Cray Valley have got another match to add to their crammed fixture schedule – but manager Steve McKimm is not about to complain about an FA Cup replay at home to Charlton.
The Eltham-based club are 117 places and five leagues below the Addicks but their spirited second-half performance meant they fully deserved another crack at reaching the second round of the competition after a 1-1 draw at The Valley.
Cray, who play in the Isthmian League South East Division, have lost just one of their 20 matches this season and Kyrell Lisbie – the son of former Charlton striker Kevin – produced the cross which Lucas Ness slid into his own net to equalise just three minutes into the second half.
It cancelled out Scott Fraser’s ninth-minute opener for the League One hosts.
McKimm and his players celebrated in front of their 1,998 fans who had made the short journey.
“I’m extremely proud – my staff get a mention because they are an unbelievable support network and the players are the star of the show,” said McKimm. “They are the ones who go out there and do it.
“Charlton are not far from the play-offs. They have got good players and a good manager. We knew we couldn’t come and just be expansive.
“But what I did like is, going 1-0 down, my players didn’t freeze. They looked after the ball. We weren’t a smash-and-grab team today. We played some really good football.
“Testament to my players because they ended up bringing on five of their starting or 16 that play week in and week out in League One.
“I’m not going to kid anyone. We didn’t play Charlton’s first team but we played a team that is full of professionals, train every day and have the fitness and nutrition – and my boys were superb. It’s special.”
Charlton head coach Michael Appleton made 11 changes from their last outing – with one eye arguably on next weekend’s trip to leaders Portsmouth.
Charlie Kirk had a great chance to restore their lead shortly after the part-timers had levelled but Millers goalkeeper Sam Freeman saved with his legs.
Chem Campbell headed wide from close range in the first half from Fraser’s pinpoint corner while Slobodan Tedic clipped the top of the crossbar.
Appleton said: “I was disappointed with the performances of some of the players. I expected a little bit more.
“Probably up until the goal it was okay – still a little bit safe by a few players, not really looking to make the impact I expected to.
“There was a lot of anxiety after the goal and they struggled after that. It was a hard watch at times.
“If I’d made a different selection it would have been a different scenario, but sometimes you’ve got to manage and balance the group as best you possibly can.
“The starting 11 was more than capable of winning the game. I still believe that, no matter how poor some of the performances were.
“I take full responsibility for picking the team and clearly it was the wrong one. At least we’ve got a second crack at it.”
Postecoglou: Spurs have a confidence problem to overcome
Ange Postecoglou says that Tottenham need to "overcome" their low confidence after suffering a 4-2 defeat to Liverpool on Sunday.
Spurs slipped to their fourth consecutive Premier League defeat, being left to bemoan their slow start as they found themselves 4-0 down by the hour mark thanks to goals from Mohamed Salah, Andrew Robertson, Cody Gakpo and Harvey Elliott.
Richarlison came off the bench to salvage some pride for Spurs, scoring one before setting up Son Heung-min for a goal on his 300th Premier League appearance.
Spurs had the opportunity to cut the gap to the top four after Aston Villa’s defeat to Brighton, but they remain seven points off a Champions League spot.
Postecoglou’s side still have a game in hand over the Villans, though he was sure that Spurs would be able to put their recent poor run behind them.
Asked if Spurs had a confidence problem, Postecoglou told Sky Sports: "Maybe in the front third there is.
"It probably is a bit of a lack of confidence, but again, that's something the guys have to work through.
"You have to find a way to overcome that because, ultimately, if you don't put pressure on the opposition in the front third after you've worked your way up there, they're going to get comfortable with their position."
Spurs have won just one of their last nine Premier League away games, failing to win any of the last five.
Despite that run extending at Anfield, Postecoglou highlighted what he thought was an improvement on their recent performances.
He continued: "Obviously a hugely disappointing outcome for us but at least we were more like ourselves today in terms of our football.
"Our last two away games at Newcastle and Chelsea, apart from the results which weren't great either, we just didn't try and play our football.
"I thought today, even in the first half, some of our football, our pressing was back to where it should be."
Roma 1-1 Juventus: Juve miss chance to close gap to second after draw with Roma
Juventus were held to a 1-1 draw at Roma on Sunday, missing the chance to close in on Milan in second place in Serie A.
Roma took the lead after 15 minutes when Romelu Lukaku found himself in the perfect position to tap in the rebound from a Bryan Cristante shot.
Bremer levelled with a header for Juventus just after the half-hour mark when Federico Chiesa picked him out inside the box from a corner.
Both sides had chances to find a winner in the final minutes, with Roma keeper Mile Svilar making a fingertip save to push Manuel Locatelli's volley over the bar.
Third-placed Juventus have 66 points, five fewer than Milan, who drew 3-3 with Genoa earlier on Sunday. Roma are fifth with 60 points.
Data Debrief: Leading from the back
Since scoring his first Serie A goal in the 2019-20 season, Bremer is the defender with the most headed goals in the Big-5 European leagues, netting 13 in total. Each of his last seven goals have been headers.
His goal was enough to earn Juventus a point today, but it means that they have drawn each of their last four in the competition - a first since February-March 2012 under Antonio Conte.
Chelsea 8-0 Bristol City: Blues rout hands Hayes perfect home send off
Guro Reiten starred as Chelsea thrashed already-relegated Bristol City 8-0 to keep their title hopes alive in the Women's Super League on Sunday.
The Norwegian scored four goals, netting the opener from the penalty spot to get Emma Hayes' last home game in charge off to the best start.
She scored the other three in the second half in just over 20 minutes, while teeing up Agnes Beever-Jones for the seventh goal with just two minutes left.
Beever-Jones got two, with Sjoeke Nusken and Niamh Charles also adding to the scoreline to eradicate the goal-difference advantage that Manchester City, who lost to Arsenal earlier on Sunday, had over them.
Chelsea move to within three points of the Citizens, with a game in hand over them, remaining in the fight to lift their fifth-consecutive league title.
Data Debrief:
Chelsea have scored eight goals in a game for the first time since December 2022 against Leicester City, a match they also won 8-0.
The Blues have scored in their last six games in the WSL, though it does not come close to their longest run of games with a goal in the competition - a run of 20 from April 2023 to February 2024.
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