Stoke City 4 Charlton 0
Charlton’s unbeaten start to the Sky Bet Championship came to an end at the bet365 Stadium as the Addicks were unable to recover from a contentious early penalty decision on Saturday afternoon.
Nathan Jones' side began brightly and controlled the opening stages, but the award of a 14th-minute penalty shifted the momentum firmly in Stoke City's favour.
Charlton, who felt a number of refereeing decisions went against them throughout the afternoon, also finished the match with 10 men after Danny McNamara was shown two yellow cards in the space of three minutes.
With a busy fixture schedule, Jones made four changes to the side that drew with West Bromwich Albion in midweek, handing full league debuts to Oliver Skipp and Timothy Ouma.
The Addicks started on the front foot and looked dangerous in an open contest. Tyler Bindon looped a header just over Viktor Johansson's crossbar in the third minute, while Tyreece Campbell and Ivan Mesík both saw efforts blocked.
At the end of a sustained spell of pressure, Lloyd Jones flicked a shot narrowly wide as Charlton continued to threaten.
However, after the visitors' positive start, the game turned in the 14th minute when Stoke were awarded what appeared to be a soft penalty after Ouma was penalised for holding inside the box. Arthur Okonkwo dived to his left, but Justin Devenny calmly rolled his spot-kick into the opposite corner to give the home side the lead.
Stoke doubled their advantage in the 22nd minute when Ethan Galbraith found the bottom corner with a composed finish after a Charlton clearance deflected into his path.
A third followed just three minutes later as an unmarked George Hirst headed home Eric Bocat's cross from the left.
Trailing by three goals, Jones switched to a back five, introducing McNamara in place of Campbell.
Karlan Grant then forced Johansson into a smart save with a curling effort, before the Stoke goalkeeper gathered comfortably from another Bindon attempt.
Substitute Robert Bozenik escaped punishment after crashing into Lloyd Jones while the Charlton defender was focused on heading the ball clear. Miles Leaburn was booked shortly after for his part in an aerial challenge with Luke Graham and did receive a yellow card to add to the visiting supporters’ frustration.
Stoke added a fourth in the 41st minute when Bocat's shot from the edge of the area was diverted in from close range by Devenny for his second goal of the afternoon.
The Addicks were reduced to 10 men early in the second half. McNamara was booked for a foul on Bocat before receiving a second yellow card three minutes later, apparently for questioning why Ben Wilmot had not been cautioned for a challenge on Leaburn moments earlier.
Despite the circumstances, the Charlton supporters didn’t stop singing. The 10 men defended bravely and had a few chances of their own. Lloyd Jones' chipped effort was gathered by Johansson, while Millenic Alli drove a shot wide from more than 25 yards. At the other end, Okonkwo was called into action on several occasions to prevent Stoke extending their lead.
Charlton will look to bounce back on Wednesday evening when Queens Park Rangers visit The Valley.
Stoke City: Johansson; Wilmot, Lawal (Talovierov 58), Graham; Johnson, Soumaré (Pearson 79), Galbraith, Bocat; Gallagher (Bozenik 33), Hirst (Cissé 57), Devenny (McGlynn 58)
Subs (not used): Griffiths, Bombino, Bae, Rigo
Goals: Devenny 15 (pen), Galbraith 22, Hirst 25, Devenny 41
Assist: Bocat 25, 41
Booked: Galbraith 45+5 (foul on Grant)
Charlton: Okonkwo; Mesík, Jones (c), Bindon, Bell; Skipp, Ouma (Coventy 46); Grant (Apter 69), Rankin-Costello (Alli 72), Campbell (McNamara 26); Leaburn (Mbick 72)
Subs (not used): Brooks, Mwamba, Knibbs, Carey
Booked: Leaburn 45+3 (foul on Graham), McNamara 48 (foul on Bocat), Coventry 62 (foul on Cissé)
Sent-off: McNamara 51 (dissent)
Referee: Robert Madley
Attendance: 21,071 (1,322 from Charlton)
