Northwich Victoria 1 Charlton 0

By John Hill on November 9, 2009 10:26 AM |

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If Charlton punch their ticket for the Championship at the end of the season, embarrassments like this will whisper away into the back of the mind.

Of course, now they've got all the time in the world to think about the league, unless they're planning on placating their fans with the Johnstone's Paint Trophy.

The Addicks looked short of ideas against the hopefuls from the Blue Square North, and were duly punished by 18-year-old Wayne Riley as the clash entered the last ten minutes. The reverse gave ITV's cameras the shock they'd been drooling for all weekend, and added another line to the brow of fans who'd watched their side notch up just one win in six in League One.

After a disastrous run of form saw them plummet into English football's third tier last season, Charlton knew they would be facing huge expectation in 2009/10. Once one of the Premiership's more familiar faces, the team would now be facing sides who were only granted trips to Old Trafford and Anfield when the fates plucked a small ball from the whirling FA cup draw tumble dryer.

These sides would all view Charlton as a big scalp, and those that remained with the side that exited the Championship would have to flex their muscles for a scrap, or prepare to be clattered over the head with the oversized mallet of reality again and again and again. This is effectively what Northwich did to Charlton here, looping the ball over their heads and into their box, pushing and running in the knowledge that one slip or sliver of skill could hand them victory.

Matt Bailey knocked on Ian Herring's long throw on just six minutes, but unfortunately couldn't find any green stripes anywhere. Twenty minutes later, they found themselves desperately pounding away in hope at a goalmouth scramble, testing the blocking skills of Christian Dailly before the ball was swallowed up by deputising goalkeeper Darren Randolph.

Charlton's best chance came just before the hour mark, but Jonjo Shelvey shot straight at the goalkeeper. And they were consigned to the first round's highlight reel by 18-year-old substitute Riley, who sneaked the ball under Randolph after latching onto a looping half-way line header which wrong-footed the League One team's backline.

Sometimes a cup win can energise a season, but Charlton will probably welcome the opportunity to take a long hard look at their league form. After all, teams that allow themselves to get too comfortable in lower divisions often find themselves lodging there for a long time.