Professional win pleases birthday boy Parky

Phil Parkinson declared Charlton's win at Brighton & Hove Albion was their best away outing of the season after celebrating his 42nd birthday in the best possible style on Tuesday night.

The Addicks ended a three-month barren run on the road at the Withdean Stadium thanks to two goals in eight first-half minutes from Deon Burton and Scott Wagstaff.

And the delighted birthday boy purred: "I'm very pleased. I thought it was a very professional performance. We took the spirit we showed at Yeovil into this game in terms of the professionalism of the team. I thought that was as good as we've played away from home this season.

"It wasn't always pretty and was a difficult pitch to play on. We were resilient as a team and I lost count at the number of blocks we got in on the edge of our box; people throwing themselves in front of the ball to protect the goal. That's the kind of mentality you need to get a clean sheet, and we showed that tonight.”

Brighton started brightly on a chilly evening on the Sussex coast, and defender James Tunnicliffe headed a 17th-minute corner against the underside of the bar before Rob Elliot palmed the loose ball to safety.

A dozen minutes later Burton stole across his man to head home his ninth goal of the season and Wagstaff followed up to double Charlton's lead eight minutes before the break.

Added the Valley boss: "Brighton probably started the better of the two teams. They are a good side and I said that to the lads in our team meeting yesterday. They have a real attacking threat in Bennett, Forster, Murray and Dickinson coming off the bench, and that strike force in this division is very good. I knew we would have to be right at the top of our game to get a clean sheet.”

Parkinson insisted he was not overly fazed at the length of time between the away wins at Tranmere Rovers in August and now Brighton, but was happy to pick up three points away from The Valley nonetheless.

"It's about mentality away from home,” he said. "We have to be strong as a unit. I've got to be fair to the lads, because they've been excellent for the majority of the season. We lost our away touch around the Carlisle game but not tonight; we were excellent.

"I wouldn't say it's a monkey off our back as we've only lost two games all season in the league. People saw the way we played against Yeovil. We took that performance into tonight. It wasn't massively on our minds that we hadn't won for a while away from home. We just concentrated on the game and our strength was evident for all to see tonight.”

Parkinson was also pleased at the contributions of goalscorers Burton and Wagstaff, and of right-back Elliot Omozusi.

He continued: "I thought Scott did well. He did everything you expect from Scotty, which is get back in position, get in the box and he worked his socks off for the team. He's very committed and every week we are seeing him grow in confidence. He's scored three goals this season, which is a very good return for the amount of time he has been on the pitch. Scotty deserved his chance tonight and has given us food for thought against Southend.

"Deon scored a very good goal with a very good header. He's in good form and is technically very good. He's looking more of a goal threat as the season has gone on, so we're very pleased."

The unsung Omozusi, who slotted in at right-back as Kelly Youga joined fellow full-backs Frazer Richardson and Chris Solly on the treatment table, earned special praise from the boss.

"You've got to remember that when Elliot came in he was low on match fitness, and he also came in at a difficult time,” said Parkinson. "Tonight Elliot defended very well. He's a confident player, a very good one-on-one defender and needed to be tonight against Elliott Bennett.”

Overall, then, the boss was happy with a good night's work at the Withdean Stadium - with results elsewhere seeing his side stretch their lead over third place to four points. Leeds United, meanwhile, maintained their six-point lead at the top.

He continued: "We know we have got a lot of work to do. We've said to the lads we're pleased tonight but we have got to go again on Saturday. To be successful, you have to churn out one result after another.

"Leeds are strong. I expected them to beat Oldham tonight, and they did. But they have got a tough game on Saturday [against Huddersfield Town]. A lot of the teams below us lost, so it's been a good night all round.”

Parkinson's opposite number Gustavo Poyet tipped the Addicks for promotion after the game - but was full of praise for his own side's efforts.

"They've got a big chance,” said the Uruguayan. "I don't think there was a two-goal difference between the two teams tonight. They got their first two shots on target for goals and it was difficult for my players to play after that. We had chances before that but sometimes the situation does not go your way.

"If you score first the game is different and I feel for my players today. They [Charlton] know how to play and get points, so credit to them.”