So I had been to the old Valley in 1977, but the new Valley was like coming to a different ground. This was the last game of four that I watched during my January 2020 trip and I was joined by two of my friends. We took the train down to Charlton from London Bridge, which was a 20-minute ride. At the ground, we secured three seats in the West Stand and then sought out a nearby pub, The Royal Oak, to have a pint before the game. 

The atmosphere was really good and having been to London Stadium three days earlier, this was a different class. Charlton had a bright start and scored already in the 9th minute after a freekick was headed on into the penalty area for an easy tap-in by Lyle Taylor. Barnsley had a ball in the post before Andre Green made it 2-0 when we were waiting for half-time. Barnsley were much improved in the second half and reduced the deficit through Cauley Woodrow. But, this was not Barnsley's day, they had two more balls hitting the woodwork before the final whistle. 

We had studied the train time-table beforehand and got away with the first train after 5. An hour later we were at Wembley where we had our headquarters for the night.