Charlton Athletic Manager, Michael Appleton, has expressed his disappointment in his side following their weekend FA Cup draw, in a interview on the club’s official website.
The League One side were held to a 1-1 draw with Isthmian League South East side Cray Valley Paper Mills, and will now have to travel to the eight-tier side for a replay. Charlton took the lead through an early Scott Fraser strike but couldn’t extend that lead although creating numerous big chances.
They certainly regretted not taking any of those chances when Addicks defender Luca Ness put the ball into his own net in the 48th minute to tie the score. Despite having 70% possession and 25 shots, the home side were unable to find the decisive goal and the tie will now have to be decided at Cray Valley’s Badgers Sports Ground which has a capacity of just 1,000.
Appleton had made 11 changes to his side which had defeated Wigan Athletic on Tuesday night and he may now regret making that many changes, with his side having been unnecessarily forced into an extra game in an already packed schedule.
Speaking on the changes to his team, Appleton said,
“I take full responsibility, I pick the team and clearly it was the wrong one today.
“Sometimes you’ve got to manage and balance the group as best as you possibly can. I certainly felt that the starting eleven was more than capable of winning again tonight. And I still do, regardless of how poor some of the performances were.”
Appleton didn’t hold back in his interview after the game, with the manager seemingly left disappointed following the result.
“It was a hard watch at times, I don’t want to give any excuses to the players at all. The reality is we have to be better, and in the important moments of the game we weren’t.”
For the replay, it would now be expected that Appleton puts out a much stronger side, that being said, there was hardly a lack of experience in the side which started on Sunday. There will now be a lot of pressure on those players to perform in a different environment away at Cray Valley, but Appleton seems to expect his players to rectify their mistakes.
“At least we’re still in the cup and we’ve still got an opportunity to get the job done.
“When you get a second opportunity, you very rarely see a group of players not take that opportunity. I’m hoping that will be the case.”
A date is yet to be given for the replay but with the potential of a giant-killing it will no doubt be one of the feature games in the media. Cray Valley’s performance perfectly exemplifies what the FA Cup is all about, and we can expect them to leave everything out there in the replay.
Writer’s View
It is always a risk changing a full eleven, especially after a victory. Appleton will have learnt that the hard way as you really cannot underestimate anyone in the FA Cup. Although I do expect Charlton to win the replay, it is a game that they could’ve easily avoided playing.
Full credit must be given to Cray Valley though, no matter the team that Charlton put out, and the draw is one of the stories of the round. The result shows just how important it is keeping replays in the FA Cup as there will be an amazing atmosphere at the Badgers Sports Ground when Charlton visit.
