Fatawu’s Stunner Eases Leicester Concerns In Morale-boosting Victory At Charlton

The concerned sound surrounding Leicester whitethorn not person quieted astatine nan Valley but Martí Cifuentes’s team, who are looking to make a return to nan Premier League arsenic soon arsenic possible, brushed speech nan doubts – and Charlton’s high-intensity property – to prime up their first distant triumph of nan season. Abdul Fatawu’s sensational onslaught was nan sole extremity successful a triumph that ended a streak of 9 winless distant games.

The style of play Cifuentes has tried to instrumentality connected his broadside is clear pinch nan visitors favouring nan triangle of Hamza Choudhury, Boubakary Soumaré and Fatawu to get nan shot up nan pitch. But Charlton were fierce from nan first whistle contempt nan deficiency of possession and Conor Coventry specifically covered a batch of crushed successful midfield to artifact nan passing lanes of Leicester’s right-sided trio. As a consequence of nan press, it was nan hosts pinch nan early chances, pinch Tyreece Campbell and Greg Docherty having back-to-back shots blocked successful nan 4th infinitesimal earlier Miles Leaburn’s changeable connected target getting deflected into nan distant end.

Leicester person yet to bring successful a striker to switch Jamie Vardy, who near this summertime aft 13 seasons astatine nan nine and 200 goals successful each competitions. Instead nan nine person started nan play pinch Jordan Ayew arsenic their starting No 9. But if location was a crippled for nan nine to rethink their activity successful nan marketplace it would person been this one. Ayew surely has acquisition nether his loop but nan 33-year-old’s champion days are down him. The visitors longed for a striker to driblet heavy to prime up nan shot and dictate play successful nan last third. Instead Ayew was isolated and struggled against Charlton’s Lloyd Jones. When he did driblet deep, he often grounded to evade nan tackle aliases triumph nan ft race.

Charlton’s chances continued until nan extremity of nan half, successfully evading nan property successful nan 35th infinitesimal to get nan shot to Rob Apter, whose transverse grounded to find a reddish garment arsenic it flashed crossed nan look of extremity earlier Coventry’s long-range changeable from 35 yards forced Jakub Stolarczyk to extremity it over.

Abdul Fatawu curls location Leicester’s second-half winner. Photograph: Crystal Pix/MB Media/Getty Images

The hosts won an 2 back-to-back corners to commencement nan 2nd half, some taken by Coventry. The first saw Jones’s header deflected distant earlier Amari’i Bell’s was saved disconnected nan line. They were moments Charlton would travel to regret arsenic seconds later nan shot was successful nan backmost of nan nett astatine nan different end.

For each of nan hosts resilient defending, location was small they could do arsenic Fatawu skipped forward, trim wrong from nan correct and coiled an outrageous decorativeness into nan acold apical area to springiness nan visitors nan lead. It was nan first extremity Charlton conceded this season. Despite nan goal, nan 22,183 Charlton religious were booming successful their support arsenic their squad upped their property astatine each opportunity, Leaburn coming adjacent to almost intercepting a walk from Stolarczyk to Jannik Vestergaard wrong nan box.

The corners continued to travel for nan hosts and successful nan 67th minute, they came agonisingly adjacent arsenic nan shot trickled towards nan incorrect broadside of nan station aft a chaotic area was looped crossed nan extremity by Jones. Charlton thought they recovered nan equaliser successful nan 82nd infinitesimal from their 12th area aft Jones’s header slipped past Stolarczyk, but it was ruled retired for a foul successful nan box. The determination brought immoderate little than savoury chants towards nan referee Dean Whitestone from nan location fans. The hosts’ last corner, successful nan 90th minute, was headed conscionable complete nan barroom by Campbell.