Charlton’s U18s came from behind to earn an eighth straight victory on Saturday as they ran out 3-2 winners over Colchester United at Sparrows Lane.
Despite going two goals down early on, the young Addicks showed plenty of spirit to pull themselves level before the break, before finally claiming that all important winner late in the second half to seal a win that puts them top of the Professional Development League 2 – South table.
Two goals in two minutes saw the visitors thunder ahead, the first coming after just 10 minutes with their number 10 squeezing a shot inside the post from a tight angle.
And almost straight from the restart, some sloppy passing at the back saw the Addicks turn over possession in a dangerous area inside their own box, allowing the U’s number nine to get away a shot which was saved by James Beadle, but the keeper could do nothing about the rebound which was tucked inside the bottom right-hand corner by the number 10 for his brace.
Charlton rallied and pulled a goal back on 26 minutes courtesy of an excellent diving header from Miles Leaburn. Nathan Asiimwe provided the pinpoint cross from the right and the towering forward adjusted brilliantly to throw his head at the delivery and nod the ball home.
11 minutes later and the home side were level. Toby Bower had produced an unstoppable free-kick a week earlier when the Addicks beat Bristol City 6-0 and the full-back repeated the trick once again, putting away an arguably even-better left-footed effort which nestled in the right-hand side of the net.
The sides exchanged chances for the remainder of the game, but it was not until the 81st minute that the all-important decider would come and it came the way of Charlton via an own goal.
Asiimwe’s effort from distance was well saved by the Colchester stopper who got down to his bottom right-hand corner to tip it away, but only as far as another red shirt, whose attempted pull back came back off a yellow shirt and into the back of the net for the winner.
Hamza Serrar will now take his side to Worthing on Thursday evening as they take their first steps in this season’s FA Youth Cup.
Supporters are welcome to attend the tie, which kicks off at Worthing’s Crucial Environmental Stadium at 7pm, with entry priced at £2.
The game will also be streamed live on CharltonTV with further information to come this week.
Charlton fans can support the academy by signing up to the Valley Gold scheme. Valley Gold enables fans to support the clubs academy in unearthing the talents of tomorrow, as well as giving them the chance to win cash prizes.
Click here for more information on how you can become a Valley Gold member.