Dean Holden discloses Leaburn premonition ahead of match that sees Charlton smash SIX past sorry Shrewsbury

Charlton boss Dean Holden said Miles Leaburn had predicted he would bag a brace against Shrewsbury this afternoon – but surely nobody saw the Addicks’ six-goal haul coming.

The South Londoners swept Salop aside with three goals in each half to end a five-game winless home run and keep a first home clean sheet in the same timeframe.

The hosts broke the deadlock just before the half-hour mark. Jes Rak-Sakyi was fouled just outside the penalty area – with Scott Fraser expertly bending the resultant free-kick beyond Marko Marosi.

Albie Morgan added a second with a smart finish from the edge of the area, before Rak-Sakyi’s superb run and prod home made it three at half-time.

Miles Leaburn’s well-placed hit from outside the area gave Charlton a four-goal advantage just after the hour-mark.

Tom Flanagan, who was sent off for Sunderland at The Valley three years ago, received his marching orders once more on 69 minutes after handling Steven Sessegnon’s goalbound shot.

Leaburn therefore added his second of the game and 12^th of the campaign from the spot, before Macauley Bonne added the cherry on top with his first goal since January 2022 in added time.

The win – a first since mid-January in SE7 – saw Charlton bag six in a League game on home turf for the first time since Mike Flanagan and Derek Hales were amongst the scorers during a 6-2 triumph over Southampton in 1976.

Leaburn, who had scored three in his last three, overtook Rak-Sakyi to become the Addicks’ top scorer with 12 in all competitions.

Holden explained: “I said to [Leaburn] yesterday in training: ‘Are you on for four in four?’ He said: “No. I want five in four.” He genuinely did.

“I was looking at bringing him off just prior to the penalty. He’s had his issues with niggles. But he’s got his second – you can’t bring him off on a hat-trick.

“The first 25 minutes was scrappy. It was the game that Shrewsbury wanted to play. It was stop-start. Scotty Fraser’s master technician free-kick, which livened us up a little bit. It goes in the top-corner and, on the back of that, we go and get a second. That 20 minutes before half-time, we were electric. Looking at the opposition, we knew there was gaps to be had. Credit to Josh the analyst and Anthony Hayes for the work they do on the opposition – we knew we could run off the back of their midfield.

“We looked dangerous on the counterattack all afternoon. It was a great first touch and wonderful hit to get the second goal. To get the third as quickly as we did before half-time was really important as it almost takes the game away from them.

“We get the fourth, they get the sending off. We’ve ended up with 11 shots on target and they’ve had one. There’s no doubt it’s the most complete performance since I came into the job. The players have said it’s the most complete performance of the season.

“The second biggest thing is the clean sheet, but the other thing is our fans got to see a complete performance because it’s a long time coming. We’ve been good away from home and decent at home, but not good enough. I’m pleased that the guys who turn up on a matchday at The Valley have got to see a lot of goals. A good afternoon.

“It is a frustration. You’re stood there at 5-0 thinking if we could have done this more consistently, where would we be in the league? But at the same time, we are where we are. We know what’s gone before I came into the job. We’ve rectified the dangerous position we were in. Regained some ground on Shrewsbury who are tenth in the league.”

PHOTOS: KYLE ANDREWS