By Noah Bercott
It was a night to forget for the Blues on Tuesday night as a talented Charlton academy side demonstrated their EFL credentials in a 9-2 win over a young Blues side.
Charlton struck gold in the 5th minute when Nathan Asiimwe gave the ball to Kai Enslin who controlled and then chested the ball into the net to give his side the first joy of the night to put his side one nil up. Charlton then controlled the match for the next 20 minutes or so, giving Wingate little to cheer about. The Addicks then inevitably doubled their lead through a cross from Toby Bower which was met by Nathan Asiimwe who headed the ball to extend his side’s lead .
Wingate still remained optimistic with flashes of promise in the dying embers of the first half, with Rhamar Garrett-Douglas seeing his shot blocked in the dying minutes of the first half.
The Blue boys started the second half with what appeared to be a result of a powerful and motivational pep talk from Ahmet Rifat, scoring only 6 minutes into the half when Billy Cracknell passed the ball to Jaiden Drakes-Thomas who slotted the ball into the bottom right of the net to make the score 2-1. However, Wingate’s joy would be short lived with Kai Enslin receiving the ball at the back post to eventually take it round the keeper to slot it into the empty net and bag his second of the night.
Wingate then narrowed the gap again in the 63rd minute when Ryan Lowe found Drakes-Thomas who drilled the ball into the bottom-right corner to give Wingate a glimpse of hope. Nevertheless, the host's optimism dropped once again with Charlton proving to be clinical in the 67th minute, with a fantastic long range strike from Jamaica international forward Kaheim Dixon which found the top right corner, restoring Charlton’s two nil lead.
Matters got worse for Wingate four minutes later, when Ibrahim Fullah’s thunderous strike deflected off a Wingate defender to reach the back of the net.
Things can get better from here? Right? Seconds later Kai Enslin puts in a wonderful cross which finds Dixon who used spellbinding technique to perfectly execute a bicycle kick leaving spectators mesmerised, to grab his second of the night and his sides second in the space of a minute. Dixon then went on to complete his hat-trick in the 77th minute through his fantastic manoeuvring of the ball around the keeper in which he eventually placed the ball in the back of the net.
When will it stop? Substitute Jacob Saffa then arrived late to the party, in the 88th minute, through a deflected cross allowing him to fire the ball into the back of the net with ease. A harrowing finale in extra time. Hat-trick hero Dixon then went on to extend his goal tally to four, slotting his strike into the far corner of the goal, to see the score end at 9-2 to Charlton, who will move forward in the competition looking to make it 3 titles in 3 years.
Next up we travel to Parkside to face Hashtag United in the Isthmian Premier League on Saturday 30th.
Wingate & Finchley: Hale-Brown; Garrett-Douglas; Kissi (Lowe 31'); Iontton; Cracknell; Drakes-Thomas; Newton (Frempah 75'); Restrepo (Georgiou 70'); Briscoe; Roberts; Osei
Unused subs: Byron, Obi.
Attendance: 62
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