Charlton's U23s battled to earn a hard-fought point on Monday afternoon as they shared a goalless draw at Cardiff City.
With senior first-team players Sol Bamba, Joe Day, Jazz Richards and Danny Ward bolstering City's line-up, they understandably had the better of the chances, but the Addicks weren’t to be bullied and were awarded a penalty for their efforts early on.
With less than 10 minutes on the clock, Day was deemed to have fouled Wilberforce Ocran inside his area. The striker stepped up but sent his effort over the bar.
Ntazana Mayembe would then be gifted an opportunity of his own, Joel Bagan let fly and saw the effort bounce off the upright before Mayembe headed off-target.
The hosts continued to rally, and Sam Bowen’s shot from distance glanced just over the crossbar, much to the relief of Charlton.
The story was the same in the second half, with the Addicks having to dig in to weather a Cardiff storm.
Cardiff’s Shamar Moore looked to have scored with five minutes of the second half played, deftly striking home from close range, but was denied by an offside flag. Nathan Harness was called into action when he was on hand to deny a vicious strike from Jake Evans before getting well behind a Bamba header.
Charlton continued to defend expertly and ensured that the clean sheet was kept as they ground out a fine draw. A brilliant point on the road against a team peppered with experienced talent.
Charlton U23s: Harness, Yao, Clayden (Albon 90), Henry (Aidoo 70), French, Mingi, Powell, Maloney, Ocran (Afrane - Kesey 79), Odoh, Isiaka.
Subs [not used]: Harvey, Barton
[Photo: Carl Robertson (@ciacimages)]