Colchester United 0 Charlton 2
Matty Godden and Karlan Grant showed their quality in front of goal with two excellently-taken finishes as the Addicks secured a comfortable pre-season win against Colchester United on Tuesday evening.
Nathan Jones’ side created plenty of chances in an exciting first half and controlled the game for much of the second to ensure Will Mannion was barely tested.
The Addicks started brightly, with Harvey Knibbs winning possession inside the Colchester penalty area before laying the ball off to Grant, playing for the first time since returning to the club, whose effort was well blocked.
Knibbs then fashioned an opportunity for himself, bursting forward to latch onto a loose ball before cutting inside onto his right foot and driving a shot on goal that Harrison Chamberlain pushed clear.
Colchester responded when striker Bradley Ihionvien collected a clever pass from former Addick Jack Payne and weaved his way towards goal, only to be thwarted by an excellent block from Kayne Ramsay.
Charlton took the lead with a superbly-worked goal on 22 minutes. Billy Koumetio's outstanding diagonal pass from the left picked out Godden, whose first-time volley flew beyond Chamberlain and into the net.
The Addicks doubled their advantage a minute later. Grant released Knibbs down the left and the midfielder's cutback found Grant in space, allowing him to finish calmly from just outside the six-yard box.
Grant almost grabbed a second of his own minutes before the break when Chamberlain got down well to palm away his low strike after the Charlton academy graduate had cut inside from the left and fired across goal.
At the other end, Mannion was called into action for the first time two minutes before half-time, batting away a powerful Ihionvien effort from a tight angle to preserve his side's two-goal lead.
Jones used his bench at half-time, making four changes and while there were less chances in the second half the Addicks still carried a threat, with Tyreece Campbell causing the Colchester defence no end of problems and coming close to scoring in the 67th minute when he curled just over the crossbar.
There was also time for new signing Danny McNamara to see his first action in a Charlton shirt.
Jones’ men head to Reading on Saturday for their final pre-season fixture ahead of the start of the 2026/27 season.
Colchester United: Chamberlain; Hunt (Vincent-Young 67), Kuffour Jr, Raggett (Leake 67), Iandolo (Terry 67); Digby (Harvey 67), Oni (Jolliffe 67), Payne (Lisbie 67); Trialist B (Trialist C 46), Ihionvien (Connolly 67), Anderson (Trialist D)
Sub (not used): Trialist A
Charlton: Mannion; Ramsay (Asiimwe 46), Gough (Bell 79), Koumetio (Burke 46), Mesík (McNamara 79); Trialist (Coventry 65), Mwamba (Rankin-Costello 56); Olaofe (Fullah 65), Knibbs (Carey 65), Grant (Campbell 46); Godden (Leaburn 46)
Subs (not used): Brooks, Kanu, Jones
Goals: Godden 22, Grant 23
Assists: Koumetio 22, Knibbs 23
Referee: Carl Brook
Attendance: 1,281 (305 from Charlton)
