Charlton held by London rivals

Barclays Premiership

CHARLTON missed the chance to go second in the Premiership after London rivals Fulham held them to a 1-1 draw at The Valley.

While the derby was open and full of endeavour, it was also peppered with mistakes by teams coming off the back of a fortnight's rest.

After the match Alan Curbishley was philosophical. He said: "Fulham stopped us and we never had the answer. I'm disappointed about the way we played, though I'm pleased with the point.

"We tried a little bit too hard. We were trying wonder passes and we weren't prepared to work the opening.

"But give Fulham credit, they got their noses in front and were worth a point."

And it all started so well for the Addicks when play-maker Danny Murphy, the new Barclays Player of the Month, released Dennis Rommedhal into Fulham's penalty area.

The Dane cut inside Alain Goma and his low shot beat Mark Crossley but not the left-hand post.

At the other end Moritz Volz burst through from right-back and passed, albeit selflessly, when shooting was the better option and the chance was gone.

Charlton looked to lone striker Darren Bent to make an impact but the man with seven Premiership goals to his name was being marked out of the game.

Radostin Kishishev had a chance to release Jerome Thomas on the left but he chose to sail a long ball to Bent who was beaten in the air.

It was the wrong choice of pass and it set the scene for much of this game.

The combination which provided Charlton's first opening provided the second when Murphy again threaded the ball through the eye of a needle for Rommedhal.

This time the Dane ran to a tight angle and Carlos Bocanegra was able to block. From the corner Hermann Hreidersson headed wide.

Minutes later Kishishev was booked for a foul on man-mountain Papa Bouba Diop and while the Addicks were re-grouping, Fulham struck.

Former Addick Claus Jensen sent Steed Malbranque dashing down the right and the Frenchman's cross was met with a crisp volley from 12 yards by Collins John.

John ran to the Fulham dugout in celebration of a wonder goal while the majority of The Valley fell into a deathly silence.

Fulham's left-back Phillippe Christanval was booked for a late challenge on Chris Powell which hurt the visitor more than the host and he was substituted five minutes later.

Referee Mike Riley waved away appeals for a Charlton penalty when Hreidarsson appeared to be elbowed by Goma as the pair waited for a sky-high clearance to descend.

The half ended with Powell, Thomas and Bent going close but Hreidarsson had the best chance sliding onto to Rommedhal's low cross only to see his connection squirm wide of the post.

Fulham could even have doubled their lead when substitute Tomasz Radzinski fired across goal and wide when scoring was probably easier.

Whatever Curbishley said at half time did the trick as Charlton were level within three minutes of the restart.

Powell's cross from the left found the unmarked Murphy who rifled the ball home for his fourth goal of the season but moments later the goal scorer was lucky not to be booked after clattering into Jensen.

Curbishley made a change on 60 minutes bringing on Jay Bothroyd, who hit a hat trick in his last Charlton appearance against Exeter City in testimonial match.

But the mistakes were creeping into the match and all too often Charlton lost possession cheaply in midfield and Fulham would stage an attack before losing possession themselves, allowing Charlton to move up the pitch to lose possession again and so the story went on.

On 75 minutes Talal El Karkouri replaced Kishishev to a rapturous welcome and the Moroccan's first contribution was to be booked for a late tackle on Fulham skipper Luis Boa Morte.

The final stages were played out in the same mistake-riddled fashion and in the end Charlton fans left uttering comments of "Woeful".

The Addicks are now fifth in the Premiership and, following one point out of a possible nine from three London derbies, Curbishley will probably be pleased the next one is not until after Christmas.

Charlton: Andersen, 6; Young, 6; Hreidarsson, 5; Perry, 6; Kishishev, 6 (El Karkouri, 75); Bent, 5; Murphy, 6; Thomas, 5 (Bothroyd, 60); Rommedhal, 6; Powell, 5; Smertin, 7 (Hughes, 81).

Subs not used: Spector; Myhre.

Att: 26,310.