Charlton boss Johnnie Jackson lauds Conor Washington after match-winning double

Posted Sunday, December 12, 2021 by PA

Johnnie Jackson hailed Conor Washington after the Northern Ireland international’s double saw Charlton beat Cambridge 2-0 at The Valley.

The in-form striker converted from Alex Gilbey’s cross on the half-hour mark before making sure of maximum points a minute from the end – taking his goal haul to seven for the campaign.

Charlton have won six out of their nine League One matches since Jackson took caretaker charge – banking 20 points from a possible 27.

Jackson said: “It was a lot scrappier than the win over Ipswich but same outcome, so I’m very happy.

“It was a really quick turnaround and my lads expended a lot of energy on Tuesday night. To expect the same performance again was probably a bit of a pipe dream. We’ve had to do it a different way, that’s the sign of a good team.

“I’m really pleased for Conor. His performance on Tuesday was outstanding and deserved goals. He does tireless work. He runs and runs. He makes intelligent movement on that top line and we find him.”

Jackson also praised his side’s fans following a win that lifted Charlton up to 11th in League One, adding: “The support just spurs the lads on, it really does, and makes them run that extra tiny per cent. They are rewarding the fans for their backing.

“We’re still not where we want to be in the league. When I took over we were in a perilous position and the immediate focus was to get out of that. If you put runs together you will climb the league.”

Cambridge failed to score on their travels in the league for the first time in the calendar year.

U’s boss Mark Bonner said: “We didn’t take the chances that we created. The performance was excellent. We deserved to come away with something – not only for the way we played but the chances we created.

“We had some good moments before they scored in the first half and we had a dominant spell in the second half and should do better with the chances that we have.

“It’s sod’s law, isn’t it? Everyone for the last week has been saying we’re on a record for a number of away goals scored and number of consecutive games away from home and then we come here today and we can’t put one in the net.

“The small consolation is we’re going toe to toe with big clubs, huge budgets, massive expectations and great attendances.

“We’re getting better and better all the time. We were sung off the pitch by our 1,500 away fans – that tells you everything you need to know about what they thought about that performance.”