Nigel Adkins praises “ruthless” Addicks after record-equalling 6-0 mauling of Plymouth Argyle

BY LOUIS MENDEZ

Charlton Athletic equalled their largest ever away league victory as they smashed six past Plymouth Argyle at Home Park – and boss Nigel Adkins praised his team’s ruthless side after they overcame a slow start to put Argyle to the sword.

The home side enjoyed the better of the opening 15 minutes or so but the play-off chasing Addicks, who have moved into the top six this evening, opened the scoring through Jake Forster-Caskey midway through the half.

Jayden Stockley doubled the lead just before the break and an own-goal from the Pilgrims’ Kelland Watts extended it further after the interval – moments after Ben Amos had prevented Ryan Lowe’s side from pulling one back with a smart save.

Alex Gilbey and Liam Millar also notched before the second-half was 11 minutes old – with Chuks Aneke adding the icing to the cake late on.

The 6-0 victory matches the score line the Addicks achieved against Barnsley at Oakwell in April 2013 – their biggest ever winning margin in a league game away from home.

Adkins, who admitted he didn’t know about the record-levelling stat, said: “I was really pleased. A challenging beginning to the game, give Plymouth credit. We know they’re a good footballing side and they got on the front foot. We had to defend four or five corners to start off with.

“We knew, with the shape that Plymouth had, that we could get ourselves on the football and we’ve done that. We’re getting the full-backs on the ball and getting the flow of the game. Getting Liam Millar one-on-one and he did that with electrifying pace to put the cross in for Caskey to go and score the goal.

“We thought we’d give them a few issues with crosses and Stockley went and scored from an Adam Matthews cross. But I’ve got to say, Ben Amos has made a very important save at the start of the second-half. 2-1. We know that 2-0 is a dangerous score line and we talked about that in the dressing room. From that save we’ve gone down the other end and scored. That was a big turning point in where the game could go.

“Ryan [Lowe, Plymouth boss] has done a great job here. Plymouth are a good footballing side, they play. But I thought we were very ruthless in our finishing. We had a good defensive resolve about ourselves. We were aggressive in our press. We put ourselves in a good position to win the game.

“I was able to make five substitutions as well. We’ve gone on and yes, we’ve scored six, we could have got seven at the end there with Chuks going through. But I’m really pleased with the attitude and the application of all the players.”

PHOTOS: KYLE ANDREWS