Charlton 2 Hull City 1: First half was worst in a long time, admits Bruce

Being sent to the stands for celebrating an add on time winner was a price worth paying for Charlton head coach Guy Luzon after his side beat Hull 2-1 at The Valley.
Graphic by Graeme Bandeira.Graphic by Graeme Bandeira.
Graphic by Graeme Bandeira.

Lozen sprinted 50 metres down the touchline to celebrate with his players near a corner flag after Johann Berg Gudmundsson scored in the eight minute of added time.

“Yes, I would do it again,” said the Charlton boss. “If you could tell me we will score a winner so late then I would. I’m an emotional guy, it meant a lot to me.”

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The win extended Charlton’s unbeaten record in the new season to five games and was all the more extraordinary given they have been hit by a series of injuries, with midfielder Cristian Ceballos becoming the latest casualty and having to leave the pitch midway through the first half with an ankle problem.

Loven was delighted with the way his young players responded and added: “We have a lot of injuries and illness in the club but the young players came in, did very well, and showed we can trust in them.

“This was an important win for the club, for the fans, for everyone.”

Charlton went ahead in the 52nd minute through Simon Makienok who headed in a Gudmundsson cross and Luzon was thrilled for he on loan striker from Palermo.

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“He has been playing very well but not scored,” said Luzon. “I know his quality and knew he would score, as he did. It was an important goal but he also helped us in other ways.”

Hull hit back with an 89th-minute goal when Abel Hernandez pounced on a mistake by Charlton keeper Nick Pope who fumbled an Isaac Hayden shot.

Hayden had also hit a post and the Tigers looked dangerous at the death leaving manager Steve Bruce livid that his team were hit by a sucker punch.

“Funnily enough I felt the longer the game went on we were the team more likely to win it. Don’t get me wrong, for an hour they deserved to win the match,” he said.

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“The first half was probably the worst I have seen in a long time, whether it was the heat or what I don’t know but it was awful.

“Charlton get their goal and looked the better side for it.”

The defeat was their first since being relegated and Bruce warned it will not be the last if his players do not improve.

“For 30 minutes against Fulham we were superb and if we play like that then there won’t be many teams that can beat us. However, if we play like we did against Charlton for an hour then there won’t be many teams who won’t beat us,” he said.

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