Charlton Athletic 4-0 Scunthorpe United: Addicks smash sorry Scunny
Charlton extended their unbeaten home league run to sixteen games as they swept relegation-threatened Scunthorpe United aside comfortably at The Valley.
Anfernee Dijksteel had given the hosts the lead midway through the first-half before a second-half blitz from Joe Aribo, Igor Vetokele and Lyle Taylor saw the Addicks claim their first four-goal haul in League One this campaign.
They have now won their last five at The Valley after their penultimate home game before the end-of-season play-offs.
Albie Morgan had rippled the side-netting in the opening stages of a fairly tepid first-period but the Addicks did unlock the Scunny defence just beyond its midway point.
Top-scorer Taylor lifted a clever ball into the Iron area and Dijksteel latched onto it in behind the defence before rifling beyond Jak Alnwick to edge the South Londoners into the lead.
Lee Bowyer’s side were comfortable, if not a little pedestrian in possession, but it took until the dying embers of the first-half for the visitors to start to exert some real pressure of their own.
Dillon Phillips stood up well to deny George Thomas at his near-post but Andy Dawson’s side really should have drawn level on the stroke of half-time.
Former Addick Lee Novak peeled away at the far-post to nod a deep-cross into the path of Funso Ojo, who somehow failed to find the target from six yards out.
He was left to rue that wastefulness as Charlton added three more goals within nine minutes either side of the hour mark.
Aribo got the ball rolling as he was left unmarked to head Ben Reeves’ corner home on 57 minutes. That was the midfielders’ seventh of the season but he was to turn provider just six minutes later.
The 22-year-old waltzed through the Scunthorpe midfield before sliding it through to Vetokele to poke past Alnwick – but the South Londoners weren’t finished yet.
Taylor eyed up a free-kick on the corner of the penalty area, before rocketing an unstoppable strike into the top-corner as he bagged his 23rdof a hugely impressive debut season at The Valley.
Naby Sarr nearly added a fifth when he saw Alnwick pluck his header out of the air before Thomas was guilty of a horrible miss at the other end as the visitors went in search of a consolation – a quest that proved fruitless as they end the day in the League One drop-zone.