Charlton Athletic boss Ben Garner on 4-4 Ipswich Town draw

A dramatic finish at The Valley saw Charlton and Ipswich draw 4-4, with the Blues scoring twice in added time before the hosts battled back to rescue a draw with two goals of their own. 

Garner, who was sent from the touchline after Tyreece John-Jules had put Town 2-0 up, praised his players in the aftermath of the game while also claiming his side were battling against a strong Ipswich side as well as the match officials. 

“I don’t know what to say to be honest,” he said, in the minutes after the dramatic draw. 

“I’m so proud of the players. Coming back from two down is amazing, but to do it twice in the same game, in stoppage time, shows character and everything we’ve got. It was thoroughly deserved. 

“For me they (Ipswich) are the strongest team in this division. They are very well backed but also very well coached and we went toe-to-toe with them for long periods and were better than them in long periods too. That shows how good we can be.

George Dobson celebrates his late equaliser for Charlton Athletic (Image: Pagepix)

“To do that against 12 men, which is what it was, makes me so proud of the players and the supporters. The atmosphere in the second half was unbelievable.” 

Garner’s red card came for his protests after Ipswich’s second goal, which came from a free-kick for a foul on Dominic Ball which the Addicks boss insisted should not have been given. 

He then felt John-Jules was offside, as Wes Burns delivered a second ball into the penalty area. 

“Everyone in the stadium can see Dobbo (George Dobson) has got the ball for the free-kick. To cap it off, he’s offside from the cross. We get two players booked from it and I then get sent off – from the referee getting a decision completely wrong.  

“The referee today (Josh Smith) spent most of the time before the game telling my staff that he’s a Championship referee. The EFL need to look at that, if that’s the case. He’s not good enough for League One. 

“They need to look at themselves. It was like being back at school with the fourth official, every time I tried to speak to him it was like a kid saying he’s going to tell his mum about you. Just stand up and have a conversation and be a man. 

“Mine wasn’t a sending off. I pointed out we had too players booked, didn’t swear and I wasn’t aggressive.  

“It’s probably a ban and a fine, I don’t know, I’ve never been sent off before. I don’t want that to overshadow what was such an incredible team effort and incredible atmosphere here this afternoon.” 

As Garner was led down the tunnel at The Valley, the Charlton boss whipped the home fans into a frenzy, which he believes ultimately had a big influence on the result.  

“I was frustrated and there was some energy and noise from the crowd – I just went with them,” said Garner. “It rose and rose. I wanted to show how much I value them and my passion, how much it means to me. 

“They responded. We don’t get that result without the crowd, we don’t. Not a chance. That emotional energy was so, so important in the game. It shows what a special atmosphere we can create here. 

“To do what we did was special.” 

There was a significant delay in play during the first half as referee Smith was forced to call for an announcement in the stadium to stop a home supporter using a whistle from the stands during two Ipswich attacks. 

One, notably, noticeably put John-Jules off during a one-on-one battle with Charlton keeper Joe Wollacott.  

“The first one went in their favour because we stopped – they got a cross and got a corner,” said Garner. 

“But the second one probably went in our favour because he (John-Jules) was through on goal. I’ve never known that before. 

“On both occasions I thought it was the referee. We all stopped for the first one. 

“It was John-Jules who went through and it probably affected him, in all honesty. I don’t know where it was coming from and I’m glad it got sorted. 

“Hopefully we never get that again.”