Scott Marshall was pleased with Charlton’s response following a 1-1 draw at Fleetwood Town.
After struggling under pressure from the home side in the first half, the Addicks changed shape and were the better side in an exciting second half.
Speaking to CharltonTV after the game, the Addicks’ Assistant Coach, said: “We’re probably a little bit disappointed with the first half and the way things went but getting in there 1-0 at half-time, we were still in the game, with plenty to play for and the response was excellent in the second half. We created some great chances, scored a great goal and hit the woodwork twice."
The Addicks levelled through Miles Leaburn in the 77th minute, the 18-year-old’s fourth goal of the season and his third in the league.
Marshall praised the academy graduate: “It was a great goal and a great bit of quality and skill. We know we’ve got players who can create chances and I think you saw that in the second half. There were some really good moments. Corey [Blackett-Taylor] had one or two, his shot off the bar was a great effort and we probably didn’t do enough to get him in those sort of positions in the first half. We know we’ve got goals in the team and hopefully we’ll take a hatful of these chances.”
Mandela Egbo came on at half-time for his Charlton debut and had a real impact for the Addicks.
Marshall, who worked with Egbo at Swindon last season, said: “Mandela has been really unfortunate picking up an injury early in pre-season. He’s getting up to speed, the 45 minutes today will be great for him. He’s a great character, we’ve known him a while and he’ll be a great addition moving forward. It was great to see him out there and making a good contribution in that 45 minutes.”
Marshall thanked the travelling fans for their support and said that after the difficult first half, the idea of leaving with their heads held high was a motivating tool at half time. He said: “We’re very grateful to see them [the supporters] there. We talked about that at half time, we wanted to make sure the response was good and that everyone could hold their head up high at the end of the 90 minutes. The response was good, we want that for 90 minutes next time.”
Manager, Ben Garner, missed the game after testing positive for Covid-19. Marshall explained the Addicks coaching staff were in constant communication with Garner during the game. He added: “We’ve had a little chat [after the game], he’s obviously much, much happier about the second half.”