CHARLTON Athletic assistant manager Curtis Fleming said the Addicks “didn’t really turn up” as Jovon Makama scored the only goal for Norwich City at Carrow Road on Boxing Day.
The 21-year-old scored in the 61st minute as the Canaries continued their revival under new boss Philippe Clement.
Fleming was on media duty in the absence of the suspended Nathan Jones.
“We’re disappointed,” Fleming said. “We’ll have a look back at it. Straight after the game I had a chat with the gaffer. I don’t think we were the best version of ourselves, we have to be the best version of ourselves in every game we play in.
“This was a good game for us to go into today, a good opportunity for us to go and win the game and I don’t think we really turned up.”
Fleming added: “Defensively I think we were a bit rattly. They weren’t putting us under major pressure but anything that seemed to go into the box we were scuffing. It was hitting people in the back of the leg and it was dropping to different people and that was the only real way they were going to score.
“I think that happened for the goal. We scuffed a clearance, it breaks, it drops to Makama who is on a good run of form. We know he’s right-footed, we didn’t get a block in on that which was disappointing but it didn’t seem to happen for us today. I don’t think we caused them problems and I think we could have because I think the best version of ourselves today could have got a good result.”
With Kayne Ramsay missing the game with a calf injury suffered in the previous Saturday’s 1-0 win at home to Oxford United, academy graduate Keenan Gough made his full Championship debut. Fleming said: “I think the kid did unbelievable to get through that, it’s 105 minutes in the Championship where he’s been playing U21s football for most of the season. It shows a real drive. He’s done so well with us in training. It’s brilliant for him and he’ll remember this day forever.”
Norwich have lost only once in their last seven games.
“It could have been better if we’d have scored a second or a third goal, and the team really deserved that for the performance they gave,” Clement said.
“In the second half we knew there would be more space and we could open up them more, but it’s been a very good day – not only winning, but also a first clean sheet since August and taking the three points.
“It’s very important, but we get a clean sheet because we defended really well as a team.
“It’s not that Vladan Kovacevic had to make really amazing saves, or you can have several chances against and you can have a clean sheet with luck. That was totally not the case.
“The team did a very good defensive job against a team who’s really dangerous in a specific way with their long balls, their fight, their duels, diagonals and set pieces.
“So keeping them away from our goal was also a really important part of winning today.”
The Addicks are seventeenth in the table and travel to seventeenth-place Portsmouth on Monday (7.45pm).
