West Ham United 1 Charlton 2
It was déjà vu for the Addicks at the London Stadium on Saturday afternoon, as Lloyd Jones and Tyreece Campbell were on the scoresheet once again to help Charlton secure an impressive 2-1 victory in the Sky Bet Championship.
There was late drama in east London after the Hammers were awarded a penalty in injury time, but Taty Castellanos missed from 12 yards as Nathan Jones’ side held on to bring all three points back to SE7, making it three wins from three in all competitions.
Arthur Okonkwo came into the starting line-up to make his Addicks debut, as the gaffer made two enforced changes to the side that defeated Derby County in the league opener last weekend. Miles Leaburn also came into the side, while Will Mannion and Matty Godden were both absent from the squad through injury. Micah Mbick was named on the bench in a Sky Bet Championship fixture for the first time.
Charlton got the game under way at London Stadium and was a dream start for the visitors side, as the Addicks took the lead inside seven minutes. Sonny Carey’s long throw bounced into the box and fell for Jones, who chested it down brilliantly and put it into the bottom-right hand corner with a fantastic overhead kick effort. The centre-back made it two goals in two games, as Charlton led 1-0 at the London Stadium.
Miles Leaburn had a golden opportunity to double the lead on 19 minutes, finding himself in acres of space as he ran towards goal. He held the ball up well and took his time before getting his shot away, only to see it clip the crossbar.
Carey tried his luck from range minutes later, but his strike didn’t cause Mads Hermansen any issues.
Jones had another goal-scoring opportunity just before the half-hour mark, as he connected cleanly with the ball from an Addicks’ corner, but Hermansen did well to gather it.
The Hammers threatened just before half-time, as Castellanos headed Ollie Scarles’ cross towards goal, but Okonkwo was there to handle it. At the break, Jones’ men led 1-0.
Charlton were out on the front foot at the start of the second half, winning a corner after a lovely exchange of play down the right-hand side, but nothing came of the subsequent set-piece.
Leaburn kept causing trouble for Maximilian Kilman, who entered the referee’s book after a late challenge on the striker.
West Ham had the ball in the net moments later, but the referee had already pulled play back after a foul from Danny McNamara, who was branded a yellow card.
At the other Tyreece Campbell doubled the Addicks’ lead on 56 minutes, with an excellent finish. Leaburn did well to dispossess Konstantinos Mavropanos and feed the ball through to Campbell, who cooly fired his shot into the net, in front of the travelling Charlton supporters.
Alan Mwamba and Micah Mbick were introduced midway through the second half to make their Sky Bet Championship debuts. The two academy graduates replaced Carey and Leaburn.
The home side began to up the tempo as they searched for a way back into the game. Karlan Grant went into the book for a challenge on Manor Solomon.
Joël Piroe pulled the Hammers back into the contest with just over 15 minutes left to play. Castellanos’ shot was parried away by Okonkwo, but it landed at the feet of Piroe, who slammed the ball home from close range to reduce the deficit to 2-1.
West Ham substitute Divine Mukasa had an excellent chance to draw West Ham level, but Okonkwo produced a fine save to tip his shot over the bar.
Nathan Jones made a further two changes to sure up his side going into the final stages of the contest. Collins Sichenje and Joe Rankin-Costello entered the fray in place of Grant and Nathaniel Chalobah.
Castellanos was booked for the home side after a blatant dive in the Charlton penalty area.
The Hammers were awarded a penalty deep into stoppage time after Conor Coventry was penalised for handball. Castellanos stepped up and sent Okonkwo the wrong way, but his spot-kick struck the post, allowing Charlton to hold on to their lead.
Despite a nervy finish, the Addicks claimed all three points at the London Stadium, securing another 2-1 victory in the Sky Bet Championship. The victory meant that Charlton have made it three wins from three in all competitions so far this season.
Jones’ men return to action on Wednesday evening as they travel to the north London to face Tottenham Hotspur in the second round of the Carabao Cup (7.45pm BST).
West Ham United: Hermansen; Walker-Peters, Mavropanos (Veltman 70), Kilman, Scarles (Mukasa 70); Engels, Kanté (Orford 46), Bowen, Solomon; Taty, Piroe
Subs: Areola, Ward-Prowse, Lamadrid, Golameckis, Mayers, Ajala
Goal: Piroe 74
Booked: Kilman 47 (foul), Castellanos 81 (simulation)
Charlton: Okonkwo; McNamara, Jones (c), Koumetio, Bell; Coventry, Chalobah (Rankin-Costello 77); Campbell, Carey (Mwamba 65), Grant (Sichenje 77); Leaburn (Mbick 70)
Subs: Brooks, Mesík, Alli, Apter
Goal: Jones 7, Campbell 56
Assist: Carey 7, Leaburn 56
Booked: McNamara 50 (foul), Grant 72 (foul), Jones 90+3 (dissent)
Referee: Andrew Kitchen
Attendance: 62,500 (3,001 from Charlton)
