David Cooper who suffered a broken collar bone at Charlton

Charltons Ben Godfrey put paid to any further Norwich resistance in the sixty seventh minute when he superbly finished off a good move to put Charlton two up and secure the points. Norwich could feel they deserved a share of the points, as they were denied a first half penalty when Nick Davey was felled in the Charlton penalty area, and then saw a second half goal by Paul McLean chalked off for an infringement. To compound matters Gareth Matthews limped off, then a second half collision involving David Cooper and the Charlton goalkeeper Joe Woolley left the Norwich midfielder in agony on the turf. After medical assistance given by Charlton and Norwich physiotherapists, and with the midfielder bandaged up around the collarbone/shoulder area, play was temporarily suspended. Further calls were made to the local hospital and on leaving Sparrows Lane the Emergency Service was in attendance. The injury was later diagnosed as a broken collar bone and we wish David all the best for a full recovery.

Norwich gave a good account of themselves and were very unfortunate not to go into a third minute lead. A good attack from midfield saw Ross Kelly unleash a thirty yard strike from which the ball rebounded from the underside of the Charlton crossbar with Joe Woolley beaten. On seven minutes Norwich made further inroads with Ross Kelly and David Cooper, almost forcing Yado Mambo to net an own goal, but he diverted the ball against his own post. On twenty seven minutes a free kick by Damon Lathrope caused danger in the Charlton penalty area, but Nick Davey was unable to take advantage. Norwich again almost netted on thirty two minutes with Korey Smith shooting from distance, but the ball just flew wide of a post. Damon Lathrope with some tricky footwork out wide almost set up a goal scoring opportunity but the final cross was intercepted. But Norwich’s best chance of the match fell to Nick Davey on thirty eight minutes. Tom Adeyemi using his pace along the left flank to cut the ball into the Charlton penalty area, where Davey firstly shrugged of a defender before shooting past Joe Woolley and the far post. But Charlton grabbed the lead just before half time following a corner when Yado Mambo reacted first to head home with Declan Rudd grounded after seeing the ball come back into play off the crossbar. Charlton now upped their approach to the game, with Jonjo Shelvey passing the ball in vital areas, which allowed their forwards to attack. It was Jonjo Shelvey who masterminded the Charlton second goal, on sixty seven minutes. From the left of midfield, he delivered a superb diagonal cross field ball out to Callum O’Shea, whose delicate pass let in Ben Godfrey whose rising shot flew into the corner of the net, beating substitute goalkeeper Jed Steer who replaced Declan Rudd in the second half. With the injuries unsettling Norwich, and with at least six minutes of stoppage time played, referee Mr Smith finally called time. City Line-Up: Rudd (46. Steer), Bexfield, Matthews (25. Habergham), Lathrope, McLean, D. Kelly, Cooper (75. Stephens), R. Kelly, Davey, Smith, Adeyemi. Top Canary: Patrick Bexfield. Report courtesy of Rob Maynard.