Football League round-up – Benson adjusting to life at Charlton
After taking his time to find his feet for Charlton, Paul Benson is now starting to fire in the goals for the League One side.
His double on Saturday, one which was the late equaliser in the Addicks 2-2 draw against Plymouth at Home Park, was his third of the season and he is fast becoming the new fans' favourite at the Valley.
The achievements are not bad for a player who was playing Sunday football for his local side just six years ago. It was his average of 43 goals per season that attracted the attention of Dagenham & Redbridge, who he helped progress from the Conference to League One before being snapped up by Phil Parkinson.
Benson cost the London club just over £250,000 in the summer, but the 30-year-old feels no pressure despite the large transfer fee.
"I've never really felt the expectations on me," he told the club’s official website.
"The management and the lads have been brilliant with me since I came here, so I've never really felt the pressure to score goals straight away. I realise that's what the fans want, because any forward playing for their team, whether they cost £250,000 or £250, is expected to score goals.
"I've done that for the five years I was at Dagenham & Redbridge and it worked pretty well for me. I got 85-odd goals for Dagenham and you can't really argue with the statistics there."
Another striker who has now settled into life in League One is Carlisle’s Gary Madine, who scored the only goal as his side beat Notts County 1-0 to move in the automatic promotion positions.
Brighton continue to be the early pace setters in League One but their lead was cut to only three points as they were held 1-1 at home to Bournemouth. Steve Fletcher, who is five years older than his manager Eddie Howe, won the penalty that Marc Pugh scored from in the dying minutes following Kazenga LuaLua opener in the first half.
Peterborough United couldn’t take advantage of the leaders slip up as they were soundly beaten 2-0 at Hartlepool. Goals from Peter Hartley and Gary Liddle were sandwiched in between a red card for Posh's Lee Tomlin.
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