The former Portsmouth man hails the ‘good’ turnaround following the draw at the Valley ahead of the Derby County clash.
Charlton goalkeeper Harry Isted lauded his team’s defensive resilience after the Addicks’ 0-0 stalemate with Portsmouth at the Valley on Saturday. Isted, who previously played youth football for Pompey, talked to the press following his team’s draw and was full of praise for how his team had performed against the likes of the Fratton Park side, Bolton, and Derby, knowing that this has put them in good stead moving into March.
After the game, the 26-year-old goalie reflected on his team’s efforts: “I think it was, maybe not a fun game, but there was a lot of directness between the two teams. I think we had more chances than they did in the second half; I didn’t make any saves, but I thought both teams were quite similar.
“We’ve done a great job of learning from our failures and reacting when they happen. I’m there to save the ball, and if I succeed, it will benefit us!”
It had been 22 games since Charlton last kept a clean sheet, and Isted expressed his joy that the achievement had finally been done. “It’s massive,” he added. “We go out every single day and hope to keep a clean sheet. It has been a long time, so it is a pleasant feeling. We’ve got a good group of guys, and we go into every game with positive attitudes.When you don’t have a clean sheet for so long, it’s difficult, even mentally, but we’ve got it now, and it’s something to build on.”
Nathan Jones has only been with the Addicks for a few weeks, but Isted has previously worked with the Welshman at Luton Town. When asked about Jones’ impact on the club, the ex-Hatters player stated that since Jones’ arrival, “there’s more of a structure to the team.” A style of play that hopefully people will see. We are also more resilient when it comes to defense. We put our bodies on the line to defend the ‘cage’.”
With only three days before their next game, which is against another good side in League One, Isted has confirmed the club will continue to build, and there is no question that they will put up the necessary performance to extend their run of form against Derby County
“Remember when we played Derby at our place on February 3rd? It was 1-0, and they had one opportunity. I believe that was a good platform. We dominated defensively; they didn’t appear to have many chances to score, and hopefully that will continue on Tuesday.
“We’ve had a difficult run of matches, but I believe we’ve had excellent results, and it’s now about creating that platform going into matchups where we know we can pick up three points. It provides us positive thinking and an excellent foundation for the March fixtures.You see, February was challenging, but we managed to pick up three points, two of which came against pretty good teams.”
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