Charlton Stun West Ham 2-1 to Stay Perfect in Championship
Charlton maintained their perfect start to the Championship season with a 2-1 victory at West Ham in a pulsating London derby, piling further pressure on Hammers boss Nuno Espírito Santo.
Lloyd Jones and Tyreece Campbell put Charlton 2-0 ahead before Joel Piroe, signed on loan from Leeds, marked his first appearance for the east Londoners with a goal that set up a tense finish. Taty Castellanos then missed a stoppage-time penalty for the hosts that would have salvaged a point.
West Ham handed debuts to Piroe and Arne Engels, but the side tipped for promotion before the season began were unable to test goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo — thrown straight into the Charlton side after joining on a season-long loan from Wrexham just days earlier — in the opening 45 minutes.
Charlton took the lead in the seventh minute, as Sonny Carey’s long throw was controlled on the chest by Jones, with the Addicks captain producing an overhead finish past Mads Hermansen. Winger Manor Solomon then had a goal-bound effort from the edge of the box headed behind for a corner by Charlton centre-back Billy Koumetio.
Things nearly got worse for West Ham when Miles Leaburn struck the crossbar in the 19th minute, with the counterattack sparked by Campbell dispossessing Kyle Walker-Peters. Carey was later denied at Hermansen’s near post, though sliding Campbell in on the left of the box appeared the better option at the time. West Ham striker Castellanos met a left-wing cross from Ollie Scarles with a first-time header in first-half stoppage time, but it went straight at Okonkwo.
Charlton doubled their lead in the 56th minute, as Konstantinos Mavropanos lost possession under pressure from Leaburn, allowing Campbell to finish clinically across Hermansen into the bottom corner. Okonkwo was called into serious action for the first time on the hour mark, producing a one-handed save to deny Piroe from the edge of the area, while Castellanos headed narrowly wide from another precise Scarles delivery.
West Ham pushed for a way back into the game, and Piroe — having failed to convert a close-range header moments earlier — pulled a goal back in the 74th minute after Okonkwo had initially parried a Castellanos effort. Okonkwo then produced an outstanding tip-over to deny Hammers substitute Divine Mukasa, who had joined on loan from Manchester City earlier in the week.
Joe Rankin-Costello had a chance to seal the win for the visitors, but Hermansen kept out his effort with his legs. West Ham were handed a lifeline deep into stoppage time when referee Andrew Kitchen awarded a penalty for handball against Conor Coventry, but Castellanos’ spot-kick struck the base of the post, sealing Charlton’s victory.
