Tactical switch pays off for Nigel Adkins as Charlton Athletic break duck with 2-0 win over Crewe
BY LOUIS MENDEZ
Nigel Adkins tweaked his formation for today’s clash with Crewe and bore the fruit of his switch as Charlton ran out 2-0 winners.
The Addicks switched to a four-man midfield and two up-top as Conor Washington operated alongside Jayden Stockley for the first time this campaign and it paid off as the duo linked up for the South Londoners’ second goal shortly before half-time.
Diallang Jaiyesimi had already headed the home side ahead nine minutes before the break and they held on to record a first win of the campaign – to the relief of the majority of the 13,167 inside The Valley.
“Last season and this season we’ve gone with a 1-4-3-3 with the personnel that we’ve got,” explained Adkins.
“We’ve started the season that way but when looked at last week’s game in particular, we’re getting into the attacking third but not getting enough bodies in there. I didn’t expect Conor Washington to be available last weekend, he managed to come in. We brought Charlie Kirk in as well, so we’re adding strength to the group. That way Jayden is not isolated as much when we’ve got Conor in there. Sometimes, if you’re not careful, you can play a front two and get overrun in the middle of the pitch so you have to be mindful of that. But we were attack minded and created a lot of opportunities.
“Conor Washington and Jayden Stockley played really well. We want a team who will work their socks off for each other and Conor does that. He’s prepared to run and run in beyond. You need to be able to go and penetrate so you can stretch the game and go and play. He does that really well for us and will go off to international duty in good spirits.
“We played well. It was a great atmosphere at The Valley, we scored two really good goals, should have scored a lot more goals, but you can see the spirit amongst the players, the work ethic. We’ve been working really hard on the training ground and a lot of the things we put on the pitch today to get the result that we needed. Clean sheet, two good goals, should have scored some more really.
“Everyone knows you’ve got to get results but I’ve been really pleased with a lot of things that have been going on. We’ve spoken about the spirit of the players and wanting to learn. We’ve strengthened the group as well which is important. Really pleased with the attitude and the application of all the players and all the staff. There’s a big togetherness. Today, the fans got right behind the players yet again and it was a good afternoon all round.”
PHOTOS: PAUL EDWARDS