Addicks booed off pitch as they sink to two late goals against Latics at The Valley

By Paul Lagan at The Valley

Charlton Athletic 0 Wigan Athletic 2

Attendance: 13, 839

Charlton were dealt cruel blows late on as a point seemed in the bag but within minutes they were 2-0 down to Wigan Athletic at the Valley this afternoon and left the pitch pointless and to a chorus of boos from frustrated fans.

The players left the pitch with shouts of ‘You’re not fit to wear the shirt,’ echoing round the stadium as they trudged off.

A thunderous header by Latics skipper Tendayi Darikwa was the difference between the sides in an otherwise uninspiring encounter in South London.

Then, with six minutes added to the regulation 90, substitute James McClean showed a clean pair of heels to the Addicks defence before rounding Craig MacGillivray to double the score.

Charlton are yet to win in League One this season and after four games sit just inside the relegation zone.

After a rather lacklustre start with neither side showing any great ambition, the Latics were the first to have an effort on goal.

On 13 minutes, Wigan’s Callum Lang, on the right, showed a tricky twist and turn before dipping a perfect byline cross to the far post.

Wigan had two men waiting to receive it, and Jordan Jones was the one who struck it with his head.

Goalkeeper Craig MacGillivray was beaten, but the crossbar came to his aid and the ball rebounded off the woodwork to safety.

MacGillivray earned his wages on 20 minutes when he got the f8nest touch on the ball which came in from a deep left-side free-kick. it was one of those inward curlers, that just needed a glancing touch, but none got to the Jones effort and the ball seemed destined for the left hand corner of the stopper’s net, but he kept his eye on the ball and steered it to safety.

Charlton survived and gradually got a foothold in the game, without troubling ex-Addicks goalie Ben Amos.

The final ball when played in from either flank was almost always intercepted before striker Jayden Stockley could get involved.

MacGillivray was quickly becoming the saviour for the hime side and once again, on the strike of half-time he dived acrobatically to his left to thwart Tom Naylor’s header after he latched onto Lang’s free-kick.

There were no changes by either side at half-time.

A fine counter-attack started by midfielder George Dobson on 53 minutes saw the hime side carve out their best chance of the game.

Dobson raced through the Wigan half before sending the ball wide to his left for in-running Diallang Jaiyesimi. The wide man cut inside but his left-footer sailed high into row Z behind Amos’s goal. Chris Gunter missed a sitter on 59 minutes, when his near-post chopped side-footer six yards out, spun across the goal-line and was cleared.

Corey Blackett-Taylor entered the fray on 69 minutes, Jaiyesimi made way.

With three minutes left on the clock, the visitors struck the decisive blow. A regulation deep byline cross was met with a thumping header at the far post by skipper Tendayi Darikwa which sailed past MacGillivray.

Six minutes were added to the end of the 9-

Teams: Charlton, MacGillivray, Gunter, Dobson, Famewo, Jaiyesimi, Stockley , Morgan, Matthew’s, Kirk, Inness, Watson

Subs: Harness, Pearce, Washington, Blackett-Taylor, Davison, Clayden, Elerewe

Wigan, Amos, Watts, Naylor, Whatmough, Cousins, Wyke, Keane, Jones, Lang, Darikwa

Subs: Jones, Pearce, Edwards, Massey, McClean, Aasgaard, Humphrys

Referee: Craig Hicks