Charlie Kelman scored the winning goal on his return from injury as Charlton beat Oxford United 1-0 at The Valley in the Sky Bet Championship.
Kelman was introduced just after the hour-mark following a spell on the sidelines through injury. His goal secured all three points for the Addicks, who also recorded their seventh clean sheet of the campaign.
The first half started on an even keel, but as the half wore on, the Addicks began to gain control.
Nathan Jones’ side had a flurry of chances in the first half but couldn’t break the deadlock.
Sonny Carey almost had the opener for Charlton on the half-hour mark. Tanto Olaofe saw his shot saved by Cumming and Carey got hold of the rebound, but his effort flew over the crossbar.
Charlton almost took the lead on the stroke of half-time, as Carey danced his way through the defence and fired the ball towards goal, but it flashed just wide of the post.
After soaking up some early pressure from Oxford at the beginning of the second half, the Addicks began to find a rhythm.
Rob Apter called Cumming into action on 55 minutes, as his strike was parried away for a corner.
Tyreece Campbell made an immediate impact off the bench, as he fired a shot towards goal with his first touch of the game. His curling effort drifted just wide of the post.
Campbell continued to cause trouble down the wing and soon found Kelman, who turned well and unleashed his shot, which nestled right into the bottom corner to give the Addicks a well-deserved lead with 12 minutes of normal time left to play.
Jones was forced into a change on 87 minutes as Kayne Ramsay had to be substituted through injury, with Keenan Gough brought on in his place to make his Sky Bet Championship debut.
Following nine minutes of added time, Kelman’s strike proved to be the difference as Charlton held firm to secure all three points in SE7.
The Addicks are back at The Valley on New Year’s Day for the visit of Coventry City. Click here to purchase your tickets now!
Charlton: Kaminski; Ramsay (Gough 87), Jones (c), Gillesphey; Bree, Coventry, Carey, Anderson (Docherty 73), Apter (Campbell 73); Leaburn, Olaofe (Kelman 61)
Subs (not used): Mannion, Roussillon, Rankin-Costello, Berry, Knibbs
Goal: Kelman 78
Assist: Campbell 78
Booked: L.Jones 80 (foul on Lankshear), N.Jones 90+6 (dissent), Leaburn 90+8 (foul on Davies)
Oxford United: Cumming; Helik (c), Davies, Brown, Leigh; Spencer (Krastev 80), Vaulks (Mills 80) De Keersmaecker, Prelec (Placheta 75); M.Harris (Lankshear 75), Romenij (Goodham 65)
Subs (not used): Ingram, Long, L.Harris, Currie
Booked: De Keersmaecker 31 (foul on Apter)
Referee: Elliot Bell
Attendance: 19,594
