Nathan Jones was delighted with Charlton’s first clean sheet in 22 games as they earned a hard-fought 0-0 draw with Sky Bet League One leaders Portsmouth.
Despite the result it was a lively game at The Valley, with Daniel Kanu and Callum Lang each striking the woodwork in the early stages.
As the second half progressed, the visitors gradually began to establish their dominance and were denied an 88th-minute winner when Macaulay Gillesphey pulled off an excellent last-ditch challenge on Myles Peart-Harris.
“They are a good side,” said the Charlton manager. “They’re top of the league, they’re scoring at will against most sides. So for us to put in that level of performance, keep a clean sheet…shows we’ve taken a step in the right direction.”
This result was the second of two impressive draws for the Addicks following last week’s 3-3 draw at Bolton.
“We went toe-to-toe with Bolton, we went toe-to-toe with these today. I saw lots of what I wanted to see from my team.
“We’ve gone three unbeaten now – yes, they are draws and we want to win games – but there’s a foundation being laid and it’s just constant work.”
After a tough game, Jones believed it was Portsmouth who were happier with the result.
“We showed we’re an aggressive team and got right after them. They’ll be getting on the bus and they’ll be delighted with the point.
“It’s a good point for them because the other two (sides in the top three) lost. They were in a proper game today, and that’s all we can ask.
“I thought today we were more than valid for our point.”
Portsmouth boss John Mousinho was of a similar opinion.
“We really dug in today,” he said. “We weren’t quite at our best, but I think the most important thing was to not lose the game.
“I’ve been in that situation so many times where you’re not playing particularly well but end up losing the game to a set piece, to a throw in.
“I think (the result) says that the lads mean business this year and they know obviously it is the business end of the season with only 11 games for us to go.
“It’s never easy coming away to Charlton. I think they are a side that are in a false league position. I can’t see them staying down there for long.”
Despite stretching their lead over their rivals, Mousinho said the result was frustrating for his players.
“They are still disappointed with the point and that’s the way I like them to be,” he said. “Obviously a point with the other results is good, but if we’d have taken all three it would have been even better.”
Chile 0-1 Argentina: Super sub Martinez sends Albiceleste to Copa America quarter-finals
Lautaro Martinez struck a late winner as Argentina beat Chile 1-0 to secure their place in the Copa America knockout stages with a game to spare.
The reigning champions looked like they would have to settle for a point on a frustrating night at the MetLife Stadium, having failed to turn their superiority into the game's opening goal.
But substitute Martinez, who also netted from the bench in his nation's opener against Canada, finally broke Chile's resolve when he lashed home two minutes from time.
It moved Lionel Scaloni's side onto six points at the Group A summit, three points ahead of Canada, who beat Peru 1-0 earlier in the day. A draw against Peru in their final game will now be enough to secure top spot.
Argentina dominated the first half with 13 unanswered shots, yet just three of those were on target. One of them saw Julian Alvarez fire straight at Claudio Bravo from close range in the 22nd minute.
Lionel Messi also went close to scoring in the 36th minute. La Albiceleste's skipper let fly with a fizzing 25-yard attempt that clipped the outside of Bravo's left post, while Erick Pulgar almost turned Nahuel Molina's cross beyond the Chile goalkeeper two minutes later.
La Roja had Bravo to thank for keeping Argentina at bay, as the reigning champions continued to carry the greater attacking threat after the break.
The veteran stopper beat away Molina's fierce strike within five minutes of the restart, and just after the hour mark, he produced a superb reflex save to tip Nicolas Gonzalez's drive onto the crossbar.
With the breakthrough still eluding the world champions, Scaloni bolstered his attack by introducing Angel Di Maria and Martinez for the final 17 minutes.
Chile had increased their own attacking threat by registering their first attempts on goal in the contest, with Rodrigo Echeverria calling Emiliano Martinez into action on both occasions.
Yet, there was to be a late twist in Argentina's favour when an 88th-minute corner broke kindly for Martinez, who reacted quickest to fire into the roof of the net and send La Albiceleste through to the quarter-finals.
Persistence pays dividends for Argentina
The history books would have suggested Argentina should have fancied their chances against Chile.
This is epitomised by the fact they are now unbeaten after 90 minutes in the last 13 meetings, winning eight of those, but that does not tell the full story.
Seven of those eight victories have only been by a single-goal margin and, of course, they lost on penalties in the Copa America final showdowns of 2015 and 2016.
Though they dominated most of this contest and registered 22 shots to their opponents' three, just the one goal was enough once more, with both of Martinez's strikes from the bench in this competition coming in the 88th minute.
Argentina progress to the Copa America knockout stages for a 14th consecutive time, excluding when they withdrew from the 2001 tournament.
Toothless Roja see resistance broken
Chile looked set to frustrate Argentina once again at the Copa America and hold out for a second successive clean sheet.
Their defensive resolve - along with an inspired performance by Bravo between the sticks - looked like it would remain firm and keep the reigning champions at bay, until Martinez's late intervention.
What will be more concerning for La Roja is the fact they have now gone four successive Copa America matches without scoring, while having to wait until the 72nd minute for their first attempt on goal.
That is something they need to address quickly ahead of their crucial final Group A clash with Canada, in which a victory could still see them snatch second place and a quarter-final spot.
Scotland denied '100% penalty' against Hungary, says Clarke
Scotland head coach Steve Clarke was adamant his side should have been awarded a penalty as their Euro 2024 campaign ended with a 1-0 defeat to Hungary in Stuttgart.
Kevin Csoboth scored the winning goal in the 10th minute of injury-time to put Scotland out of another major tournament in the group stages.
However, things could have been much different for Clarke's side.
Stuart Armstrong looked to have skipped beyond Hungary's Willi Orban in the 80th minute, before the RB Leipzig defender grappled across the midfielder, with both tumbling inside the area.
Referee Facundo Tello waved away Scotland's appeals, and a subsequent check by VAR deemed the challenge not worthy of awarding a spot-kick.
“It was 100% a penalty," Clarke said. "Somebody, somewhere has to explain to me why that's not a penalty. It’s a one goal game, we get the penalty and it could have been a different night.
“I've got other words, but I'm not going to use them. I don't understand how VAR can look at that and say it's not a penalty.
“In a European competition, it may have been better to have a European referee but we had European VAR and maybe a referee didn't see the challenge clearly on the pitch, so what's the purpose of VAR if they are not going to come in on something like that. It was a penalty.”
Having qualified for successive European Championships, this was Scotland’s 12th major tournament group stage, and in 50% of those they have failed to win a single match – at the 1954, 1958, 1986, and 1998 World Cups and EURO 2020 and 2024.
“We gave everything, there’s nothing you can fault there. It was a very tough game against a good opponent," said Clarke. "A very close game that was always going to be decided by the first goal. You could tell that after half an hour.
“Unfortunately for us when we opened up towards the end of the game to try and chase the winner, that we felt we needed to get to the next stage, we got caught on the counter.”
Euro 2024 Data Dive: Late goals and broken records tee up dramatic finish to Group A
Sunday's action at Euro 2024 saw the conclusion of Group A, with late drama ensuring a last-gasp shake up to the standings.
Germany looked sure to be on the end of a shock defeat to Switzerland until substitute Niclas Fullkrug stepped up to make it 1-1 in stoppage time and send the hosts through as group winners.
Meanwhile, Scotland crashed out of the tournament without a win after conceding the latest goal ever scored at the Euros, with Hungary keeping their hopes of knockout football alive with their 1-0 victory.
Here, we run through all the best Opta stats to emerge from the day's matches.
Switzerland 1-1 Germany: Neuer makes history, but Fullkrug grabs headlines
Having already qualified for the last 16, the hosts left it late to seal top spot in the group, needing Fullkrug to make a much-needed impact off the bench in Frankfurt.
Dan Ndoye had given Switzerland a first-half lead with his maiden international goal to become the nation's second-youngest goalscorer at the Euros (aged 23 years 242 days), but Switzerland could not hold on.
Manuel Neuer was left helpless against the forward's first-time finish on his 18th appearance at the European Championships, the most among goalkeepers at the tournament (overtaking Gianluigi Buffon – 17). At major tournaments, only Cristiano Ronaldo (45) has played in more games than the Bayern Munich stopper (37).
Julian Nagelsmann named the same starting XI for three consecutive games, the first time Germany have done so in the competition's history, though it looked like tiredness was starting to take its toll as they struggled to break down their opponents.
Toni Kroos finished the game with a passing accuracy of 92.5%, only averaging lower than that in one game for Real Madrid in 2023-24), but also equalled a record in the late drama.
Having completed 323 passes so far at Euro 2024, Kroos has made the joint-most on record (since 1980) by a player in the group stage since himself at Euro 2016 (also 323).
Germany eventually had 18 shots, with Fullkrug picking out the top corner with the final one; the striker has scored 13 goals in just 19 international appearances, while his four as a substitute at major tournaments are more than any other European player.
Despite ultimately losing out on top spot, Switzerland have now gone unbeaten in their last four games against Die Mannschaft (W1 D3), with no nation currently enjoying a longer unbeaten streak against Germany (England and Spain both have ongoing runs of four).
Scotland 0-1 Hungary: Csoboth breaks Tartan Army's hearts
Meanwhile in Stuttgart, it was Hungary celebrating a late strike to seal a 1-0 victory that ensured an early exit for Scotland as they chased what would have been a landmark win.
Kevin Csoboth cemented his place in European Championship history with his counter-attacking finish as he netted the latest goal ever scored in the tournament's history (excluding extra time), timed at 99 minutes and 32 seconds.
Despite needing a win to finish third, Scotland failed to have a single shot on target in the game. In total, the Tartan Army had just 17 shots at Euro 2024 – since the group stage was introduced in 1980, it is the joint-fewest by a national team, along with Northern Ireland at Euro 2016.
Indeed, only twice at Euro 2024 has a team failed to manage a shot on target in the first half of a match and both have been Scotland (also on MD 1 against Germany).
Scotland pushed numbers forward for their last-minute corner with the hopes of reaching the knockout stage of the Euros for the first time, but instead will leave a major tournament group stage without a win for the sixth time (1954, 1958, 1986 and 1998 World Cups and Euro 2020 and 2024).
While looking down and out after failing to win either of their opening games, Hungary finally ended a run of eight games in the competition without a win, registering their first victory since beating Austria 2-0 at Euro 2016 – this was also their first clean sheet since that win.
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