Tariqe is terrific for ‘perfect’ Addicks
KARL Robinson admits Tariqe Fosu has made himself indispensable at Charlton after his superb hat-trick downed Fleetwood in a “perfect” Addicks performance.
Fosu, who spent time on loan at the Cod Army during the 2015-16 season, netted a brace in the first half, either side of Bobby Grant’s equaliser.
He added a third late on to end the Charlton’s a four-game winless run and Robinson claims the midfielder has become far more valuable than he imagined when signing him from Reading in the summer.
Robinson said: “Tariqe was brought in here as a squad player. He knew it was going to be hard to get in.
“But we’ve had some big injuries to big players, and full credit to him; he got his chance sooner rather than later and he has exploited that.
“He deserves it as he has done great in training.
“If we can get to January and keep doing what we are doing, we can push on further, and that is a very strong and promising place for us to be.
“We knew we had to be disciplined, and it was the perfect performance away from home.”
The Addicks led after 14 minutes when Fosu connected with Ricky Holmes’ cross to nod past Alex Cairns.
Fleetwood were level 11 minutes later as Grant drove a low effort beyond Ben Amos.
Fosu then added his second on 40 minutes, weaving his way through a sea of Fleetwood defenders before slotting confidently into the bottom right-hand corner.
After the break, Fosu took advantage of Fleetwood’s fruitless search for an equaliser by completing his hat-trick.
The midfielder profited from a counter-attack, outpacing Nathan Pond prior to bursting into the box and firing through Cairns’ legs to wrap up the win.
Fleetwood boss Uwe Rosler said: “The way the goals went in and those mistakes that we made were based on fatigue and poor decisionmaking in those crucial moments.
“But that is no excuse and I have no problems with that.
“Sometimes, as a coach, you need to be honest with yourself and your players – this was not good enough, and we know that as a squad.
“It was clear to see where the problems were. Everyone who saw us beat Bradford at Valley Parade knows how much we invested into that game.
“But then our standards have dropped here.”