Charlton ran out as the victors in the annual pre-season friendly at Park View Road against Welling United, putting the team in good stead as they head into their summer campaign.
Goals from youngsters Brendan Sarpong-Wiredu and Abraham Odoh gifted the Addicks victory in the first full 90-minute test as part of the Addicks' preparations for the 2019/20 season.
Lee Bowyer listed a side for each half, giving new signings Tom Lockyer and Macauley Bonne a run around in the first half. Odoh and Junior Quitirna, who have recently extended their stay at Charlton, were also named for the opening 45 minutes on a humid day in south-east London.
The Addicks were welcomed on to the pitch by a guard of honour from the Welling players, a nice touch from the National League South side, who traditionally welcome Charlton annually as part of both sides’ pre-season fixture lists.
Welling kicked off and found themselves immediately facing pressure from the young Quitirna who looked to put his stamp on the game early on.
The first chance of the game fell to Odoh inside 10 minutes when he was sent through by Albie Morgan. The young forward turned in the box and shot but found his effort blocked by Rob Swaine.
With 12 minutes gone, Adam Coombes, scorer in last season's fixture against Charlton, was replaced by Aaron Cosgrave through injury.
Nathan Green then Provided Dillon Phillips with his first test of the afternoon when he drilled in a shot from distance which the stopper was only too happy to get down to and collect.
Charlton opened the scoring with 16 minutes gone, Naby Sarr’s fantastic cross-field pass to Sarpong-Wiredu was inch perfect and the young midfielder expertly notched the ball low and past Dan Wilks to give the Addicks the advantage.
He could have nicked a second only moments later - a free kick taken by Morgan on the left-hand side found its way through the Welling defence only to be knocked over the bar by Sarpong-Wiredu’s diving header.
With 23 minutes gone, Morgan, who had looked lively, was hacked down in midfield by Connor Dymond but was soon back on his feet and raring to go, something supporters have come to expect of the fiery youth graduate.
Ben Dempsey almost doubled the lead before the half-hour mark, meeting Morgan’s corner with a well hit volley but the Wings defence stood firm to keep the score at 1-0.
Odoh did make it 2-0 to Charlton though on 35 minutes, taking advantage of some sloppy Welling defending to burst through and put him one on one with Dan Wilks. The forward kept his cool and fired home via the far post.
Macauley Bonne tried to mark his first start for Charlton with a goal when Dempsey did well to dink the ball forward to him, but the former Leyton Orient man couldn’t keep his header down though and it sailed harmlessly over the bar.
Bonne continued to hunt for his goal to no avail and was left frustrated when he was adjudged to be offside after getting on the end of a neat Odoh flick.
The second-half saw 10 changes as Bowyer looked to see how everyone in his team fared after an intense week of training in sunny Spain. Chuks Aneke was given the remaining 45 minutes along with Ben Purrington, both signing permanently for the Addicks this summer. Lyle Taylor, who netted in last years fixture against the Wings was also introduced for the second half, while Quitirna continued into the second half following on from his lively start.
And he continued that into the second 45 when he danced into the box looking to tee up Aneke but the attacking midfielder was dispossessed before he could get his effort away.
Taylor Maloney then looked to play in Alfie Doughty with a superb pass out to the left, Doughty flicking it back over his head before unleashing a half volley from a difficult angle.
Taylor, unsurprisingly, made his presence felt moments later when he cracked a powerful effort from 15 yards which rattled the bar.
Welling were awarded a free kick with 53 minutes gone, Goldberg going down softly but the referee’s decision gifted the Wings a decent chance to get back into the game. The young Charlton wall did its job, though, and saw off the danger.
Jake Forster Caskey’s introduction in the 57th minute was met by a round of applause from the Addicks fans, who are no doubt excited to see the creative midfielder back in action after his injury plagued campaign last season. With just over an hour on the clock he almost gave Charlton fans behind the goal something to cheer about when he hooked onto the end of Taylor’s neat cross only to see Wilks just beat him to it before he could pull the trigger.
Charlton, donning their 'scuba' third strip, continued to pile the pressure on, warding off any threats that Welling did manage to muster.
With the game entering it’s final 10 minutes, Charlton continued to control the game, always keeping the Wings at arm’s length.
Ashley Maynard-Brewer was called into action when a Welling free kick was well on target, requiring the young ‘keeper to make a fine save and hold to preserve Charlton’s clean sheet.
After the chance, Welling continued to test the Charlton defence late on, Anfernee Dijksteel breaking up some good wing play from the hosts to snuff out a dangerous looking counter attack, but the second half would remain goalless, earning the Addicks a win on their first real outing of the summer.
Charlton (first half): Phillips, Lockyer, Pratley, Sarr, Page, Sarpong-Wiredu, Morgan, Dempsey, Quitirna, Odoh, Bonne.
Charlton Second Half: Maynard-Brewer, Dijksteel, Pearce, Quitirna (Forster-Caskey 57’), Taylor, Aneke, Purrington, Solly, Lapslie, Maloney, Doughty.
Goals: Sarpong-Wiredu 16, Odoh 35
Welling: Wilks (Beeney 79’), Ming (Barnes 45’), Anderson, Dymond (Agyemang 78’), Swaine (Platt 82’), Rich-Baghuelou (Okuonghae 66’), Cook, Rooney (Jebb 69’), Coombes (Cosgrove 12’), Goldberg (Prestedge 74’) , Green (Anau 66’)
Referee: Isaac Searle
Attendance: 2052