixth minute when Andrew Shinnie crossed the ball to Jayden Stockley, who headed in from close range to score his third goal in his last four outings.
The early setback seemed to spark Fleetwood into life as Kyle Vassell missed a gil-edged chance when he fired wide from just 10 yards with only Ben Amos to beat.
Missing
Charlton never found their rhythm in the rest of the half, and were able to carve out half-chances only, with Stockley and midfielder Darren Pratley both missing the target.
Fleetwood’s persistence was rewarded just three minutes before the break when Mark Duffy’s drag back was met by skipper Paddy Madden to drill home from just eight yards out to make it all even at the break.
Three minutes into the second half, Fleetwood had a chance to take the lead as Danny Andrew’s shot from 35 yards out just went wide of goal.
In the 59th minute Northern Irish international Vassell had tested Amos with two crisp strikes, the Addicks’ shot stopper producing two fine saves to keep his side in the game.
Search
Ten minutes later Amos came to the rescue again as Fleetwood defender Callum Connolly’s header from a corner kick was expertly tipped over. The hosts continued to search for a winner however it finished 1-1 as Amos’s saves were a big factor in Fleetwood not being able to grab the three points.
A late tussle between the two sides threatened to ruin an otherwise entertaining and open game.
Speaking on the club’s website Charlton manager Lee Bowyer said that the performance could’ve been better, however he mentioned that the conditions made the game difficult. Bowyer added, “A well-fought point, it just wasn’t pretty. We were trying to play out in the second half because of the wind, we couldn’t even get the ball halfway up into their half, we tried to play out and when we were doing that, we were just inviting pressure”.
Both teams are in action on Tuesday as Charlton host Burton and Fleetwood travel to Sunderland.
