Four takeaways from Charlton’s controversial 1-1 draw at Barnsley: Positive display tainted by contentious call
Charlton fought back to earn a point at Oakwell after going behind in contentious circumstances. Here’s Louis Mendez’s four takeaways from the 1-1 draw at Barnsley.
BEST PERFORMANCE FOR A WHILE
That was a decent performance and a deserved point.
The South Londoners unsettled their Yorkshire hosts in the opening stages and should have edged ahead with the couple of chances they had. The best fell when Corey Blackett-Taylor was gifted possession inside the final third but fired into the side-netting when he had a couple of options in the middle.
The contest threatened to swing when the Tykes edged ahead in controversial circumstances midway through the half. George Dobson felt he had shepherded the ball out. Referee Simon Mather felt otherwise. Herbie Kane centred for Adam Phillips to break the deadlock.
But whist the Addicks have been rocked by conceding goals at times this season, and perhaps with a sense of injustice behind them; they seemed galvanised. They continued plugging away and started the second-half on the front foot.
Barnsley, who suffer from mixed home but had only lost one of their last nine in League One, finally started to have a real spell in the ascendancy midway through the second-half.
But the Addicks punctured that by hauling themselves level. Tayo Edun’s probing ball into the box fell into the path of Corey Blackett-Taylor. The winger composed himself and rifled home his eighth goal of the campaign.
Both sides searched for a winner but had to settle for a share of the spoils.
A CONTENTIOUS CALL
The quality of officiating in the Premier League and the EFL is constantly called into question and Michael Appleton certainly felt hard done by after the decision, or lack thereof, that led to Barnsley’s first-half goal yesterday.
Dobson was certain he had seen the ball out. Whilst the replays seem to suggest he could have had a good case, it’s not possible to say with any certainty. The camera angles aren’t in line with the goal line and leave some unanswered questions about whether any slither of the curvature of the ball remained hovering in the goal line’s airspace.
It would have been an impossibility for the assistant referee on the far side to assess it with various posts and players in his eye-line. Referee Simon Mather might not have been certain and with that comes a split-second choice that may well have been wrong.
I bet it doesn’t make the decision any easier to take though. Didn’t make me feel any better writing that.
CONTROL THE CONTROLLABLE
As much as Appleton was frustrated by the call, Dobson should have been aware of the danger of just stopping still.
Playing to the whistle is one of the first aspects of football taught to youngsters and in this case the failure to do so probably cost Charlton two points. You cannot control the referee, but you can control how you react to situations and scenarios on the field.
Switching off could also be why Phillips found himself unmarked in the penalty area. It goes to show that any break in concentration can be punished in an instance, even if the circumstances should never have come to be.
RUN OF FORM
That’s now six unbeaten for the Addicks in League One. Those games had been punctuated by some cup disappointments, especially away at Gillingham where Charlton were poor.
And there haven’t been enough wins in that time. Just two of those six have been maximums – away at Wigan and home to Cheltenham.
Victories have been hard to come by on the road for the Addicks this term but they are now four unbeaten on the road for the first time since April 2022.
These results leave Charlton nine points shy of the top six – and it would have been worse had Derby County not conceded a 98th-minute leveller against Wycombe Wanderers.
We all know where this seems to be going. The monotony of the dead rubber-filled second halves of Charlton’s last two seasons were soul destroying. If we’re not there already, we’re on the brink.
Charlton desperately need a string of results over the Christmas period – the final three games of 2023 are all against sides below the Addicks. Seven points must be seen as the minimum requirement.
PHOTOS: KYLE ANDREWS
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I see so many comments saying Dobbo should have played to the whistle, but when did referees start blowing their whistle when the ball goes out of play? In my experience, they simply use a hand gesture to indicate a goal kick, corner or throw in. I don’t believe Dobbo would have stopped and walked away if he was in any doubt the ball was out. The ref didn’t have a clue and not only on that decision on Saturday.