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Daily Mail |
Charlton (0) 2-2 (1) Fulham
When Fulham escaped with a point at Charlton Athletic last season, manager Kit Symons left The Valley more than content, knowing it all but secured their status as a Championship club.
Six months on, however, Symons was furious after an equaliser in the sixth minute of stoppage time from Jordan Cousins saw Charlton come back from two goals down in this London derby.
Fulham were cruising after strikes from Ryan Tunnicliffe and Ross McCormack and, having not won since August, Charlton looked dead and buried.
A header apiece from substitute Johnnie Jackson and Cousins in the final 10 minutes, however, saw Charlton avoid a fifth consecutive defeat after being booed off at half time by their own fans.
Fulham manager Symons said: 'It is incredibly disappointing to be 2-0 up and totally dominant in the game, cruising. To then throw it away in inexplicable. There's no excuse. We've got to make better decisions.
'Two free headers. Two points thrown away. Up to the last 10 minutes we were totally cruising and dominating the game. We never looked in any trouble whatsoever. We shot ourselves in the foot.'
Tunnicliffe went from hero to zero after his opener, which came as a result of a goalkeeping gaffe from Charlton's Nick Pope.
The Fulham midfielder should have been marking Jackson when the substitute scored in the 81st minute with his first touch to set Charlton on their way to their eventual equaliser.
'Ryan Tunnicliffe was with him,' Symons said. 'He let him have a free header. There was no confusion as to who was marking him.'
Asked whether he had reprimanded his team, Symons added: 'I think they got the gist. They don't need telling but I'm going to tell them all the same. They didn't need me to tell them we've thrown this game away but I did.'
Charlton should have scored in the opening 30 seconds when Conor McAleny found himself through with only goalkeeper Andy Lonergan to beat. The striker on loan from Everton dragged his shot wide, and Fulham survived the early pressure.
Jazz Richards and Jamie O'Hara each forced Charlton goalkeeper Pope into saves as the visitors grew into this tie. The breakthrough arrived before half-time and, as the home supporters feared, it came against the run of play.
A free-kick by McCormack forced Pope into another long-range save but this time the goalkeeper could only fumble it into the path of Tunnicliffe. The grateful midfielder buried the rebound and Charlton were punished.
Soon after, a collected cross by Pope was met with ironic cheers from his own supporters. A cruel reminder of his mistake, and boos followed at half-time as Charlton headed for the tunnel.
After the break, they piled the pressure on Fulham but a counter-attack unlocked them as McCormack, given too much time by standing-off defenders, was able to find the bottom-right corner.
That was that, or so Fulham thought. A corner for Charlton amid the groans from the stands saw substitute Jackson beat goalkeeper Lonergan and, all of a sudden, The Valley came to life.
They had less than 10 minutes to find an equaliser. It was end to end as Charlton threw men forward, leaving themselves vulnerable at the back.
Then, a header at the far post in the sixth minute of stoppage time from Cousins sealed the draw, and this time it was the Charlton supporters leaving The Valley content with a point.
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