Wolverhampton 1-1 Charlton- Match Report




Addicks battle back to make Wolves pay

Wolves were made to pay the price for another lacklustre second-half performance as Charlton hit back to claim a point from a 1-1 draw at Molineux.

Impressive Frenchman Bakary Sako used his left foot to convert his fifth goal of the season in style after 12 minutes to fire Wolves into a fully-deserved half-time lead following a dominant opening 45 minutes.

But, as was the case in Tuesday's 2-2 draw at home to Bolton, Wanderers emerged a different proposition after the break and put in a flat performance which was capitalised on by a much-improved Addicks.

Just a few minutes after Kevin Doyle had seen what would have been a crucial second ruled out for offside, a decision which was marginal, Lawrie Wilson pounced to fire home his first goal since signing in the summer.

Rob Hulse, who played a big part in Charlton's leveller, wasted two glorious chances to head the visitors into the lead but the spoils were shared, leaving Wolves with one win from their last five npower Championship matches and the Addicks one in their previous six.

Both sides remained unchanged from midweek draws and an ordinary start to proceedings saw very little for the 22,198 present inside Molineux to get excited about on a bitterly cold afternoon in the Black Country.

Dorian Dervite drilled wide from distance with 11 minutes on the clock before, out of nowhere, Wanderers opened the scoring.

Jermaine Pennant fed a well-paced pass down the line to Kevin Foley and he sent a cross into the area which was expertly finished by the left foot of Sako into the bottom corner.

The hosts stepped it up a gear after the opener and Sylvan Ebanks-Blake came close to connecting with a teasing cross.

Wolves were proving the most dangerous at both ends as right-back Foley saw his headed back-pass bring a diving save out of Carl Ikeme after 19 minutes.

The ever-dangerous Sako sent in a crossed free-kick from out wide which brought a punched save out of Ben Hamer, who also comfortably got behind Christophe Berra's long-range effort.

Centre-back partner Roger Johnson blazed over from eight yards before Tongo Doumbia was the latest to test Hamer.

The Addicks finally posed some kind of threat in the 38th minutes as Salim Kerkar curled an effort narrowly wide.

Johnson, looking for his first-ever Wolves goal, again came close with a flicked header before the break.

Charlton emerged brighter at the start of the second half but it was Wolves who had the ball in the net 10 minutes after the restart, only to see Doyle's point-blank effort ruled out for what would have been a marginal offside.

And the decision proved pivotal in the 58th minute as the Addicks levelled.

Hulse saw his initial effort blocked by Ikeme before firing the rebound against a post but Wilson was on hand to convert the subsequent effort into an empty net.

Hulse should have put Charlton into the lead but headed a great chance wide soon after, before his effort forced a parried save from Ikeme.

Sako twice brought solid saves out of Hamer before Hulse wasted a second clear-cut header in the 90th minute with the three points at his mercy.

Source: PA

Source: PA