Charlton Athletic continued their unbeaten start to the
Npower Championship season with a drab 0-0
draw against Hull City at a rain-soaked Valley this afternoon.
Both the spectacular weather in the skies over SE7 and the
Addicks’ goalkeeper Ben Hamer took centre stage as the two sides cancelled each
other out with neither team taking the chances presented to them as effectively as they
should have done. However, the torrential rain certainly played a large part in
both that and the scrappy nature of the game in general.
Charlton started the game the brightest of the pair although
the game was fairly even and relatively free of drama with neither of the teams creating
any real clear-cut chances until the closing stages of the first period. There was, however, an opportunity for a weak penalty shout by the visitors after Charlton’s
Leon Cort won the ball strongly from Corry Evans inside the penalty area in front
of the Covered End although the appeals were certainly half-hearted and even the
City players and staff did not appear to be convinced by their own
protestations. In the final ten minutes of the first half, the Addicks somehow
failed to get the ball into the back of the net after a string of opportunities
that they created for themselves were not converted with Guyana international Leon
Cort going the closest as his headers were saved and flashed past the post.
The Tigers had the better of the second half with home
goalkeeper Ben Hamer pulling off a string of fine saves to deny the visitors all
three points, a performance which, combined with his display in their previous
two games against Birmingham City and Leicester City, has led Powell to
declare that the stopper has been his side’s best player so far this season. Hamer also
made an incredible double save right at the death to first prevent Arsenal academy
graduate Jay Simpson and then somehow deny ex-Rangers man Sone Aluko, who was, coincidentally,
linked with a move to The Valley in pre-season.
In truth, neither side really offered enough quality to
warrant a win and a draw was probably the correct result at the end of the
afternoon. This sentiment was echoed by both the Charlton and Hull
hierarchies, despite the Addicks’ penalty claims and incorrectly-ruled out goal
and Hull’s second half dominance. This result means that Charlton extend their unbeaten
start to life back in the Championship and Hull City keep their second clean
sheet in their first three league matches, continuing both sides’ strong starts
to the new Championship season.