Charlton U18s 1 Ipswich U18s 0

West Ham's former England striker Teddy Sheringham, supporting his son Charlie, was the star attraction at Sparrows Lane on Saturday morning.

Though they are yet to scale the heights of the season's opening month, Charlton's U18 team are sweeping all before them at the moment.

Ipswich Town's senior academy side, for whom Sheringham's son Charlie is a striker, became the young Addicks' fourth straight victims thanks to Michael Carvill's third goal of the season that was enough to decide something of a low-key contest.

Overall, it was another satisfactory display from Robson's men who defended resolutely, kept the ball well in places and looked dangerous from set pieces. But the fluidity that was a feature of Charlton's play in the first three games of the season has not quite resurfaced even if it hasn't had an adverse effect on results.

Ipswich dominated the second half and struck the woodwork twice, and Robson will know that his team are capable of far better.

It was one of the strongest sides the former Charlton winger has been able to field all season, with striker James Walker taking a rare break from his reserve team exploits and wing wizards Myles Weston and Alistair John both starting the game despite a likely involvement with the second string two days later.

Also, skipper Adam Cottrell returned from injury as did central defender Jack Clifford; both players having shaken off ankle problems. Fred Wilson's ankle injury, however, kept the Australian midfielder form featuring and a starting place for trialist Danny Stevens - a diminutive but skilful midfield player - mean that Danny Phillips took a rest.

There was also a squad place for new signing Jani Tanska, the Finnish youth international defender, and the 16-year-old had a sturdy last ten minutes in the heart of the defence. Normally, all eyes would have been on the young Finn following his high-profile signing eight days earlier, but that was pretty difficult because of the presence of Sheringham, who posed for countless photographs.

Despite confidence levels that should have been soaring having picked up their third straight win the previous week, Charlton's opening was bitty and disjointed.

In-form defender Lawrie Wilson had to come to his team's rescue on a couple of occasions early on and Stevens was about the only player that looked like making anything happen for the home side.

Indeed, the first half-hour of the contest passed with little action in either penalty area, but the 33rd minute saw Charlton take the lead with their first chance. The young Addicks' 'double-dummy' corner routine appears to have been put on the backburner and replaced with a simpler short corner drill and it was from one such flag-kick that the home side took the lead.

Stevens used Weston as a wall and clipped a first-time cross into the six-yard box where Carvill did brilliantly to angle his body and guide a fine glancing header beyond Shane Supple and into the far corner of the net.

After the break Sheku Kamara showed good alertness to foil a quickly taken Ipswich free-kick while other red shirts dallied, and then Clifford nodded a Weston corner over the top. In similar fashion to the West ham United game two weeks earlier, however, Charlton were very much on the back foot in the second half and substitute Owen Garven came within a whisker of restoring parity when his 25-yard free-kick rattled Szabolcs Kemenes' crossbar.

The Hungarian was certainly beaten, but moments on, as Ipswich cranked up the pace, he made a brilliant save at the feet of the marauding Danny Haynes.

Then, with four minutes left, substitute Stuart Ainsley raced on to Michael Synott's diagonal ball and released a shot that came back off the far post, and it was clear that this was Charlton's most fortunate win of the season.

Charlton: Kemenes, Cottrell, Ashton, Stevens (Gross 89), L Wilson (Tanska 80), Clifford, John (Sodje 85), Carvill, Walker, Kamara, Weston.

Subs (not used): Burt.

Goal: Wilson (33)

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