The People's Cup

Hannah and I went to the Valley last night to watch a pre-season friendly between Charlton and FC Den Bosch, a second tier team from the Netherlands. I normally give this type of fixture a miss as they are usually contested at well below full pace and are often little more than glorified training sessions. However, the coming together of a number of factors persuaded me to head south yesterday and make my way to the Valley:

1. Following a significant turnover of players during the summer, the game would be my first glimpse of what will essentially be a new Charlton team this season
2. The fixture had an interesting and heart-warming back story 
3. The evening offered a rare chance to see Charlton, potentially, win some silverware

More of number 2 and 3 shortly, and oh, I nearly forgot, there's a fourth reason too. I won't disclose how here but I had managed to get my hands on a couple of complimentary tickets. Not exactly as hard to come by as London 2012 ones, I admit, and with entry for paying customers only £5 a head probably not requiring disclosure on a tax return, but if I needed a final push to make the trip south then this was it.

Charlton's sword v the Den Bosch dragon on the Valley's new big screen.

It was announced a few days before the game that the Den Bosch supporters had donated a trophy to be awarded to the winners on the night to mark the similarities between the histories of the two clubs. It would be called the 'People's Cup' in recognition of the crucial contribution of fans in saving the Dutch club from going out of business a few years ago in a situation with parallels to how Charlton almost went out of existence in 1984 and left the Valley for an highly unpopular ground-sharing arrangement with Crystal Palace that inspired supporters to form a political party and eventually orchestrate a return to the Valley.

Pre-match photo

It took a while for Charlton to settle in the first half, and the Dutch team looked the more likely to score early on, but in spite of some good passing and movement by both sides at times the opening 45 minutes provided little in the way of excitement. What we needed was an Erica Roe style interruption to liven up proceedings, or failing that someone running across the pitch dressed as a Smurf. If you're wondering why on earth I found myself thinking about Smurfs at this point you've got a point. I think it was probably because of their low countries origin and the Smurf-like shade of blue of Den Bosch's kit.

The Den Bosch defence scramble a second half corner to safety

The pace picked up considerably after the break, however, with Charlton's midfield new boys Stevens, Green and the topically named Hollands particularly catching the eye. A subtle and expertly paced lob over the Dutch goalie by Bradley Wright-Phillips in the 78th minute proved decisive and with Charlton hitting the woodwork either side the goal, the victory could be considered well deserved. That it was achieved against opponents who appeared pretty accomplished themselves can only bode well for the season about to begin.

The fantastic Den Bosch fans

Most of the noise on the night came from the boisterous but good natured 136 Den Bosch fans amongst the small crowd of 3,951. They had obviously come to enjoy themselves, and succeeded admirably. Just before the People's Cup was handed over to Charlton captain Johnny Jackson, it was announced that whilst in London during the day, the Dutch supporters had engaged in some fundraising and raised £500 for Charlton's favoured charity Demelza House, an organisation that provides hospice care for children with life-limiting illnesses and their families. It wasn't clear what this fundraising involved, but what a fantastic effort! Hearing this brought an even warmer glow to an evening that became increasing enjoyable as it went on. By now all thoughts of Erica Roe and Smurfs were long gone.

'"Our first silverware of the season" announced the tannoy. 

Johnny Jackson's exaggerated hoisting of the trophy very much captured the happy spirit of the evening, and I really hope that Charlton arrange a reciprocal visit to the Netherlands next year. I will certainly be up for it.

Not long now until the serious stuff begins. My next visit to the Valley will be for the first league game of the season against Bournemouth on 6th August. I'm feeling cautiously optimistic.