Charlton Athletic 3-1 Luton Town: Addicks end Hatters unbeaten run to keep top two hopes alive

Charlton ended Luton Town’s 28-game unbeaten run with a superb performance at The Valley.

The result sees the South Londoners climb to within three points of the automatic promotion places in League One as we enter the final four games of the campaign.

Harry Cornick had rifled the Hatters ahead before the break but a Lyle Taylor brace, either side of a fine finish from Igor Vetokele, gave the Addicks their fourth win in a row to keep their top two hopes alive.

The visitors are still comfortable at the top of the League One table but they won’t have been as overrun and outplayed by a side, as they were at The Valley, all season.

The Addicks, who had won each of their last three league outings, started on the front-foot with Lyle Taylor dragging wide in the opening minute after Igor Vetokele sent him away on the left-hand edge of the area.

Chris Solly’s dangerous cross was hacked away as the hosts were enjoying the majority of the play but they were dealt a blow as Luton took the lead against the run play.

Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu found Cornick in space in the area and the Hatters forward, who also scored in the reverse fixture at Kenilworth Road earlier this season, rifled beyond Dillon Phillips to become the first man to break the Addicks back line nearly seven-and-a-half hours of football.

The South Londoners were shell-shocked and had Phillips to thank for the deficit not being widened. George Moncur powered a curling shot towards the top-corner but the Addicks custodian clawed the ball away.

After the set-back of falling behind, Charlton did start to get back into their rhythm and they came so close to levelling the scores just before the half-hour mark. Vetokele took advantage of a slip in the Luton half to stride into the area and squared for Taylor but he could only rattle the crossbar from six yards out.

The visitors may well have been reduced to ten men as goalkeeper James Shea wiped out Vetokele as he latched onto a long ball over the top – the home side furious as Gavin Ward only showed a yellow card.

Josh Cullen fired the following free-kick straight into the wall and Phillips had to be alert to make a fine save from Moncur just before the break as the Addicks went in behind.

They were soon level after the restart. Penalty shouts had already been waved away as Jonny Williams appeared to be felled by Jack Stacey but the match official was soon pointing to the spot as Taylor was hauled over.

Taylor dusted himself off to calmly slot his 20^thgoal of the season beyond Shea – and Vetokele came a whisker away from edging Charlton ahead soon after.

Aribo drove at the eighteen-yard box before Josh Cullen took over and whipped in a fizzing cross that the Angolan striker flicked just wide.

Vetokele did have the goal he deserved twenty minutes from time. Bielik tore through the centre of the park before teeing up the Addicks striker to fire across the face of goal and in.

The Valley erupted – and the crowd were on their feet again just two minutes later.

Scorer turned provider as Vetokele measured a glorious cross for Taylor to bag his second of the game and give the home side daylight.

Andrew Shinnie was sent off late on for a second yellow card as Charlton held on comfortably to extend their unbeaten home run to 15 games with a momentous win.