BOTH managers were in agreement about who the deserved victors were at The Valley on Saturday as Charlton Athletic swept aside Exeter City 3-0 to win their fifth successive home game in League Two as they remain outside the top six only on goal difference.
The Addicks scored the first in the 20th minute when Luke Berry’s free-kick went in off Angus MacDonald for an own goal.
Tyreece Campbell added the second in the 68th minute with a low finish from the edge of the box and substitute Miles Leaburn completed the victory with his tenth goal of the season.
Nathan Jones’s Charlton had 27 touches inside the opposition box, compared to six for the Grecians, and had five shots on target to one.
“I thought we were excellent from start to finish,” Jones said. “I thought we really controlled the game, I thought we were dominant. The only disappointment was that we weren’t further ahead before we got the second. We had a lot of situations, controlled the game. We had a lot of possession, I really thought we were good. It was a really pleasing performance from start to finish.
“The level of performance even when we made changes, the game-changers showed when they came on what they can do. It was a dominant performance and one of the best ones we’ve had here.
“I thought all the goals were good in their own right. It was a wonderful ball from Luke Berry for the first goal and someone had to get on the end of it. It was in that corridor of confusion, where anyone can have a touch.
“Then Tyreece Campbell scores a wonderful goal and then the wonderful goal for the third as well.”
Charlton are unbeaten in nine league games at home with five clean sheets in that run.
Will Mannion started again in place of the injured Ashley Maynard-Brewer and kept his first clean sheet in seven games.
Jones added: “We needed that and we wanted that [clean sheet]. Even when we went 3-0 up I wanted that. Those are the stats, that’s the confidence we want to have. It merited [the clean sheet] because I thought we were dominant today. Today from start to finish it was a proper Charlton performance.”
Exeter boss Gary Caldwell accepted his side didn’t deserve anything from the game.
He said: “It was a disappointing afternoon and result. We were out-battled by a much better team on the day who have great momentum.
“We have to be better and analyse that, and do something about it next week in training in preparation for a huge game against Northampton.
“We didn’t commit to what we came to here to try and do. We know they are aggressive and play on the front foot and we had way to try and combat that and sat off them first half, restricting to not much, and then we concede from a set piece which can’t happen.
“We then conceded two really poor goals in the second half.”
Charlton have a crucial game at the weekend when they travel to Leyton Orient who are in sixth, above the Addicks on a plus-six better goal difference having scored six goals more.
