Charlton Athletic continued their flawless start to the Championship season by defeating West Ham United 2-1 in an exciting London derby. This result places additional pressure on Hammers boss Nuno Espirito Santo.
Charlton established a 2-0 lead through goals from Lloyd Jones and Tyreece Campbell. Joel Piroe, who recently joined on loan from Leeds, scored on his debut for the east London club, setting the stage for a dramatic conclusion.
In stoppage time, Taty Castellanos missed a penalty for the home team, a miss that would have secured a draw.
West Ham gave debuts to Piroe and Arne Engels, but the pre-season promotion favorites were unable to force Charlton's goalkeeper, Arthur Okonkwo, into making any difficult saves during the first half. Okonkwo joined Charlton on a season-long loan from Wrexham just days before the match.
The visitors took the lead in the seventh minute. A long throw-in from Sonny Carey was controlled by Jones, who then scored an overhead kick past Mads Hermansen. The Addicks captain's effort put Charlton ahead.
Manor Solomon's shot from the edge of the box looked destined for the goal but was headed clear by Charlton's center-back, Billy Koumetio.
West Ham could have found themselves further behind in the 19th minute when Miles Leaburn struck the crossbar. The counter-attack that led to this chance was initiated by Campbell dispossessing Kyle Walkers-Peter.
Sonny Carey had an opportunity to extend Charlton's lead but was unable to beat Hermansen at his near post. It appeared that passing to Campbell on the left side of the penalty area would have been a better option.
During first-half stoppage time, West Ham striker Castellanos met Ollie Scarles' cross from the left wing with a header, but it went directly at Okonkwo.
Charlton doubled their advantage in the 56th minute. Konstantinos Mavropanos lost possession under pressure from Leaburn, and Campbell finished clinically, slotting the ball into the bottom right corner of the net beyond Hermansen.
Okonkwo was finally tested seriously in the 60th minute, making a one-handed save to deny Piroe's shot from the edge of the penalty area. Castellanos then headed narrowly wide from another well-placed cross by Scarles.
West Ham increased their attacking pressure. Piroe, after failing to convert a close-range header moments earlier, scored in the 74th minute after Okonkwo had initially parried a shot from Castellanos.
Charlton's goalkeeper then produced a superb save, tipping a shot from West Ham substitute Divine Mukasa, who joined on loan from Manchester City this week, over the crossbar.
Joe Rankin-Costello had a chance to seal the win for Charlton but Hermansen managed to keep out his effort with his legs.
West Ham were awarded a penalty in stoppage time when referee Andrew Kitchen penalized Conor Coventry for handball. However, Castellanos' spot-kick struck the base of the right post, failing to secure a point for the hosts.
Manager Reactions
West Ham's Nuno:
"We trust Taty to take the penalties. I don't know if he will take the next one; we will have to decide.
"We started badly again. We were punished from a situation where we know Charlton can create problems. It became much harder, but we still created many chances, just lacked accuracy in the boxes. That's football – you need to be accurate in the attacking box, and we have to defend much better.
"We had a lot of possession and tried to break them down, which is not easy. We should have finished better.
"Of course, I feel under pressure. West Ham is a club where there's pressure every day; it's a big club. You see 62,000 fans in the stands, and we let them down. That's the most disappointing feeling.
"The players tried until the very end. We will repeat, repeat, and repeat in training, focusing on the final third, to create situations that allow us to score. We will maintain our belief and the process."
Charlton's Nathan Jones:
"We cannot get carried away because this is now the norm; this is the league, not a cup game or a one-off match.
"We had to be very organized and tactically sound. The first half was excellent; we countered effectively and probably could have created a bit more with better decisions in the final third. But I'm immensely proud of their work ethic and their defending of the box.
"Do we expect Lloyd Jones to score more goals? Yes, because in both boxes, he's one of, if not the best, at first contacts in the Championship.
"And that's precisely what we want from Tyreece, and what we work on. We've been demanding these outcomes when he gets into those positions.
"Arthur Okonkwo was outstanding. It's a pleasure to work with him. He has shown genuine desire to join the football club."
