Charlton and Nathan Jones draw more comfort after giving leaders Pompey a testing afternoon
Charlton Athletic (0) 0
Portsmouth (0) 0
Maybe the Addicks will get em in singles.
Charlton's winless run is up to 18 after their third draw in a row under Nathan Jones, but the way things are going at the foot of the League One table, maybe a point a game from now on will prove enough to keep heads just above water.
It's still no win since Cheltenham at home in late November and 2024 has been no fun at all, but there is unquestionably a belief among the home faithful that the new boss can lead them to safety.
They now have three away games in a row - at Derby, Northampton and Cheltenham - which will go some way to deciding the direction of travel for the remainder of the season.
For now though, there has to be a groundswell of optimism after holding league leaders Portsmouth, having arguably even had the better of it.
There were plenty of signs of encouragement for the Addicks throughout. They hardly looked like a team 19 places down the table from the league leaders.
Daniel Kanu hit a post early on and Alfie May came within a whisker of converting a Tennai Watson cross fired in towards the near post. Karoy Anderson almost found a way through after robbing Conor Shaugnessy inside the area, but failed to find a team-mate in space to finish the job.
At the back, Charlton were good at getting back quickly in numbers to block the breakaways and Pompey seemed risk-averse. Boss John Mousinho - the former Bees midfielder - seemed to be wary of the potential for a manager-bounce upset.
The longer the game went on, the more it looked as if the Addicks might find a way to rid themselves of their terrible recent record and they built up spells of pressure well a couple of times - home fans in good voice willing them to make the breakthrough.
After one of a succession of corners, Rarmani Edmonds-Green drilled goalwards, but it was too direct and keeper Will Norris was able to parry the ball to relative safety.
Pompey did not trouble Harry Isted that much after the opening salvos - when the keeper had to be alert a couple of times to keep the game on an even keel. As the game progressed, they troubled him less and less..
Late on, Abu Kamara had a deflected shot that only just cleared the bar, and it needed a superbly-timed tackle from Macaulay Gillesphey to deny Myles Peart-Harris a late winner, but there were otherwise surprisingly few moments of alarm.
Green shoots and all that.
Addicks: (3-5-2) Isted - Edmonds-Green, Jones, Thomas - Watson (Gillesphey 78), Bakinson (Camara 78), Dobson, Anderson (Edun 90), Small, Kanu (Campbell 90), May (Aneke 61)
Pompey (4-2-3-1) Norris - Rafferty, Raggett, Shaugnessy, Ogilvie (Sparkes 61) - Moxon, Pack - Kamara, Lang (Yengi 73) , Lane Peart-Harris 73) - Bishop
Attendance: 16,732
