Charlton Athletic beat Portsmouth 2-1 at a windy Fratton Park on Saturday afternoon.
Tal Ben Haim was roundly booed by the Pompey fans and the Addicks fielded another former Portsmouth player, goalkeeper, Stephen Henderson. Danny Hollands was in the home side’s line-up.
Charlton played some attractive, attacking football in the first half, but faded somewhat after the break.
George Tucudean and Igor Vetokele combined for the opener, the big Romanian playing Vetokele in, who finished with aplomb from the edge of the area after 19 minutes.
A free-kick for the hosts brought the equaliser four minutes later. A ball into the box was headed back for Hollands to score with a stooping header.
Parity was short lived. Tucudean took advantage of a dithering defender. He won the ball before firing into the right-hand corner of the keeper’s net.
The Addicks should have extended their lead just past the hour mark when Vetokele was brought down in the area by Dunne. Ben Haim wanted to take the spot-kick but skipper, Johnnie Jackson, took the ball from him. Jackson’s effort was saved at the expense of a corner by Paul Jones.
Midway through the half Hollands advanced to strike the bar. The game became disjointed in the closing stages as the home side made a plethora of changes.
Bob Peeters was happy with his team and had this to say after the game:
“I was happy with the first half but in the second half the pitch was dry and we had been here since yesterday, so it was a long journey.
“The most important thing is that everybody is fit and we don’t have any injuries.
“I don’t think the fitness is already at 100 per cent, but this is not a sprint it is a marathon.
“It takes a while to get used to each other, because if you have a lot of new signings, it takes time to settle in for the new players.
“Again, the most important thing is that everybody’s fit and well. We will see next week if we are ready enough.”
Charlton: Henderson; Solly, Ben Haim, Bikey, Wiggins; Gudmundsson (Fox 73), Buyens, Jackson (Wilson 64), Cousins; Tucudean (Pigott 78), Vetokele (Church 78).
Subs (not used): Phillips, Morrison, Gomez, Nego, Ansah.
Goals: Vetokele 19, Tucudean 26.
Portsmouth: Poke (Jones 46); Webster (Wynter 63), Whatmough (Ertl 82), Shorey (Butler 79), Chorley (Devera 63); Wallace (Atangana 63), Dunne, Hollands (Awford 79), Westcarr; Barcham (Maloney 79), Bird (Storey 63).
Goal: Hollands 23.
Referee: James Linington (Isle Of Wight).
Attendance:3,915 (362 Charlton).
Jason Euell’s development squad needed a late goal from trialist, Ollie Lee, to salvage a draw at Bromley.
The home side went ahead after 37 minutes when Nick Pope dropped the ball after clashing with an attacker.
Charlton XI: Pope; Osborne, Thomas, Lee, Pyke; Daniel, Munns, Cumberbatch (Holmes-Dennis 71), Jeffrey; Umerah, Valcy.
Subs (not used): Mitov, Dawa, Muldoon, Sho-Silva, Browne, Ahearne-Grant.
Goal: Lee 88.
Bromley: Brown; Udoji (Hammond 86), Fueeini, Swaine (Holland 72), Anderson (Pegiorgio 81); Bailey-Dennis, Joseph-Dubois, Prestedge, Higgins (Slabber65); Ademola, Grant (Dennis 58).
Sub (not used): Birchall.
Goal: Ademola 37.
Referee: Ian Bennett (Kent).