Charlton Athletic Preview

Depending on other results, wor lasses could finish today joint top of the Championship. It would need a lot to go right for us elsewhere and a minimum 7-0 win at Kingston Park to go top outright but a win potentially sees us joint top and with a game in hand. As the last two seasons have shown, once we reach top of the league we are very difficult to shift. 

Remember folks, kick off is 12 noon today, not the usual 2PM.

I've only been able to find details of one previous fixture between the two clubs, a huge 10-0 home win for Charlton way back on 7th February 2016. There are some connections between the two teams, NUW club captain Amber-Keegan Stobbs helped Charlton to a 3rd place finish in the Championship in 2018/19, 5 points behind Spurs in a season where two WSL promotion spots were up for grabs. Anyone recall who controversially won that first Women's Championship season at the first attempt? 18 appearances, 1 goal and 1 yellow card for Amber. Going into the 2019/20 season, Stobbs departed Charlton for Crystal Palace as future Mackem Slayer Beth Lumsden arrived from Millwall Lionesses. Unfortunately for today's opposition, they didn't manage to see the best of Lumsden due to two Covid shortened season. Moving from Charlton to Oxford in summer 2021, Lumsden scored 27 goals in 33 appearances for Oxford United during 2021/22 winning 8 opposition player of the match awards and fans player of the season. 

On paper it looks like a close match in store. One win and one loss at home in the league for NUW compared to two wins and a loss for Charlton on their travels. Like Durham, they are a team with considerable experience in this league. Both teams average 1 goal per game, NUW having scored 2 goals in 2 home matches and Charlton 3 in 3 away matches. Our defence fairs slightly better, 1 goal conceded in both home matches compared to 2 goals in 3 away matches for Charlton. We have scored first in 4 of 5 matches this season, being most prolific between 31 and 50 minutes, Charlton have scored first in 3 of 6 matches, their favourite time to score being the last 10 minutes. 

After 4 consecutive wins to start the season, Charlton went 1-0, 2-1 and 3-1 down at home to Sunderland on 6th October, requiring two goals in the last 10 mins to salvage a draw then lost 2-0 away to London City Lionesses last weekend. After last weekend's derby day heroics, maybe we are playing Charlton at a good time?

Charlton turned fully professional in 2021. Ellie Brazil, formerly of WSL side Spurs, and Karin Muya are two of five players, including Beth Lumsden, sitting on 3 goals for the season, second in the league. 

I predict, injuries permitting, a relatively unchanged line up for NUW from last weekend's derby. Lia Cataldo hinting on her Instagram that she is on the way back is an added bonus. I expect it to be a better football match than Durham was, Charlton playing closer to our style of football. I think there will be goals but neither side will run away with it, either a 1-1 draw (Beth Lumsden and Ellie Brazil) or a 2-1 home win (first NUW goal for Sophie Haywood as a second half sub).

Howay the lasses. 

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