Addicks Charlton Athletic held bravely in FA Cup first round tie with non League Cray Valley Paper Mills.
The FA Cup does like throw up the completely unexpected and the element of surprise always leaves us utterly intrigued and almost baffled. Football can often take you to far flung locations where even the most improbable becomes a stunning possibility. The FA Cup is now that romantic rendezvous where those who play at grassroots level and just for fun, at times can often find themselves in the middle of a giant killing. We have been here so many times that you hoped that Charlton would survive unscathed against their local neighbours. But the neutrals were just hoping that the FA Cup would stick to its traditional script. You should never underestimate the underdogs because they do growl frequently.
And yet this was no candle lit meal in a restaurant for two since both Charlton and Cray Valley Paper Mills have just begun what could be the most gruelling of all journeys. It was never likely to be easy for League One Charlton since they were the Football League with pedigree and status while Cray Valley Paper Mills were lumbered with the most extraordinary name of them all. This was meant to be David against Goliath but this would not be the case. Charlton were supposed to sweep aside their non League opponents with the dismissive air of a snobbish landowner of a country estate who waves away nosy and inquisitive tourists.
But this was the first round of the FA Cup and therefore a voyage of discovery for all of us. Had anybody ever heard about Cray Valley Paper Mills before and how on earth did they get this far in this most revered of all Cup competitions? After all, we always love those mouth watering moments when the Cup just leaves us shocked and stunned. We should have known better since these encounters are supposed to be straightforward, a non League side playing in the backwaters of a division over 170 places below their celebrated League One opponents.
Charlton Athletic of course have won the FA Cup before so they know exactly what to do when the Cup comes calling at the Valley. In 1947 Charlton beat Burnley at a time when most of Britain was recovering slowly from the nightmarish traumas of the Second World War. At a time of grey austerity, severe rationing, hardship, poverty and squalor, Charlton were still the surprise packages of football's hoi polloi, upstarts and parvenus, impostors and intruders at a party they were never expected to be invited to.
In the modern and new Valley, the symbolic reminders of Charlton's past still remain. The Jimmy Seed stand is still a nostalgic throwback to the days when Charlton were a force to be reckoned with if not quite the side with designs on top flight League domination. Twenty years ago Charlton were rubbing shoulders with the elite company of the Premiership as it was then known. But then the decline was rapid and alarming and the Addicks simply lost control, dropping down to the lower divisions quite disastrously.
The illustrious names of the past such as the dependable Keith Peacock will never be excluded from any dinner party conversation. Peacock was captain, leader of the pack, steadying, calming, an influential defender who played with his heart on his sleeve. During the 1970s the likes of Derek Hales, Mike Flanagan, Steve Gritt and the former West Ham midfield general Alan Curbishley were shining beacons of excellence. For a while it all seemed tickety boo and roses around the garden for Charlton, a buoyant and progressive, go ahead side who knew their station in life. Charlton were classically adventurous, pleasant on the eye, civilised and respectable, measured passers of a ball and consistent goal scorers.
But sadly Charlton have now been consigned to the game's lower reaches, the sculleries, the parlours down stairs where the cooks and chefs earn an honest crust without ever being seen. They have now endured successive relegations and this is truly heartbreaking. The recent demotion back to the Championship of the once all conquering Leeds United is a perfect example of what happens when you reach a certain altitude and then slip down the slippery slope from whence you came.
On Saturday evening though it was lovely to see this happy family club with an authentic community spirit. Charlton may be striving to find their bearings once again but they remain undaunted. Sometimes relegation almost seems grossly unfair but there is a stubborn defiance about Charlton, a hardened resilience, an impassioned voice still capable of making themselves heard in more exalted company. The Valley will never be that vast amphitheatre that once hosted a 75,000 crowd just after the Second World War but the gladiatorial spirt is still there.
In Michael Appleton the Addicks have an experienced coach who has been down this road before so his footballing knowledge comes with painstaking attention to detail and the credentials are impeccable. They are progressing slowly but surely. At the back James Abankwap, Lucas Ness, Terrell Thomas and Adetayo Edun combined with an admirable sense of street intelligence and forward thinking positivity. Then Karoy Anderson, Conor Mcgrandles and goal scorer Scott Mitchell all looked both polished, comfortable on the ball and then imaginative in their distribution of the ball.
This of course was billed as a local Greenwich derby between two teams separated by perhaps a couple of supermarkets and some attractive, local furniture warehouses. Cray were here as seemingly makeweights, helpless punchbags for this lethal Charlton attack. But this was markedly different. Cray wanted this occasion to be remembered for as long as they could and determined to make their noisy neighbours struggle despite the chasm in class between the two sides. They knew this would be their FA Cup Final but then reality struck with a vengeance.
Charlton, beginning brightly, confidently and wisely, a tidy and presentable team with no airs or graces hoping to overcome what they must have thought was just a minor obstacle. They built their attacks with a constructive mind set and at times looked a side who just might fulfil their destiny in seasons to come. They may not be quite ready for harder battles and greater challenges yet. On Saturday night though at the beginning of November, they made the first tentative steps back towards what they will hope be their Premier League destiny.
When Charlton inevitably took the lead in the early opening stages, most of us anticipated a one sided spectacle where Football League superiority would develop into a very long evening for Cray. And indeed this looked like a familiar story, with well rounded characters and the most coherent of plots. After a deft and delicate exchange of passes, the ball was threaded neatly through to Scott Fraser who easily rounded Cray goalkeeper Sam Freeman for Charlton's opening goal.
But gallantly Cray Valley Paper Mills came out for a crucial second half, reinvigorated, revived and stimulated by the private thought that a plausible comeback was still in the offing. They ran and passed, spraying strategic attacks on the Charlton goal and swarming forward like bees hovering around a hive. With the lively Arthur Lee, always conscientious Hassan Ibraham probing and pestering for possession, Sonny Black full of dash and diligence and Matthew Vigor always carving openings with a passionate dedication to duty, Cray were never short of attacking ideas.
And then the visitors emerged from their shell and rallied bravely in the second half. Their heroic endeavours were rewarded with an equaliser to treasure. The green and white shirts finally pounced when, a startling and lightning exchange of passes on the half way line saw Ibrahim's beautifully subtle through ball with the outside of his boot find Lisbie whose sharp cut back from the by line was sadly converted into his own net by Lucas Ness. So it's a replay at Cray's Artic Stadium and the FA Cup juggernaut continues its national tour around the country. We would never have it any other way.
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