Charlton Athletic 0, Wycombe Wanderers 1:Seven games is no time to judge a new manager, especially one who has taken over a team already at a low ebb, but this was a horror show from which Les Reed's reputation may never recover. Offered a wonderful chance to reach their first League Cup semi-final, Charlton were pathetic. Had Wycombe been able to take advantage of a quarter of their chances, they would have won by four goals, not just one.
In the six matches he had overseen before this game - four of which had been lost and one won - Reed has experimented with several different formations, but last night opted for an orthodox 4-4-2, reasoning perhaps that man for man, his players should win their individual battles convincingly enough to render tactical tinkering unnecessary.
Given those players included seven who did not start against Liverpool last Saturday, only two of whom were unfit, his faith clearly extended to every member of his squad and might even have have been considered presumptious.
Wycombe's manager Paul Lambert, a Champions League winner with Borussia Dortmund in 1997, had rather less scope or inclination for experimentation, but just as they were first out by a long way for the warm-up, so his players were determined to be first to most of the early 50-50 balls. Too much so in the case of Anthony Grant, whose tackle on Djimi Traore in the sixth minute earned him a deserved booking.
Encouraged by Charlton's obvious discomfort, and by an impressive turn-out of their supporters, the League Two team continued to take the game to their opponents.
Sloppy work by Souleymane Diawara gave Jermaine Easter the opportunity to bring another diving save from Scott Carson and Traore's last-gasp clearance of Kevin Betsy's swerving cross had an air of desperation about it.
A goal was surely coming, and in the 35th minute it did; a long ball found Easter running between Diawara and Traore, and the man who had scored in every previous round shot firmly beyond Carson.
Charlton had not made Wycombe's goalkeeper Jamie Young make a single save and the boos were beginning to ring around The Valley before they finally summoned up the wherewithal to put the visiting defence under a couple of minutes' pressure. It was as unfocused and unproductive as the rest of Charlton's play had been, and chants of "you're not fit to wear the shirt" accompanied the home team down the tunnel at half-time.
Charlton continued to look like a collection of out-of-form individuals after the break, hoping something would happen. With the home support sarcastically cheering every successful pass, the atmosphere became slightly surreal.
CHARLTON:Carson, Sankofa (Hasselbaink 74), Fortune, Diawara, Traore, Rommedahl, Faye (Holland 69), Hughes, Thomas (Sam 70), Marcus Bent, Darren Bent. Subs Not Used: Myhre, El Karkouri. Booked: Hughes.
WYCOMBE:Young, Martin, Antwi, Williamson, O'Halloran, Betsy, Grant (Palmer 63), Bloomfield, Oakes, Easter, Mooney (Stonebridge 87). Subs Not Used: Christon, Dixon, Anya. Booked: Grant, Easter. Goals: Easter 35.
Referee:M Clattenburg (Co Durham).
