Charlton Athletic U18s’ Zach Mitchell spoke to Valley Gold for Academy Notes after the recent 4-3 away win at Cardiff City.
The versatile player signed for Charlton aged 8 started out as a midfielder before moving into the centre-back position and has interchanged ever since. Thoroughly enjoying his time at the Academy, he told Valley Gold:
“We started poorly, conceding early from a wide free-kick. Our defensive display was not up to its usual standard and we were therefore punished early on. Despite this uncertain start, our left-back, Toby Bower drove into some space down the left channel, combining well with Mack Reilly to slot it in with his weaker right foot, reinstalling some drive back into the team.
“However, Cardiff’s direct play proved to be successful for another instance as they went 2-1 ahead with a powerful shot from just inside the box. We still didn’t let our belief falter and our team’s togetherness was present throughout. Some clever play from Tolu Ladapo down the right-hand side allowed him to advance into the box and square it to Daniel Kanu, who buried the ball into the bottom left corner.
“A stronger finish to the first half was solidified by our third goal with Mack Reilly cutting inside to set Jason Adigun up for a clean strike into the bottom right corner.
“The second half put forward an overall more solid performance but some defensive flaws still hinted towards Cardiff getting a third. We thought we had nullified this hope when Mack Reilly slotted in a shot from outside of the box to beat the keeper, but a controversial penalty decision meant Cardiff scored once more and trailed by a goal leading into the final stages of the game.
“The referee finally ended a game of volatility and uncertainty with a 4-3 win for us away from home. The three points were representative of our relentless desire to win and powerful team spirit.
“We added to our current unbeaten run of 6 games, a great position going into our next fixtures.”
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