Conor Washington scored in each half as Charlton claimed a League One victory over mid-table rivals Cambridge at The Valley.
The visitors just about edged possession in the opening half hour, although there was not much in it, with Joe Ironside heading James Brophy's deflected shot wide midway through the first half.
Sam Smith was the next to test the Charlton goal following a neat turn after collecting the ball in the box, but he fired just wide of the post as the away side pressed for an opener.
And it was the Addicks who took the lead with their first shot on target after 30 minutes as Washington slotted Alex Gilbey's cross into the bottom corner for his sixth league goal of the campaign.
Cambridge attempted to grab a quick equaliser as Ironside had an effort blocked five minutes later, while Ben Purrington came close to doubling Charlton's lead at the other end as he sent Elliot Lee's assist marginally wide of the top-left corner from the edge of the box.
Three players were booked as tempers frayed in first-half stoppage-time, with Charlton holding onto their narrow lead at the break.
The hosts came out of the blocks the fastest at the start of the second half and Sean Clare picked out Washington as he attempted to add a second before his shot was blocked.
Former Charlton goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov did well to deny two quick chances - the first from a Lee cross and the second from Jonathan Leko, who forced a save at the near post.
At the other end, Adam May forced Craig MacGillivray into a diving save to deny a second-half leveller on the hour mark and the Addicks stopper was called upon eight minutes later to brilliantly keep out a Smith effort that was heading for the bottom corner.
Smith shot wide in the closing stages before Washington secured the points with a late second for the hosts as he fired home in the 89th minute.
Report supplied by PA Media.
- Line-ups
- Match Stats
- Live Text
Line-ups
Charlton
Formation 3-1-4-2
1MacGillivray
28Clare6Pearce5Famewo
4Dobson
18Leko11Gilbey17Lee3Purrington
9Stockley14Washington
- 1MacGillivray
- 28ClareBooked at 50mins
- 6PearceBooked at 76mins
- 5FamewoBooked at 39mins
- 4Dobson
- 18LekoSubstituted forJaiyesimiat 70'minutes
- 11Gilbey
- 17Lee
- 3PurringtonSubstituted forSouaréat 73'minutes
- 9StockleyBooked at 45mins
- 14WashingtonBooked at 56mins
Substitutes
- 7Jaiyesimi
- 10Morgan
- 25Davison
- 26Watson
- 27Souaré
- 30Henderson
- 50Elerewe
Cambridge
Formation 4-2-3-1
1Mitov
2Williams15Okedina3Iredale11Dunk
16Weir4Digby
10Smith19May7Brophy
9Ironside
- 1Mitov
- 2Williams
- 15Okedina
- 3Iredale
- 11DunkBooked at 14minsSubstituted forLankesterat 88'minutes
- 16WeirSubstituted forKnibbsat 77'minutes
- 4DigbyBooked at 45mins
- 10SmithSubstituted forWormanat 90+3'minutes
- 19MayBooked at 29mins
- 7Brophy
- 9IronsideBooked at 45mins
Substitutes
- 13McKenzie-Lyle
- 23Lankester
- 24Masterson
- 26Knibbs
- 27Worman
- 33Yearn
- 35McConnell
- Referee:
- Ben Speedie
- Attendance:
- 24,886
Match Stats
Home TeamCharltonAway TeamCambridge
- Possession
- Home53%
- Away47%
- Shots
- Home13
- Away12
- Shots on Target
- Home4
- Away4
- Corners
- Home4
- Away3
- Fouls
- Home14
- Away12
Live Text
Post update
Match ends, Charlton Athletic 2, Cambridge United 0.
Full Time
Second Half ends, Charlton Athletic 2, Cambridge United 0.
Post update
Diallang Jaiyesimi (Charlton Athletic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Post update
Foul by James Brophy (Cambridge United).
Post update
Alex Gilbey (Charlton Athletic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
See AlsoCharlton Athletic 2-1 BarnsleyPost update
Foul by Adam May (Cambridge United).
Substitution
Substitution, Cambridge United. Ben Worman replaces Sam Smith.
Post update
Offside, Charlton Athletic. Alex Gilbey tries a through ball, but Conor Washington is caught offside.
Post update
Alex Gilbey (Charlton Athletic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Post update
Foul by Jack Iredale (Cambridge United).
Post update
Attempt missed. Elliot Lee (Charlton Athletic) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Jayden Stockley.
Goal!
Goal! Charlton Athletic 2, Cambridge United 0. Conor Washington (Charlton Athletic) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal.
Substitution
Substitution, Cambridge United. Jack Lankester replaces Harrison Dunk.
Post update
Pape Souaré (Charlton Athletic) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Post update
Foul by Sam Smith (Cambridge United).
Post update
Foul by Diallang Jaiyesimi (Charlton Athletic).
Post update
James Brophy (Cambridge United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Post update
Attempt missed. Sam Smith (Cambridge United) left footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Adam May with a through ball.
Substitution
Substitution, Cambridge United. Harvey Knibbs replaces Jensen Weir.
Booking
Jason Pearce (Charlton Athletic) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Page 1 of 6
- Call of Duty or Battlefield with Bukayo Saka: The England star talks gaming on Press X to Continue
- You're Dead to Me: Who was 'the epitome of the American Renaissance man'?
These comments are now closed. 7 commentsComments
Join the conversation
R
Comment posted by robin, at 19:46 11 Dec 2021robin
19:46 11 Dec 2021
Played 22 games
24 games to play
If JJ in charge it could be a great seasonP
Comment posted by Peter Devonshire, at 18:19 11 Dec 2021Peter Devonshire
18:19 11 Dec 2021
That was some crowd 25000. Well done Charlton as you carry on your good run
D
Reply posted by dymcjyih, at 00:39 12 Dec 2021dymcjyih
00:39 12 Dec 2021
to Peter Devonshire
dymcjyih replied:
It wasn't actually a 25,000 crowd, for the third home game in a row the club has included their free ticket promotion numbers in the published attendance, regardless of whether the recipients turned up or not. Last Tuesday there were fewer than 15,000 in the ground, (but an attendance of 26,000 was announced) and today the number of occupied seats was well below 20,000.
D
Comment posted by Dave s, at 21:29 11 Dec 2021Dave s
21:29 11 Dec 2021
Think the important part going forward is
for the owner to sign up JJ and Euell, then sort out players who's contracts end in the next few months & address possible additions to the squad in January.J
Comment posted by JayDenner, at 19:29 11 Dec 2021JayDenner
19:29 11 Dec 2021
Fantastic again from the lads! On to Plymouth, should be a tough test but well within out ability to get a win there.
COYA!
A
Comment posted by A simple man called Paul, at 07:19 12 Dec 2021A simple man called Paul
07:19 12 Dec 2021
Still half a season to go yet and Charlton may turn out to be dark horses after Christmas. A much better side than their bad start suggested. Sounds like United played ok today. We are still finding our feet at this level after many years away. This idea letting season ticket holders bring a friend along free is a good one. I still regret not taking a chance on Washington when he was at St Ives.
