Four takeaways from Charlton’s 2-0 win over Cambridge: Addicks found a way to win

Conor Washington’s brace ensured that Charlton’s unbeaten run at The Valley stretched to seven games in all competitions with a 2-0 win over Cambridge United.

Here’s Louis Mendez’s four takeaways from the encounter.

FINDING A DIFFERENT WAY

Two home games in a row that came to the same conclusion but couldn’t have been more different. Tuesday’s sumptuous 2-0 victory over Ipswich was a world away from the scrappy triumph over Cambridge United today – but the important thing is that Jackson’s Charlton team are starting to show they can do both sides. Free-flowing football against a poor but ultimately expansive Ipswich outfit is great to watch. Battling through a scrappy affair in which the opposition are well-drilled enough to stop you playing the way you want to is a different matter. Charlton struggled with such opposition at Shrewsbury a fortnight ago but found a winning formula this afternoon against a Cambridge side who were combative in midfield and played well.

JACKSON’S AT THE WHEEL – BUT STILL ON HIS PROVISIONAL LICENSE

Fifty-one days and counting – Jackson is still yet to be given the permanent role. Cambridge boss Mark Bonner said after the game that he was incredulous that Jackson is still yet to be confirmed as the next Charlton manager and pretty much every Addicks fan feels the same. We know that positive discussions continue between the caretaker boss and Thomas Sandgaard but it’s important that any remaining details get ironed out as soon as possible so all involved can turn their attention to the impending transfer window. It’s not a question of if Jackson is getting the full-time role anymore – that is a certainty. It’s just a case of dotting i’s crossing t’s and getting this underlined so everyone can move onwards.

WASHINGTON AT THE DOUBLE

I said that Washington was just short of a clinical edge in my takeaways after the win over Ipswich in midweek but today he found that. Both goals required some neat footwork in crowded penalty areas and drilled finishes beyond Dimitar Mitov to give the Addicks forward his just rewards for some superb recent personal displays. With Jayden Stockley now enduring a concerning one-game goal drought, Washington is starting to give opposition defences another focal point to be wary of. Up to seven goals for the season.

MAC AT THE BACK

He’s been underworked in recent weeks, but Craig MacGillivray proved his worth with a string of important saves against the U’s. Second-half stops to deny both Adam May and Sam Smith when they were through one-on-one were of particular note. Charlton’s defence have been in fine form recently but it’s imperative that they can rely on the man behind them for when they are breached. MacGillivray arrived as Portsmouth’s Player of the Year but perhaps embodied some of the nervousness in the side under Nigel Adkins when poor parries led to goals away at Oxford and Lincoln. But since the team has picked up, he has too and is now a vital cog in the Charlton machine.

PHOTOS: PAUL EDWARDS