Charlton’s U’18’s take on south-London rivals Crystal Palace this weekend, in what will be a vital game for the side’s title hopes.
The young Addicks currently sit in fourth spot with seven points off the top, and with two games in hand on third place Bristol City.
Palace on the other hand will be looking to close the gap on Charlton and make a late push for the top four themselves.
The Eagles are currently five points behind the Addicks in fifth and are in great form having won four of their last five league games.
Tight At The Top
Coach Anthony Hayes’ Addicks have been in patchy form of late with two wins in their previous five league games, amongst a fourth round FA Youth Cup elimination to Blackburn Rovers.
Last time out saw Hayes’ side earn a point against high flying Watford who are currently in second place, and challenging Millwall for top spot.
Goals have been hard to come by recently for Charlton, having only scored one from their last three which was from the penalty spot.
Their defensive record has been impressive with just 18 goals conceded in 17 games, giving them the best defensive record in the league this season.
Wasted Opportunities
Despite a decent point, Hayes spoke to Rising East about his disappointment in the result:
“We were too wasteful. We created a number of chances and got into some good areas, but we need to score more goals.”
Goal Threat
He also expressed his praise for the players attacking threat in recent games, and the work they’ve been doing in training:
“We can absolutely hammer teams by four or five goals. We need to stick with what we’re doing and eventually it will click, we will score four or five easily.”
The Addicks’ upcoming fixture will be played this Saturday at Sparrows Lane and is set to be a thriller, with kick-off at 11am.
“Charlton Athletic” by Ewan-M is licensed under CC BY-SA
“Charlton Athletic” by Ewan-M is licensed under CC BY-SA
