Charlton Athletic was relegated from the Premiership League
after losing 2-0 to Tottenham Hotspur at the Valley Stadium in
London on Monday.
Charlton got off to the worst possible start, allowing an early
goal from the Bulgarian Dimitar Berbatov after 7 minutes. Their
match ended unluckily when Jermain Defoe scored another point for
the Spurs in the last minute.
The loss consigned the home defender to play the Championship
league next season. All Charlton's hopes of staying in the
Premiership for a seventh consecutive season were finally
extinguished.
Tottenham Hotspur's win lifted them into sixth place. They are
also in the running for a place in the UEFA Cup, which they have a
good chance of securing.
Chinese midfielder Zheng Zhi was back in Charlton's starting
line-up, but he failed to help his team score any points.
He almost contributed to a penalty at 59 minutes when he cut his
right foot inside the penalty area, but Michael Dawson blocked his
shot.
The Chinese national captain was replaced with English player
Brian Hughes in the 84th minute.
(CRI May 8, 2007)