A game of three thirds

The old 'two halves' cliche didn't really ring true yesterday, as the Addicks, little more than spectators for the first half an hour, completely turned the game on its head after 30 minutes to boss the rest of the match with another assured away performance, collecting three points in the process.

Much was made prior to the match about our inability to win a game after going a goal down - yesterday's second half put paid to that, with Murphy and Ambrose in particular outstanding and two very well-taken goals finally deflating Pompey to the extent that the last quarter of an hour was little more than a formality.

It was oh-so-different at the beginning of the match, as, with Portsmouth rampant going forward and the Addicks seemingly unable to string two passes together, it looked like we were in for a long, hard afternoon. Spector looked very nervous in his full debut, allowing players far too much time and space, and Hermann looked worryingly like he had at the arse end of last year (crap, for all those not in the know). Lauren 'Cheating Bastard' Robert brought a good save out of Andersen, tipping his fierce effort onto the post very early on, then made a good low save from O'Neil.

Little service from the midfield meant Rommie and Ambrose (recalled for the injured Thomas) offered little respite for the Addicks, resorting to humping balls into the channels for the tireless Bent to chase down. The game became a bit fractious, although there was nothing really nasty about it - yet Webb still managed to find excuses to book Hermann & Kish in swift succession. It was little surprise when Portsmouth took the lead. A long ball down the right was totally missed by Hermann, who slipped a little as he turned, allowing Dario Silva the time to collect the ball and forage into the box. Still there seemed little immediate danger as he appeared to take it a touch too far, but the Uruguayan smashed his shot low across Andersen and into the far corner - a superbly taken goal.

However, instead of trying to build on this, in a period where they were so obviously dominant, Pompey left Silva isolated up front and didn't really push home their advantage. Had they done so, perhaps the game would have turned out differently. As it was, Charlton grew in confidence and began to stroke the ball around midfield with more authority. Ambrose went on a mazy run before shooting straight at the Pompey keeper, then, about five minutes later, tried his luck from further out with the same result. There was one further scare in the first half, Perry's clumsy collision with Silva could have led other refs to assume the worst and point to the spot, but Webb for once saw it for what it was - a wily forward with bags of experience in the Spanish league trying to con a penalty out of him.

Clearly having given his team the hairdyer treatment at half-time, Curbishley came out looking like, for want of a better phrase, he had 'the right arsehole'. Whatever he said worked, as the Addicks started the second half in the ascendancy, their slick passing frustrating Pompey into rash challenges - one of which saw Vignal go into the book for upending Smertin, perhaps the only yellow of the day for either side which was truly worthy of a caution.

Despite being on top, the Addicks had a real scare on the hour mark, as the largely ineffective Vukic hit a low shot which brought a superb stop from Andersen down to his left. Minutes later, the Addicks were level. Murphy was now finding the room in the hole behind Bent and fed a lovely ball into Ambrose who coolly slotted under Ashdown's body as the Pompey keeper advanced to narrow the angle. This truly knocked the stuffing out of Pompey, and they were lucky not to conceded again immediately from the restart as a woeful backpass from Vignal almost saw Bent sneak in. Eventually being forced wide, he nevertheless sent a peach of a ball over for Ambrose, who had managed to sneak into the box unmarked but directed his header inches over the bar.

Webb again became the centre of attention as (thankfully for the Addicks) he brought play back with Pompey breaking dangerously for a non-existent head injury to the interestingly-coiffured Viafara.

This was to prove Pompey's last real chabnce of salvaging something from the match, however, as shortly after, Danny Murphy picked another gem of a through-ball for Rommedahl, who leathered a scintillating shot high into the far left corner of the net, giving Ashdown no chance.

Despite Vukic skying a good chance for Pompey, and Perrin bringing on two striekrs for the last ten minutes or so, it was the Addicks who looked most likely to score again, Ambrose inexplicably booked for diving by the useless Webb despite clearly being caught by Ashdown as he skipped past him, and JJ, on as a late sub, firing wide when well-placed.

Another excellent away performance (5 wins out of 5) which saw us climb to second in teh table again. Bring on the West London league of nations in the fizzy pop cup!

Pompey

Ashdown - 7 - No real chance with either of the goals and made some notable stops
Vignal - 6 - Reasonable, but wants too much time on the ball and made a real hash of a backpass shortly after our equaliser to almost gift us another
Stefanovic - 7 - Excellent job on Bent, despite being run ragged all afternoon he never really gave him a sniff
O'Brien - 6 - Reasonable
Taylor - 5 - Average - one decent effort in the first half but not the paciest
Priske - 6 - Lively
Robert - 5 - Not a threat, except for one effort that Andersen tipped onto the post early on. Still a cheating bastard as well as bone idle
Viafara - 6 - Ungainly, but good engine
O'Neil - 7 - Looks a very good player. Nice range of passing and inventive on the ball
Vukic - 5 - Can look good one minute, but absolutely terrible the next. No touch at all but a willing runner
Silva - 7 - Excellent strike for the goal. Wily after years of playing in Spain, he needs a partner up front for Pompey to get the best out of him

Subs

Hughes - 5 - No impact (introduced too late)
Todorov - 5 - See above
Mbesmua - 5 - See above (are you starting to see a pattern here, Perrin?)

CAFC

Andersen - 8 - His best performance in a Charlton shirt. No chance with Silva's goal and made three or four outstanding saves, including one from Vukic that was world-class
Young - 6 - Assured at the back, but little threat going forward
Spector - 6 - Looked poor for the first half hour but may just have been nervous as he was much better in the second half
Perry - 8 - Outstanding at the back again
Hreidarsson - 6 - Bad misread for Pompey's goal. Looked a little nervous playing with Spector
Smertin - 6 - Quiet, and gave the ball away far more often than usual. Looked a little tired and needs a rest
Kish - 7 - Tireless running, important tackles. Charlton's best player in the first half hour and held us together when Pompey threatened to overrun us
Murphy - 8 - His second half performance was inspirational. Even in the first half when things weren't running for him you could see him urging everyone on and never let his head drop. In a word, superb (again)
Ambrose - 8 - A menace all afternoon. Excellently taken goal, seems to have an almost telepahic understanding with Bent and not afraid to do the donkey work either
Rommedahl - 7 - What a strike for the winner! To be honest, his crossing was pants as usual, but he has developed an excellent ability to ghost behind full backs, inviting Murphy to find him with crisp through-balls
Bent - 7 - Ran all day long, hassled and harried the Pompey back four. The epitome of a lone striker's performance away from home

Subs

Johansson - 6 - Bit of an odd one this, as he offers no more defensive cover than Rommedahl (who he replaced). Had a good late effort but pushed it wide
El Kak - 6 - Brought on late to counter the two strikers Perrin introduced and won some important headers

Ref

Webb - 4 - A pain in the arse. Dished out 5 yellow cards when only 1 was warranted, and denied Pompey a clear opportuinty when whistle-happy for Viafara's 'injury'. Fussy and demonstrative throughout.

MOM

Tough one this week. Rommie, Murphy and Andersen all in with a shout, but it has to go to Ambrose for his tireless workrate, ability to change the game when drifiting inside and his well-taken goal

Quote Of The Day

"I put our team on the board at half-time and told them I've got just three players out there, eight weren't doing it. I told them if that carried on they would be sitting with me in the second half."

Alan 'maths not my strong point' Curbishley
so we would have ended up with six players on the pitch after your subs then Al?