Johnnie Jackson savours near-perfect outing as Charlton hammer Doncaster

Posted Sunday, October 31, 2021 by PA

Charlton caretaker manager Johnnie Jackson could not hide his delight after his side demolished Doncaster 4-0 at The Valley on Saturday afternoon.

Elliot Lee gave the Addicks the lead in the 21st minute before Conor Washington doubled their advantage from the penalty spot 10 minutes before the break.

Jayden Stockley and Ben Purrington scored in the second half to round out a hugely satisfying afternoon for the hosts which makes it two wins out of two since Jackson was given the managerial job on an interim basis following Nigel Adkins’ departure.

“I thought it was a really good performance, we created a lot of chances, limited them to very few,” Jackson said.

“Our shape looked good, we pressed really well, played for the shirt, which is everything I’ve been asking for.

“I’m really pleased. We probably should have scored more goals is my one negative, if you can call it that.

“I know what this group is capable of, we know we’ve been underperforming. But I thought I could definitely get a tune out of them starting with that graft, that hard work, I’ve been banging on about.

“They’re probably sick of hearing it but I’m not going to stop because that’s what performances are built on. That hard work, graft, pressing – pressing like you mean it – with a little bit of shape to it as well.

“We played some great stuff. There’s some great quality in this group that we haven’t shown until now.”

Both sides started the day in the bottom four but the win catapults Charlton out of the relegation zone on goal difference. Meanwhile, Doncaster remain firmly stuck in the mire, 23rd in the League One table, four points adrift of safety.

Doncaster manager Richie Wellens did not feel his side’s effort was lacking but that mistakes cost them dearly in south London as he now looks towards a huge relegation three-pointer with Crewe on Tuesday night.

“I thought first 15 minutes there was nothing in the game and then we make a poor decision and we give away a stupid free-kick – like we did all afternoon,” Wellens said.

“They’re a really good counter-attacking team, you can’t afford to give the ball over in the middle of the pitch – and we kept consistently giving them the ball in the middle of the pitch. It wasn’t a lack of effort, our decision-making was just really poor.

“The only thing we can do now is react in a positive manner on Monday, and make sure we come in ready to get three points. Because if we get three points against Crewe then it’s not been a bad two or three weeks.”