Charlton Athletic review of the week - Pearse targets unbeaten WSL 2 season, Coventry walking disciplinary tightrope, Hills wins monthly award and more League Two goals for Mbick and Kanu
It’s the latest review of the week.
That includes an exclusive interview with Charlton Athletic Women’s defender Gracie Pearse as well as looking back on Saturday’s 3-1 defeat at Coventry City.
COVENTRY CAUTION WOULD LAND MIDFIELDER A SUSPENSION
Conor Coventry is fully aware that he needs to avoid a booking in Saturday’s home game against Portsmouth to avoid a one-match ban.
The Republic of Ireland international is on four yellows but after this weekend’s fixture a fifth caution will not trigger a suspension as the threshold then moves to 10.
Coventry, 25, was booked 12 times in the 2024-25 League One season.
Picture: Kyle Andrews
“Of course I’m conscious of it and it’s something I think about,” said the Charlton Athletic midfielder, when asked by this website about the fact he is walking a disciplinary tightrope.
“Last season I went about six or seven matches where I was one away. It is something I’ve dealt with before. I know how to deal with it and also if I have to take a yellow then it needs to be done. I’m hoping I can avoid it.”
Coventry was on media duties after Charlton’s 3-1 loss at Championship leaders Coventry City on Saturday.
“We started the game well, took the lead and probably let them grow into the game a little too much,” he said. “The performance was definitely better, there were some elements that felt a bit more like us, which we hadn’t really been at all like us in the rest of the week.
“There are some positives. It definitely was an improvement.
“It was a blow when Amari’i [Bell] went off. You can see his calmness on the ball. He is massive for us. We planned for him to be there, with the shape we set up in. It was obviously a disruption that he went off but we have still got to adapt better after that.
“We still have a lot of belief. We have played the top two and a Southampton team that have just come down from the Premier League. Ultimately they are probably not the games which will decide our fate this season.”
Missed our post-game coverage of Saturday’s match? For the talking points click here and the post-match pod can be found here.
Nathan Jones did not attempt to dial down the pressure heading into this weekend’s match against Portsmouth with the South Coast outfit in the bottom three.
Charlton have a six-point cushion on the relegation zone but that can easily be eroded if they fail to get results in December against clubs below them. They face Pompey twice, Oxford United and Norwich City.
“We all know we have slipped down the table a little bit - it’s still very early to be looking at it,” said Coventry.
“We know big results and performances are needed. Even if we were in a different situation, higher up the table and with loads of points, I still think we’d be looking and thinking we need some big results, because that is the type of group we are. We’ll be ready.”
Jerome Roussillon is the 12th signing made by Charlton Athletic since promotion
Picture: Kyle Andrews
ROUSSILLON SET FOR MIDWEEK MINUTES
Nathan Jones confirmed after Saturday’s loss at Coventry City that new signing Jerome Roussillon will get his first minutes for Charlton in a midweek match.
That looks set to be the club’s U21 Premier League Cup tie against Preston North End on Tuesday.
Roussillon, who has signed for the Addicks until January, has been a free agent since leaving Bundesliga side Union Berlin.
Jones said: “He will have minutes on Tuesday which will get him further up to speed.
“That is the situation we have. We’re having to take people, even though he has a wonderful pedigree, that have not played games. It’s tough.”
LAMPARD PRAISES PLAYERS FOR SHRUGGING OFF PENALTY SNUB
Frank Lampard admitted he was nowhere near as calm as his Coventry City players when they did not get awarded a spot-kick on Saturday.
Amari’i Bell got away with a pull on right-back Milan van Ewijk in the 20th minute when the hosts trailed.
Picture: Kyle Andrews
“To go 1-0 down, we showed the patience in our game to keep going and probing,” Lampard told Coventry’s YouTube channel. “You worry when there is a clear penalty that we don’t get - that the whole stadium sees. You worry when they block things on the line, is it going to be one of those games? But they kept calm and got the two goals in the first half.
“We saw it out well in the second half against dangerous opposition, the way they play set-pieces. I’m delighted.
“It (the non-penalty call) probably affected me more than the players because it is as clear as they come. Thankfully the boys made it not that important afterwards.”
Charlton Athletic Women’s manager Karen Hills
Picture: Keith Gillard
HILLS ACCOLADE
Karen Hills has won the WSL 2 Manager of the Month award for October.
Charlton Athletic are top of the table and have not lost in the competition for more than 12 months.
The Addicks only played twice in WSL 2 in October - a 2-0 win at Sunderland followed by a 1-1 draw against Sheffield United at The Valley.
Hills looks certain to take the award for November too, after her side collected a maximum nine points over that period.
Charlton do not resume WSL action until December 21 when they host Nottingham Forest. They are four points clear of second-placed Birmingham City, banking 23 points from a possible 27.
Charlton will face either Watford or Saltdean in the FA Cup third round. The tie will take place on December 14.
Picture: Keith Gillard
PEARSE HOPING CHARLTON CAN BE INVINCIBLES
Gracie Pearse reckons Charlton Athletic Women have the capability to go unbeaten in their WSL 2 campaign.
The Addicks are two matches away from the halfway stage and the frontrunners for promotion.
Even heavily-resourced London City Lionesses suffered three defeats when they were crowned champions last season. Crystal Palace, title-winners in 2022-23, lost four matches.
Pearse has been a mainstay of the Charlton defence which has conceded three times in WSL 2, second-placed Birmingham City have the next best record with 10.
Asked about the challenge of a full undefeated league season, the centre-back told South London Sport: Charlton Athletic Edition: “It’s definitely a goal we can all reach for. It’s great to look into the future, but we’re a team that focuses on the next game - we live in the present as much as we can - but 100 per cent we’re well capable of achieving that. It reflects the belief we have in this team too.
“We’re going to keep training hard, try to keep the clean sheets coming to make sure we stay unbeaten. Hopefully it could be something we achieve.
“We know we’re well capable of defending. In our team there are no massive names which I think is the great thing about Charlton. We all work so hard for each other. There are no big egos. We get along so well and have that belief. It’s not like a belief that we won’t make mistakes - because that isn’t possible. We know if we do that we’ll make the next action a good one.”
Charlton recently celebrated a year without a reverse in the league.
“It’s something to be proud of, when you step back and look at what we’ve achieved, because I think in football you don’t often tend to do that,” said Pearse, who won promotion while on loan at Bristol City in the 2022-23 season.
Gracie Pearse scores against Bristol City
Picture: Keith Gillard
“You are always thinking ‘what’s next’ but it is nice to reflect at times. We can use it to motivate us and keep that streak going even longer.”
Pearse scored in the 2-0 victory over Bristol City on November 16, the last WSL 2 action for Charlton before the winter break.
“Karen said about set-pieces and that we could exploit teams even more - first contacts and second phases,” explained Pearse. “I knew she wanted me to get a goal soon.
“I feel really good at the moment. I’ve got a good relationship with Karen. We trust each other. I can do a job and I feel confident in the position. I’m enjoying the football we’re playing.
“There are always aspects of my game I want to improve on. That’s a part of football - you’re never going to be completely satisfied. There is no perfect player. We push the individual development plans with coaches.”
DEVELOPMENT SIDE SUFFER DIP IN FORM
The club’s U21 side are winless in their last four matches in Professional Development League South following a 3-0 home loss to Cardiff City.
Charlton have not picked up a league victory since defeating local rivals Millwall 4-2 at the end of October - drawing and losing two apiece.
The Addicks are second in the table, only a point behind Bournemouth, but the leaders have a fixture in hand.
KANU AND MBICK SCORE AGAIN
Daniel Kanu is joint third in the League Two goal charts after scoring the equaliser in Walsall’s 3-1 home win over Bromley on Saturday.
The young striker, 20, has seven goals in the competition, the same as Colchester United’s Kyreece Lisbie, the son of former Charlton striker Kevin Lisbie.
Kanu, on a season-long loan from the Addicks, converted at the back post after Aden Flint headed a free-kick into a dangerous area.
Walsall are top of the table.
Mbick, 19, notched his fifth goal in England’s fourth tier as Colchester United also collected three points, defeating Cheltenham Town 2-0.
Charlton have options to recall any of their loan players in the January window.
Zach Mitchell is yet to play a competitive minute for Hibernian in the Scottish Premiership.
The centre-back was an unused substitute on Sunday as they lost 2-1 at home to Celtic.
Mitchell’s sole outing was playing the full match in a 4-0 victory over Peterhead in the Scottish Challenge Cup in October.