Charlton got another vital runout in their final pre-season friendly of the summer at Selhurst Park on Saturday afternoon.
Despite the scoreline, the Addicks held their own against a strong Crystal Palace side for 60 minutes, before wholesale changes for the last half-hour saw the hosts score three times.
Wilfried Zaha and Eberechi Eze went close for the home side early on with efforts which both whistled past the post, while Andos Townsend drew a fine save from Ben Amos with 20 minutes on the clock, getting down well to his left to him out.
Just after the half-hour mark, the Addicks produced an excellent move down the left which resulted in George Lapslie and Alfie Doughty on the edge of the box, with the latter seeing his low shot saved by Wayne Hennessey in the Eagles’ goal.
Charlton’s defence had stood strong in the first half, putting their bodies in the way of another of Palace efforts and that continued after the break with Zaha’s trickery in the box stamped out by the red shirts.
A good move on 54 minutes saw Lapslie play Macauley Bonne into the box, but the striker was dispossessed as he was about to pull the trigger by Tyrick Mitchell’s last-ditch tackle.
The Addicks made wholesale changes on the hour-mark with eleven subs entering the fray. With Palace un-disturbed, it wasn’t long before they took advantage, with Jordan Ayew tapping home the opener from close range from a right-wing cross.
Jonny Williams came close to providing an instant response when he was slipped into the penalty area, but he couldn’t get enough purchase on his shot one-on-one which was saved by Hennessey – trialist Courtney Baker-Richardson’s follow up was fired over.
Almost immediately, Palace went down the other end and scored again with Ayew bursting into the box and firing home his second.
Josh Davison had a shot deflect wide in the closing stages, but Zaha added a third for the hosts in the 88th minute, cutting in from the left before finishing.
Lee Bowyer will now turn his attentions to Tuesday’s EFL Trophy Group G meeting with AFC Wimbledon, when the competitive action gets under way for the 2020/21 campaign.
Charlton: Amos, Matthews, Oshilaja, Pratley, Purrington, Forster-Caskey, Lapslie, Vennings, Doughty, Washington, Bonne.
Subs (60th minute): Phillips, Clarke (trialist), Mingi, Aidoo, Ness, Dempsey, Morgan, Oztumer, Williams, Davison, Baker-Richardson (trialist).
Booked: Pratley 33 (foul on Ayew)
Crystal Palace: Hennessey, Ward, Dann, Kouyate, Ayew, Townsend, Zaha, McArthur, Mitchell, Eze, Riedwald.
Subs: Henderson, Jach, Kelly, Woods, Kirby, Pierrick, Schlupp, Gordon, Boateng, Innis.
Goals: Ayew 63, 66, Zaha 88
(Images: Kyle Andrews)