The lowdown on Charlton 3 Burton Albion 1 – Godden great again as Addicks head into play-offs with spring in their step

Charlton Athletic ended their League One season in fourth place after a 3-1 win over Burton Albion at The Valley today.

Matty Godden scored twice – taking him to 21 goals for the season – with Alex Mitchell also on target.

Here is the lowdown on the match.

THE LINE-UPS

Charlton: Maynard-Brewer, Watson, Ramsay, Mitchell, Gillesphey, Edwards (Enslin 88), Docherty, Coventry (Andersn 71), Gilbert (Fullah 85), Campbell (Mbick 70), Godden (Kanu 71). Subs not used: Bouzanis, McIntyre.
Burton: Crocombe, Godwin-Malife, Delap (Dodgson 46), Sraha, Lofthouse, Forde (Kalinauskas 46), Williams, Armer, Webster (Taroni 90), Bennett (Larsson 65), Tavares (Newall 90). Subs not used: Isted, McKiernan.

SNAPSHOT OF THE GAME

Anything but the ideal start as Alex Mitchell’s woeful backpass led to goalkeeper Ashley Maynard-Brewer bringing down Fabio Tavares – ex-Millwall attacker Mason Bennett converted from the spot. But Charlton are so good at home that there was never a great panic. Matty Godden produced two ruthless finishes to have the hosts ahead before the interval. Mitchell then ensured he was back in manager Nathan Jones’ good books with a headed third from Conor Coventry’s lovely ball in. Debutant Ibrahim Fullah also hit the post for the hosts, who had too much for opposition that had clinched safety in their previous match.

TACTICAL APPROACH

Standard set-up for the Addicks but vice-captain Lloyd Jones was either not fit enough – or risked – as Mitchell started in the middle of the backline. Middlesbrough loanee Alex Gilbert was preferred in the advanced midfield role ahead of Karoy Anderson and he had one shot that – judging by his immediate reaction – went very close to creeping in. It was a young bench lacking experience, something that will surely change for the play-off matches against Wycombe Wanderers.

STAR MAN

Matty Godden. His brace turned around the game. His second showed his confidence as he controlled Josh Edwards’ pass on his chest and produced a super smooth turn to go past Finn Delap before finishing left-footed low into the bottom right corner of the net. Twenty-one goals for the 33-year-old. Needs to be wrapped in cotton wool ahead of the play-offs – such is his importance – and boss Nathan Jones took him off for the closing stages.

BEST MOMENT

Alex Mitchell’s goal. Felt like it killed off any prospect of Burton coming back but also ensured it was a positive return to the side for the former Millwall centre-back. Led the way for blocks – four – in the match. Only Macaulay Gillesphey (86) had more touches in the home team than Mitchell (73).

MOAN OF THE MATCH

There isn’t really much I can dredge up for this one. All round it was a good day for those with Charlton Athletic affiliations – not least the fact that there was a bumper crowd of 20,971 at today’s game. Things are likely to be far more tense for the match here on May 15.

A TALKING POINT DOWN THE PUB

Two words. One begins with the letter ‘p’ and the other word begins with ‘o’. Yep, you’ve got it – the play-offs. Now Charlton Athletic fans know what lies ahead – two matches against Wycombe Wanderers. Jones, as you would expect, was quick to play down the significance of beating them twice in the season. But, put it this way, it certainly can’t impede them. Charlton fans will once again pack out the away end and make a load of noise.

WHAT THE BOSS HAD TO SAY

“We can go into it with great confidence because we are on a good run and believe we’re a good side when we have everyone fit and we’re at it. We didn’t get the best start which was us shooting ourselves in the foot. But we were pretty dominant early on. We deserved to win today.

PICTURES: PAUL EDWARDS