Ben Garner praised his young side for getting through to the Third Round of the Carabao Cup, with a 1-0 win at Walsall.
The Addicks Manager handed starts to recent academy graduates Richard Chin, Lucas Ness, Aaron Henry and Miles Leaburn who all played their part in the victory.
Speaking after the game he said: “I’m obviously pleased to get through and there were a number of pleasing aspects there tonight. It was a first 90 minutes of the season for some of the players. Obviously a few of the younger players getting opportunities and doing well.
“I thought Walsall were excellent, massive credit to them tonight. I thought Flynnie [Michael Flynn] set them up brilliantly and it was a tough evening. To get the minutes we wanted and to get through, I’m really pleased.
“We stood up to it and had good spells. We had a good start to the first half and a good start to the second half and then we showed good character. Young Lucas Ness had cramp in the last 20 minutes and gritted his teeth and got through it, you need to do that sometimes in your career. I’m really pleased with both full backs Lucas and Richard Chin tonight were both excellent, so I’m really happy for them. Walsall were really good. It was a tough evening’s work but we’re through the to the next round.”
Diallang Jaiyesimi netted the winner in the 57th minute and Garner was pleased to see the winger on the scoresheet.
“I thought DJ reacted really well at the start of the second half,” he said. “Because I thought he could have played better in the first half. He responded and got a wonderful goal. I thought Jack Payne got better second half and Jake Forster-Caskey as well getting through 90 minutes. Credit to those players on how they’ve trained, how they’ve looked after each other, to come and impact the game this evening.”
The Addicks go in to Wednesday’s Third Round draw for the competition but won’t play again until November.
Garner said: “Like every League One and League Two club we want as big a draw as possible. We want to get a Premier League team at home or a London club away, that would be great but we have to just accept who we get and look forward to is no matter what.”
More than 300 Addicks travelled to Walsall on short notice and Garner was full of praise for Charlton’s travelling fans.
He said: “The crowd were really good and we showed that at the end with our appreciation. They were fantastic to come here on a Tuesday night, credit to everyone doing that journey, credit to every single one of them.”
The Charlton Manager also updated on injuries, confirming there was very positive news following Corey Blackett-Taylor’s scan on Monday and he is set to be back very soon, after limping off during Saturday’s game against Plymouth Argyle. Garner also confirmed that Charles Clayden had been rested for the cup tie after playing two 90 minutes in a week and that Alex Gilbey was set to start the game but had picked up a minor knock and is expected back in training later this week.
