[Official Site] U21: Albion 2 Charlton 2

Craig Mackail-Smith celebrates
Image by: Geoff Penn



ALBION*********************** 2
Mackail-Smith, 64, 90CHARLTON**************** ** 2*
Gerard, 21
Lennon 62
Craig Mackail-Smith’s brace rescued a point for Albion’s under-21s in dramatic fashion against Charlton.
Strikes from Harry Gerrard and Harry Lennon gave the Addicks a 2-0 lead, but Albion hit back with two strikes from Mackail-Smith including one in stoppage time.
The opening 20 minutes produced few chances for both sides, until Tobi Tho-Silva sparked the game into life with an angled drive that hit the far post.
Mackail-Smith had Albion’s best chance of the half, forcing a good save by Jordan Beeney from Emil Asmundsson’s cross before his follow-up shot was cleared off the line.

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Asmundsson then had his own chance to score an equaliser, but fired wide of the near post with a tame shot from just outside the box.Charlton almost doubled their advantage right on half-time, when some neat footwork from Tho-Silva saw him evade the challenge of Tom Dallison before blazing his effort over the crossbar.
The south Londoners started the second half in the same vein, with Albion keeper Casper Ankergren having to be alert to deny Anil Koc from inside the box.
The away side doubled their lead in the 62nd minute, as Lennon took advantage of a slip by Glen Rea and struck an unstoppable volley past Ankergren.
But Albion halved the deficit just two minutes later, as Mackail-Smith latched onto Jason Davis’s ball into the area and clinically dispatched his effort into the roof of the net.
Simon Ireland’s side went forward with more confidence in the final 20 minutes and almost wiped out Charlton’s lead when Jimmy Muitt ghosted into the box and forced Beeney to tip his shot to safety.
Muitt had another chance within a minute and forced another save from the Addicks' shot-stopper with a whipped effort from the edge of the area.
Courtney Richards then twice came close to levelling, as his header landed on the roof of the net from a Charlie Harris free-kick before poking the ball wide from Rob Hunt’s cross.
It looked like Albion would be heading for another frustrating defeat, until Mackail-Smith showed great strength to cut inside the box before firing a superb strike past Beeney.
ALBION: Ankergren (GK); Hunt, Rea, Dallison, Chicksen; Richards, Asmundsson, Starkey [Harris, 60]; Muitt, Mackail-Smith, Maguire-Drew [Davis, 60].
SUBS NOT USED: Walton (GK), Deen, Tighe.*
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