Can we bounce back in our second south coast challenge of the week?
Charlton travel to St Mary’s on Saturday facing a side with very different ambitions in the division, but with unfinished business very much in mind. Southampton are pushing towards the play off places, gathering momentum at exactly the time seasons start to turn serious. The Addicks meanwhile, head towards the south coast intent on putting further daylight between themselves and the relegation zone after Tuesday night's unexpected slump against Portsmouth.
A week can be a long time in football and maybe a week ago some of us might have entertained fantasies of pushing towards the top six. I think Portsmouth put that dream to bed on a sobering night and now we need to keep gathering the points as games start coming thick and fast.
However on Saturday there's more than just points at stake. There's a touch of wounded pride too. When the sides met at The Valley in November, Charlton were blown away in the first half, suffering a chastening 5–1 defeat that exposed a soft centre. Southampton looked every inch promotion contenders that afternoon; slick, sharp and ruthless, and the Addicks never truly recovered from the opening onslaught. But we made it way too easy for them that afternoon.
Three months on, much has changed. It has been a hectic, often uncomfortable, and at times exhausting period for the Addicks. These past few weeks, before we crash-landed against Portsmouth, we had tightened up, found greater balance, and become harder to play against. Recent signings appeared to have addressed those earlier vulnerabilities, and the sense of fragility that defined that November afternoon had been steadily replaced by good old Charlton grit, instead of a soft centre. Maybe we shouldn't dismiss all that because of one midweek blip.
The feeling of having nothing to lose actually allows us to travel to the South Coast with belief rather than fear. However, the task remains a challenging one. Of late, Southampton have been marching onwards and upwards and, after a mid-season wobble, their momentum has been building. Since losing at home to Hull in mid-January they have won four and drawn one resulting in a climb to tenth place. This run includes their amazing recovery from 0-3 to 4-3 at Leicester and their strength was underlined by an impressive FA Cup win over the same opponents. Even with ten changes to the starting eleven, Saints still had the quality to come through in extra time. It was a reminder of the depth of their squad and the options available to them as they push towards the top six.
They have tweaked their system since their visit to The Valley, now operating in a 4-2-3-1 instead of the 3-4-2-1 that ripped us apart. The introduction of James Bree since his return from SE7 has allowed Tom Fellows to be utilised higher up the pitch. Fellow, Finn Azaz and Leo Scienza are The Saints' danger men and need to be watched carefully. James Bree’s set piece delivery has gone back to its best and will create chances. Southampton can be a great, free flowing passing team and our midfield will do well not to chase shadows for the majority of the match.
The contrast in motivations (for now) is clear. The home side are chasing the excitement of play-offs that could soon extend to six teams, whilst Charlton want the security of Championship survival as early as possible. Both are powerful incentives. What makes this contest intriguing is that we're not quite sure which Charlton will turn up. It's unlikely to be the same starting line-up as featured on Tuesday night but that defeat gives us double reason to want success this time around.
Revenge may be too strong a word (even for Nathan Jones when he lets himself go), but redemption is not. The memory of November still stings as much as the fresh wounds we suffered against Portsmouth. Saturday offers a chance to erase the bad memories of both matches and show that this side has the fight in them to survive this tough division.