CURTIS Fleming said it was a mixture of “relief and excitement” after Thierry Small scored in the sixth minute of stoppage-time to beat Shrewsbury Town 1-0 at The Valley on Saturday.
Charlton had 70 per cent possession but were frustrated by League One’s bottom side before eventually making it five wins from their last seven games in.
Moments before Small’s strike, Gareth Ainsworth’s Shrews could have scored only for Jordan Shipley to miss a chance in front of goal from Luca Hoole’s cross.
“There is a lot of relief and excitement, we as the coaching staff were so proud that the boys kept going. We said to the lads it may take 98 minutes to get that win, against a resilient team in Shrewsbury, who had a real uplift since Gareth Ainsworth has come in. We knew we’d have to battle till the end,” Addicks assistant Fleming told Charlton TV.
“I’m really happy for Thierry. Scoring on his right foot, which is a wonderful thing. Someone that has been playing out of position for the last few games and he has really grown into it. He’s been out there practicing every day, getting better in the position, he really deserved that.
“The important thing was that we needed to win today, and we did that.
“We knew it would be difficult, last time out Shrewsbury beat Wrexham and they’ve also beaten Birmingham, they have been really solid. We knew it would be difficult to break them down, we could have shown a bit more guile and quality at times, moving the ball quicker, something we can look at and improve on. At the end of the day, it’s another three points.”
Kayne Ramsay made his first appearance since October when he came on for Alex Mitchell fifteen minutes from time.
Fleming added: “It’s brilliant to see him out there,” said Fleming. “He has been itching and pushing. He’ll probably tell you that it is two weeks too late, we wanted to be careful with him. He is an important player for us, who was playing very well before the injury. We told him to work the extra two weeks instead of another two or three months. A great addition to have back.”
Charlton are two points off the top six ahead of hosting Bristol Rovers on Tuesday.
“Every game for us is a test, Tuesday night against Bristol Rovers is a huge one, but every game is,” Fleming said. “Everyone can go and celebrate tonight but it is straight on the debrief for Tuesday. We have to keep thinking of ourselves, being the best version of ourselves.”