Harrison Holgate grabs winner as Fleetwood beat 10-man Charlton

Posted Sunday, February 12, 2023 by PA

A close-range Harrison Holgate header gave Fleetwood a much-needed 2-1 victory over lacklustre 10-man Charlton at The Valley.

Holgate was left unmarked to nod in a Phoenix Patterson corner after 52 minutes to give Scott Brown’s side their first league victory since New Year’s Day.

In spite of progressing to the fifth round of the FA Cup, Fleetwood had been sliding towards the League One relegation places since the turn of the year.

The visitors made light of losing captain Danny Andrew through injury after 10 minutes to take the lead when his replacement Shaun Rooney struck a fine half-volley just before the half-hour.

Charlton had won four of their previous five league matches but their only moment of inspiration in a disappointing display came in first-half injury time when Jes Rak-Sakyi kept his balance superbly to curl home the equaliser.

After Holgate had restored Fleetwood’s lead, Charlton’s finishing was woeful.

Their task was not helped in the 79th minute when Ryan Inniss was sent off for deciding to hack down Cian Hayes as the Fleetwood substitute raced clear.

The 10-man hosts could not find an equaliser despite 12 minutes of stoppage time added on for a succession of injuries.

A plastic water bottle struck referee Carl Boyeson in the face at the end of the match.

The bottle was thrown from the Charlton section as the match officials approached the tunnel, although Boyeson did not appear to be injured.