George Edmundson’s injury time goal has given the Blues a 1-0 half-time lead over Charlton at the Valley.
Town made three changes for this afternoon’s game at Charlton with skipper Sam Morsy returning following his suspension.
Morsy was joined by Dominic Ball in the centre of midfield with Cameron Humphreys dropping to the bench following his goalscoring full league debut at Port Vale on Tuesday.
Manager Kieran McKenna again shuffled his front three with Kayden Jackson replacing Kyle Edwards alongside Conor Chaplin behind lone striker Tyreece John-Jules with Freddie Ladapo, who netted twice at Vale Park, among the subs.
Kane Vincent-Young was back in the 18 following his calf problem with Cameron Burgess and Panutche Camara dropping out having been in the matchday squad at Vale.
Terell Thomas was handed his full league debut for the Addicks on the left of the back three, coming in for Ryan Inniss, suspended following his red card in Tuesday’s 2-0 home defeat to MK Dons.
Steven Sessegnon was back in the team having been rested against the Dons, while Corey Blackett-Taylor was on the bench having missed the previous two matches due to injury. Former Town midfielder Scott Fraser started in the home side’s midfield.
There was a scare for the Blues within the first minute, keeper Christian Walton scuffing a a pass out of the area to Edmundson. Addicks skipper Jayden Stockley seized on it but hit a first-time shot straight back to the relieved keeper.
With the game yet to establish a pattern, there was a break as the 10-minute mark approached as Addicks right-sided wideman Mandela Egbo underwent treatment.
Moments later, Ball was shown the game’s first yellow card for a foul on Jes Rak-Sakyi in the centre circle. On 14 Egbo succumbed to his earlier knock and was replaced by Albie Morgan.
Three minutes later, Eoghan O’Connell joined Ball in the referee’s book for a foul on Jackson on the Town left as the match continued in a very stop-start manner.
Town won a corner from the free-kick which came to nothing, then on 19 Wes Burns struck a low shot from 25 yards across the face and wide.
Two minutes later, Sessegnon sent a low ball across from the left towards Stockley, but too close to Walton, who claimed.
On 25 Town, who were starting to get their game going after a bitty start in which they’d been forced long on too many occasions by Charlton’s high press, carved out their first serious chance.
Leif Davis exchanged passes with John-Jules on the left and cut back. Jackson left it and Chaplin struck a shot which was blocked.
Chaplin curled a 25-yard free-kick into the Charlton wall in the 32nd minute having been fouled by Thomas with the Blues now in charge and with Davis on the left increasingly influential.
On 36 Town made a promising break down the left but as Jackson received the ball, a whistle from the crowd momentarily caused the Town players to pause. However, Chaplin in any case won a corner and before it was taken referee Josh Smith indicated to the fourth official that someone in the crowd was using a whistle.
Two minutes later, Morsy played John-Jules in on goal behind the Addicks backline and as the on-loan Arsenal ran through the whistle was again heard from the crowd with the striker evidently pausing as a result, allowing O’Connell to make a challenge when he looked certain to score.
The Town players again protested to the referee and, while O’Connell underwent treatment for an injury suffered in the incident, a PA announcement called on the person with the whistle to stop or the players would be taken off the field. O’Connell was eventually stretchered off and replaced by Sam Lavelle.
After play restarted, the fourth official indicated six minutes of injury time for the treatment to the two Charlton players and a couple of minutes in John-Jules again went close to netting.
The Arsenal youngster cut into the area on the left, cleverly working himself space for a shot which looked bound for the corner of the net until a hand, which appeared to be Thomas’s rather than the keeper’s, tipped it wide of the post. The Town players protested to referee Smith that they should have been awarded a penalty but to no avail.
However, from the resultant corner, the Blues went in front. Davis’s ball into the near post was met by Edmundson, who powered a header across goal and into the corner of the net for his third goal of the season, sending the 3,000 travelling fans behind the goal at the other end - as well as Ed Sheeran watching from a box - into raptures.
Before play restarted, John-Jules was yellow-carded for taking his time to get back into his own half.
That was the last action of a half which had taken a while to settle after a stop-start opening period.
Once the game had settled into a pattern, the Blues got on top and had begun to create chances regularly as the break approached.
The errant whistle almost certainly prevented John-Jules from taking his first chance, then a Charlton hand the second but Edmundson superbly headed home from the corner to give Town a deserved lead.
A second goal after the break ought to be enough to seal a seventh away win of the season for the Blues.
Charlton: Wollacott, Clare, Thomas, O’Connell (Lavelle 43), Sessegnon, Egbo (Morgan 14), Dobson, Fraser, Kirk, Rak-Sakyi, Stockley (c). Subs: MacGillivray, McGrandles, Morgan, Payne, Blackett-Taylor, Aneke.
Town: Walton, Donacien, Woolfenden, Edmundson, Burns, Ball, Morsy (c), Davis, Jackson, Chaplin, John-Jules. Subs: Hladky, Keogh, Vincent-Young, Humphreys, Edwards, Harness, Ladapo. Referee: Josh Smith (Bedfordshire).