Charlton Athletic 1 – 0 Exeter City Grecians lose their third league defeat in a row.
City took the lead thanks to James Scott’s opening, but the Addicks scored four goals against Exeter, who also had Will Aimson sent off.
Exeter City suffered their third consecutive League One defeat, falling 4-1 away to Charlton Athletic. The Grecians took an early lead, but the Addicks rallied and proved too powerful for City’s ten men.
Midway through the first half, Exeter took the lead thanks to James Scott, who got on the end of a through pass and neatly slotted the finish into the back of the goal. However, Charlton equalized on the stroke of half-time when Corey Blackett-Taylor reacted quickest to tuck home Chuks Aneke’s header.
Alfie May put the Addicks ahead midway through the second half, following up to convert home the rebound after Vil Sinisalo saved Aneke’s penalty. Will Aimson was awarded a straight red card for a late lunge on May, capping up a terrible two-minute spell for the Grecians.
Myles Leaburn clinched the victory in the 78th minute with a powerful shot from the outskirts of the area, as City suffered defeat for the fourth time in their last five games in League One, slipping to 10th – their 13th defeat in their past 16 visits to the Valley. May added his second and Charlton’s fourth late on to round off the scoring.
After five minutes, City had the game’s opening chance. Scott pounced on a bad headed clearance, but from 30 yards, he blasted an effort just beyond the post. He then got on the end of a Vincent Harper cross but couldn’t finish. For the Addicks’ first attempt, Louie Watson tested Sinisalo from a distance.
Aneke got on the end of a long through ball and tapped through the legs of Sinisalo to give Charlton the lead in the 20th minute. Fortunately for the Grecians, the offside flag was raised, and the verdict appeared to be right.
City seized the lead two minutes later, in a nearly identical play but at the opposite end of the pitch. Reece Cole scooped up the ball in midfield and threaded it through the lines while Scott remained onside. The attacker closed down on the Charlton goal and blasted the finish beyond Ashley Maynard-Brewer from the edge of the area to make it 1-0.
Slobodan Tedic, on the other hand, almost immediately leveled it up.
Charlton did equalize just before halftime. Aneke was on the receiving end of a cross from Alfie May on the right. His header rebounded back off the crossbar and directly into the path of Blackett-Taylor, who slammed him into the empty net from close range to tie the game at 1-1 at halftime.
Neither team changed at halftime, but inside 45 seconds, Michael Appleton’s men could have taken the lead, but Blackett-Taylor’s shot from a tight angle found the side netting. Jules got on the end of a Tom Carroll cross for City’s opening chance of the half, but his flying header sailed over. Mitchell then came in from the right and had a low attempt knocked away, then Harper came in from the left.
From the start, things went from bad to worse for the Grecians. Aimson took a hard touch and slid in high with his studs up in a frantic attempt to win the ball back. The City captain appeared to win the ball, but on the follow through, he collided with May, and Rock promptly rushed to the back pocket and showed the captain the red card. He contested the decision but was forced to leave, leaving City with a mountain to climb.
Sweeney came in for Fitzwater, who appeared to stagger off, and Taylor came in for Scott in City’s final substitution. But, five minutes before the end of the game, any possibility of winning was gone. The ball was passed to Leaburn.
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