A strong Charlton Xl had to twice come from a goal behind to win a thrilling game 4-3 at Margate on Tuesday evening.
Leon Clarke (2), Paul Hayes and Adebayo Azeez were the scorers. Most pleasing for Chris Powell, Dale Stephens played 65 minutes of the game without any reaction.
The Addicks will face either Dartford or Tonbridge Angels in the semi-final with Ebbsfleet, Dover or Hythe to be beaten in the final if they are to lift the Kent Senior Cup.
Meanwhile, when things are going as well as they are now at The Valley, it is easy for fans to get carried away with the euphoria. Others may a look at a perceived weakness and magnify it as they fear the team could yet ‘do a Charlton’ and waste all the good work.
Opposition teams recognise – albeit grudgingly in some cases – that Charlton are a good side and to get something from a match against the Addicks, they need to have a considered game plan.
One area that has given Charlton watchers cause for concern recently has been the form of keeper, Ben Hamer.
Goalkeeping is a different art these days, today’s keepers need to be far more athletic than their predecessors. Even Nicky Weaver is more svelte than in his spell at The Valley!
The modern day keeper needs to be able to kick with both feet and accurate distribution is becoming an ever increasingly important asset to have. Hamer scores heavily in this department. He found Wright-Phillips on the left hand side of the box in the Preston game for example, and Wright-Phillips scored. Hamer delivered a similar ball for the striker on Saturday and such ability switches defence into attack in an instant.
What Hamer needs to improve on, is dealing with crosses and the physical aspect of the game. Conditions were difficult on Saturday, a swirling wind is hated by the men with the gloves, but Steve Sorensen dealt with it. Hamer flapped, missed the ball completely and seemed fortunate to get a decision in his favour when he dropped the ball into his own goal.
He does not like big strikers who enjoy ‘letting him know they are there’. His discomfort with being ‘roughed up’ is patently obvious and opponents will play on it. Sheffield United had practiced all week to create the situation that led to Hamer’s error.
Here’s what Blades skipper, Michael Doyle, told the Sheffield Star:
“We couldn’t understand why it (the goal) wasn’t given. That was something we’d been working on all week – getting the ball in close to the keeper – and without being disrespectful to their lad you could see he struggled with it all afternoon.”
Forunately, the Addicks have a strong and determined back line to protect the keeper but Ben Roberts will be working hard to improve the weaker facets of Hamer’s game.