LATE ‘N’ LYLE DENIES KING
But Welling still sweet on success
WELLING United impressed new boss Steve King but ultimately it was League One neighbours Charlton Athletic who claimed the Eric Brackstone Trophy after a narrow victory in the clubs’ annual pre-season friendly.
An explosive start saw both sides score in the opening seven minutes before Charlton’s new signing Lyle Taylor tapped home from close range 14 minutes from time for the Addicks.
In front of a decent crowd at Park View Road, both teams fielded experimental and new-look line-ups with King and Charlton boss Lee Bowyer ringing the changes.
But with just six minutes on the clock it was Welling who took a surprise lead – Adam Coombes finding a lot of space down the right wing before easing inside and firing a measured shot inside the far post.
However, within a minute, the Addicks were level. Nicky Ajose had a shot beaten out by Dan Wilks as far as Karlan AhearneGrant. His shot was pushed away by Wilks but it fell kindly for Ajose to finish from a tight angle.
Welling, to their credit, kept plugging away with Nassim L’Ghoul going close while Richard Orlu had a shot headed off the line.
Still, though, Charlton enjoyed the best of the second quarter with Wilks saving from Josh Magennis and Patrick Bauer heading over from a Simon Dawkins corner.
Bowyer changed his entire eleven at half-time and they very nearly made an immediate impact when George Lapslie went down in the area but calls for a penalty were waved away.
A good team move involvbe ing Albie Morgan and Igor Vetokele ended with Tariqe Fosu firing over for Charlton, while Jake ForsterCaskey was unable to finish following more good work from Morgan before having an effort saved comfortably.
Keystone Kops defending from the home side presented Charlton with a chance to go ahead but Taylor shot wide when he should have done better.
King made six changes on the hour mark but Charlton’s full-time squad continued to look dangerous. Taylor had a powerful shot well saved by Wilks before Vetokele was unable to hit the target with a header.
It came as no surprise, therfore, when the Addicks went ahead – although there was some luck and controversy involved.
Forster-Caskey’s free-kick looped up off the wall and fell to Taylor who looked to in an offside position before bundling home from close range.
Welling, though, finished with aplomb with L’Ghoul crashing a free-kick too high, while striker Bradley Goldberg, the only player to complete the full 90 minutes, came close to a last-minute leveller but was squeezed out and couldn’t get enough power on his shot. STAR MAN: Richard Orlu (Welling) ENTERTAINMENT: ★★★★★