The appeal of football in England was never better demonstrated than by the attendance at The Valley on Saturday, 26,546 were at the game against Stevenage.

It was one of the club’s ‘Football For A Fiver’ promotions but it clearly demonstrated the interest the game holds. Advance the clock 24 hours and the Sheffield derby eclipsed that crowd by 10,000! Chris Powell discussed the gate and his team’s performance after the game:

“First things first, I’ll talk about the crowd and it was an exceptional turnout after a great initiative from the club.

“I’m sure the chairman will wish we charged a little bit more, but it created a really good atmosphere.

“It was back to the days when I was fortunate enough to play in front of a packed Valley and I’m really pleased we got a really great result.

“We won the game, got a clean sheet and Bradley Wright-Phillips scored as well, so it was a great day all round.

“What’s key to that is scoring first, I really believe that.

“We’ve had some tricky nights recently, going a goal behind and then teams packing their defence but you know that teams have to open up if we go 1-0 up and I think that’s good for us.

“We have got players that used the space well and use the ball well and we saw that in abundance in the second half.

“It was two teams cancelling each other out in the first half but I felt we were excellent in the second period and we created numerous chances.

“Chris Day made four or five really good saves, but a wonder goal by Michael Morrison and a good finish by Brad completed a really satisfying and steady 2-0 win. I’ll take that every game, home or away,” said Powell.

One of the most satisfying aspects of the performance was seeing Bradley Wright-Phillips end his goal drought. The striker had four or five other excellent opportunities and but for his profligacy, and some good saves by Chris Day, Stevenage could have been on the end of a drubbing. Here’s what Powell had to say about Wright-Phillips:

“I think what was good was from the first few minutes he was trying to get in behind.

“We did work on that after I watched the Stevenage DVDs and I watched them live a few weeks back as well.

“They are a dogged team and they don’t give you time but I thought if we managed to show composure, and showed a bit of patience, we would get the right ball and the right service into our frontmen and we did that countless times today.

“So after Michael’s excellent strike it was all about trying to get that second and Brad’s movement and his willingness to keep going, which is important for any striker who is going through a barren spell, was very good.

“Everyone is willing him to score and when you get the chances and it doesn’t happen, you could quite easily hide but he hasn’t done that.

“He finally got his goal and I’m sure he will be thinking ‘I could have got two or three today’, but I’m really pleased that he’s got it.

“It may have come off the defender, but it’s definitely his goal. It’s important for him now and important for the team in this crucial run-in, with 14 games to go, that you have players who are notching goals every other game.

“It’s important now for us to maintain our focus and get the goals that we need to win games and get points for us to be a success this year,” commented the manager.

It was a stunning opener from Michel Morrison that set the Addicks on their way. The goal was one a striker would have been proud of but it did not surprise Powell:

“It was a superb goal, he’s an ex-centre-forward when he was a junior and I knew from my Leicester days, that he always had an eye for a goal from corners. That was from a corner and he kept it alive.

“It was a superb strike and fully deserved. He’s turning into a bit of a cult hero here with the fans because he is effective in both boxes and has formed a terrific partnership with Matt Taylor.

“They want clean sheets, and they really enjoy defending, but equally going up the other end, we know that they can get on the end of things and Michael’s chipped in with some really crucial goals.

“He scored last week at Tranmere and today was a crucial goal and a wonder-goal and it gave everyone confidence.

“It lifted the crowd, it lifted the whole place and I felt from then that we were in the ascendancy and there was only going to be one winner,” said Powell who went on to explain how his players were keen to avenge that fist defeat of the season at the Lamex in October, “I spoke to the players on Thursday and yesterday and said we don’t need any motivation as they are one of two teams that we had lost to and we hadn’t scored against. We haven’t scored in two games out of 32 – Stevenage and Orient.

“We knew it would be a tough game. Fair play to them as a football club to come up from League Two and be in the position they are in and still in the FA Cup after changing their manager, you can only applaud them after that.

“I knew it would be a game where they would love to upset us. There was a big crowd and what have you but fair play to my boys that were on duty today, because we got one over them. We got the points we wanted, we got the home win we wanted and in a good fashion as well.

“There was some confident and good football at times and it was much needed and I’m really pleased.”

Huddersfield at the Galpharm is probably the most difficult match the Addicks have left. They have completed their fixtures against the two Sheffield clubs, MK Dons as well as Stevenage. With 14 games to go, Charlton have already amassed enough points to have qualified for the play-offs in almost every other season, but their sights are set considerably higher.

The relentless schedule continues at Chesterfield on Tuesday evening. Things are looking very good right now with yesterday’s victory for Sheffield Wednesday keeping the Addicks ten points clear at the top of the table. This is the way Powell sees things:

“We’ve only got Huddersfield out of the top six to play away, and it looks good, but obviously we have got to negotiate some tricky games.

“When teams come here, they will look to nab a point. We’ve seen it recently and we’ve got to deal with that but I felt each and every player did deal with the situation today.

“We were bright and we have got to remain that way. We have got to remain confident in our ability and have got to keep working hard and keep creating chances, because we have got players that will take them.

“Danny Haynes came on for a cameo and nearly scored and we are going to need players like that, who are going to bring a freshness to our play, whether that’s from the start or off the bench.

“Obviously we will try and take those chances to give us the points and wins we are trying to get,” concluded the manager.