Charlton secured their place in the Emirates FA Cup second-round with a 4-0 victory over National League South side Havant & Waterlooville at The Valley on Saturday afternoon.
Dogged Display
Despite dominating possession in the first-half, the League One side struggled to break down their well organised non-league opponents, who were quite happy to sit back, soak up pressure and look to score on the counter-attack.
Chances were at a premium for both sides in the opening 45, with the Addicks limited to a few shots from range, most notably from Harry Arter and Charlie Kirk, though neither tested Will Mannion in the visitors’ goal.
Major Moments
The second-half was a much more open affair, with chances presenting themselves to both teams. Havant came the closest to breaking the deadlock in the 69th minute when Jake McCarthy’s header from an Oscar Gobern corner forced Stephen Henderson, making his first Charlton start since February 2016, into a smart diving save to his left to keep parity.
Just moments after, Charlton finally found the clinical edge they’d been looking for when Josh Davison found himself unmarked at the back post to head in a delightfully chipped ball from Kirk.
Floodgates Open
From then on, the difference in fitness levels and squad depth paid dividends. On-loan Elliot Lee, introduced as a second-half substitute by the Addicks’ Caretaker Manager, Johnnie Jackson, was brought down in the box by Jamie Collins and captain Jayden Stockley rifled the subsequent penalty into the top-right hand corner.
Stockley then grabbed his second and Charlton’s third of the afternoon when he diverted Pape Souaré’s shot into the back of the net from close range after Lee had initially hit the crossbar.
Teenage striker Mason Burstow wrapped up the scoring in the 90th minute when he broke through the Havant defence and fired low past Mannion into the bottom left-hand corner.
Depleted Hawks
Havant & Waterlooville dug deep for 72 minutes and can be left wondering what might’ve been had that McCarthy effort found the back of the net and given them the lead. In the end, the difference in fitness levels and squad depth proved to be the difference, summed up when substitute goalkeeper Charlie Searle had to be brought on up front late on to replace the injured Leon Chambers-Parillon.
A one-sided final score did not stop the 874 away fans who had made the trip up from the south coast from enjoying their day out, remaining in loud voice throughout the 90 minutes.
As for the Addicks, who made nine changes from the side which drew 1-1 against Rotherham United last Tuesday, a comfortable victory in the end extends their unbeaten run in all competitions to four, continuing a nice run of momentum heading into Tuesday night’s Papa John’s Trophy clash away at Leyton Orient.
