Early arrivals at The Valley found Jim Davidson buying drinks in Bartrams. I managed to get a few words with Rhoys Wiggins and Yann Kermorgant as they arrived and they are close to a return.

Wiggins is scheduled to be in contention for a place at the next home game and Kermorgant said he would be ready in three weeks which could mean he would also be available to face Huddersfield or Peterborough.

The match itself was one of those ‘I was there games’, quite simply it was breathtaking. The team looked horribly unbalanced at the back, Morrison was switched to right-back with Solly on the left. Dorian Dervite came in to partner Cort in the middle.

Chris Powell went for a five man midfield with the pace of Danny Haynes on the right and Dale Stephens restored to his role as playmaker. Hulse was the lone front man.

The game got off to the worst possible start for the hosts when Heidur Helguson glanced in a right-wing corner after just three minutes. When lively front man, Joe Mason, added a second midway through the first period, things looked grim for Powell and his team. Their defence had gaping holes which Cardiff exploited and the Welsh side looked certain to end their poor away run.

Charlton were given a lifeline by skipper, Johnnie Jackson, five minutes before the interval. David Marshall spilled a cross from makeshift right-back, Michael Morrison, and Jackson picked his spot with a right-footed effort from the edge of the box.

An amazing half had still more drama to come when the Addicks equalised in stoppage time. Hulse rounded the keeper and and his shot was cleared off the line for a corner. A peach of a delivery from Kerkar gave Jackson the opportunity to rise highest to head home the equaliser.

Few could believe what they had seen. Powell is a master of stirring half-time team talks, could he work his magic to conjure up what had looked an unlikely looking win only twenty minutes earlier?

The answer was an emphatic ‘yes’, though many fingernails would be chewed down by the time the final whistle went.

Nine minutes after the break Charlton were awarded a free-kick in front of the home dugout. Dale Stephens whipped in a curling ball towards the far post. So accurate and powerful was the midfielder’s effort that it sailed over Marshall’s head and into the far corner. Cue mass celebration from the home fans.

That celebration turned into delirium five minutes later when Bradley Pritchard hooked over a cross for Danny Haynes to head home. Haynes’ pace was a potent weapon but his night was to end prematurely when he limped off. He was body checked when he looked to have a clear run on goal. He caried on after treatment but had to be withdrawn shortly after with what appeared to be cramp.

Before he left the fray there was time for another goal though. Another quality delivery from Kerkar, the kind of service Rob Hulse thrives on, saw the striker notch his second goal in two games. His bullet header gave the Addicks a three goal advantage, the points were assured, surely? Well, this is Charlton we are talking about and they have never believed in doing things the easy way.

Two minutes after Hulse’s goal Haynes limped off and with him went much of the momentum. Though the Addicks appeared to contain the Bluebirds, they rarely threatened to add to their tally. The fourth official indicated a whopping six minutes of stoppage time would be played but hey, Charlton had a three goal advantage.

Two minutes in Craig Noone pulled it back to 5-3 when he waltzed round Hamer to slot into an empty net. The mild unease on the terraces gave way to full scale panic three minutes later when Cardiff closed the gap to a solitary goal. Peter Whittingam played the ball into the area and Gunnarsson latched on to the knockdown to fire home.

The nerves were really jangling at the end as Cardiff still had time to pump the ball into the area again. The Addicks stood firm though to take all three points……just!

Charlton: Hamer; Morrison, Cort, Dervite, Solly; Haynes (Wright-Phillips 68), Pritchard, Stephens (Hollands 90), Jackson, Kerkar; Hulse.

Subs (not used): Button, Taylor, Fox, Green, Azeez.

Goals: Jackson 40, 45, Stephens 54, Haynes 59, Hulse 65.

Booked: Pritchard 31 (foul), Morrison 60 (kicking ball away), Hulse 68 (foul), Jackson 73 (kicking ball away), Stephens 86 (foul).

Cardiff: Marshall; Connelly, Hudson, Turner, Taylor; Noone, Whittingham, Cowie (Gunnarsson 65), Frei (Bo-Kyung 65); Mason, Helguson (Gestede 74).

Subs (not used): Lewis, McNaughton, Conway, Kiss.

Goals: Helguson 3, Mason 24, Noone 90, Gunnarsson 90.

Booked: Connelly (foul), Taylor 61 (foul), Turner 83 (throwing ball away).

Referee: Keith Stroud (Hampshire).

Att: 15,764 (822 Cardiff).