CHARLTON columnist MATT FRICKER explains why he feels a proud FA Cup performance at Fulham has only increased the belief 2012 will be a special year for the Addicks.

ANYONE who was at Craven Cottage on Saturday afternoon will tell you that 4-0 was an incredibly harsh score line on Chris Powell’s Charlton Athletic.

The night before I was on the club’s fan radio show Charlton Live where I argued if both sides put out the strongest teams they could, Fulham would probably win 2-0.

On reflection I think a 2-0 defeat was a just scoreline, 4-0 merely flattered the hosts.

That’s not to say the Premier League side didn’t play well, Philippe Senderos and Brede Hangeland were fantastic at the back, as was keeper David Stockwell.

Apart from those three, however, I felt there was only one other stand out player in the Fulham team.

Sadly for the Addicks that player was Clint Dempsey, who proved his world class quality with a somewhat fortunate, but brilliantly executed hat-trick.

While we were beaten, an awful lot of positives can be taken from the performance, as we were by no means embarrassed in our play.

It’s fair to say if we had been able to score during our 15 minutes of constant pressure at the start of the second half the result may not have ended up quite so heavily in Fulham’s favour.

But onwards we go.

I still have a sneaking suspicion Martin Jol is rather keen for his side to try and win the FA Cup this season (a shame for him then Everton are next – sports ed) , which is part of the reason why he chose to field his strongest side against us.

We now look toward the rest of the season, 22 matches between now and May 5, 66 possible points to gain and our next two games are against the sides sitting second and third in League One.

Personally, I’m confident if Powell’s men take to the field at Hillsborough on Saturday with as strong a performance that they showed at Craven Cottage, then the Addicks will return home to SE7 with a comfortable and important three points in the bag.

However, as Powell constantly says, the Addicks need to take each game one at a time, as there’s still a long way in this season.

It’s hard not to be excited at the recent performances, though, as on current form, 2012 could turn into a year of fantastic success for Charlton Athletic Football Club.

Come on you Addicks!

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