Crystal Palace 0 Charlton 1
So, after my facetious conjecture that Charlton might be a long way ahead with eleven minutes remaining, the fact of the matter was that it was not until the 93rd minute, at the very end of extra time, that dashing, Danish, Dennis Rommedahl, signed from PSV Eindhoven in the summer, hit his début goal for Charlton to bring the three points back to The Valley, when everyone was settling, happily enough, for a draw. The letter D was also in evidence earlier in the game as Deano, i.e. Dean Kiely, the Charlton goalkeeper, produced a fine save when Palace took a penalty in the 58th minute. Palace manager Ian Dowie is convinced that Deano moved and that the penalty should have been retaken, but it wasn't. Dowie said that football can be a cruel game sometimes. It can indeed, but there are times when things go your way as well.
Today also saw the draw (another D) for Round 3 of the F. A. Cup, with Charlton paired at The Valley against Rochdale. On paper this looks easy, but bear in mind Charlton's abysmal record against a) lower-league sides in cup competitions these last few years (knocked out by Gillingham in R3 last season, struggled to beat Dagenham and Redbridge in a replay the year before, beat Luton only on penalties in the League Cup last year) and b) north-western opposition this season (Liverpool, Man City; Man United; Bolton, though we did beat Blackburn). We'll see.
There is no quiz this week, as here in Spain we are celebrating, tomorrow/later today, 6th, Constitution Day, and on Wednesday, 8th, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. The 7th is frequently thrown in as a holiday as well, and when, as this year, the whole lot backs on to a weekend, you've got quite a break, and so many people, about 8 million, the papers say, have gone travelling. It's certainly been very quiet here in the western edge of Madrid tonight, given that people aren't going to have to go to work tomorrow.
By the way, I never knew that Dennis was a Danish name. It almost calls for a comment from my friend Mrs. Morgan...