Charlton interim boss Jason Pearce praised the work ethic of Alfie May after the striker’s double earned a 2-1 victory over Fleetwood.
May, a summer signing from Cheltenham, scored for the third successive match and took his tally for the campaign to four goals as the Addicks ended a four-match losing streak in Sky Bet League One.
Chem Campbell’s perceptive pass put the 30-year-old through and he threaded his finish confidently past Cod Army keeper Stephen McMullen in the 43rd minute. It wiped out Jayden Stockley’s header which had put the visitors in front in the 16th minute.
Charlton’s second-half pressure finally paid off in the 73rd minute. Fleetwood defender Olabusun Lawal tripped Corey Blackett-Taylor inside the penalty area and May opted to lash his spot-kick straight down the middle.
Pearce, placed in charge after manager Dean Holden was sacked on Sunday, said: “Alfie keeps getting in the right place and the right time. He’s a natural goalscorer. As long as we provide the service then he’ll get the goals.
“What I’ve liked since he came in is that his work rate is outstanding. At the end of the game he is doing doggies back and forth for the team.
“Hopefully this win kick-starts the season. I could feel the second goal was coming – shooting towards the Covered End, with the fans behind us. I felt at the time we needed to get someone up there with Alfie and changed to a 4-4-2, went a little more attacking, and it paid off.
“In the first half I was a little bit disappointed. The first time we put the ball behind them was Alfie May’s goal – our counter-press when we lost the ball wasn’t good enough and defending our box needs to be better. We had a little pop at them at half-time, they agreed with us and performed very well in the second half.”
Fleetwood have taken one point from a possible 18.
Head coach Scott Brown said: “We controlled large periods of the first half and were the better team, yet again someone makes a mistake and we get punished – one shot on target.
“They start the second half a little more eager and with more positivity, then Roons (Shaun Rooney) switches off then Blackett-Taylor gets in behind.
“It’s one mistake after another at this moment in time. We are giving teams encouragement to score.
“They didn’t really play through us and that one time they do, we’re not big enough and brave enough to hold the positions. Don’t give away penalties and make it easy for them.
“The first half we were by far the better team, they didn’t know how to deal with us. We need to be more ruthless. We get in behind and cause problems but we don’t pick the right pass – we panic. Alfie May gets in there and scores.
“We’ve not got that little bit of quality in the final third.”
Man United could be without Toone until new year, says Skinner
Marc Skinner revealed that Manchester United could be without midfielder Ella Toone until the new year after she picked up a calf injury in training.
Toone has featured in five games in the Women's Super League this season, but is yet to register a goal or an assist so far this term.
The 25-year-old has missed United's last two games and was not selected in Sarina Wiegman's England squad for their upcoming friendlies against the United States and Switzerland.
She had previously appeared in a staggering 96 straight matches before missing United's WSL showdown with Leicester City last weekend.
But ahead of the Red Devils' meeting with league leaders Chelsea on Sunday, Skinner confirmed they would be without Toone for not only that game, but for the foreseeable future.
"We have three games [after the international break and before Christmas]. There's always the hope, but I think you balance and you go, 'right, if we can get her back, we get her back'," Skinner said.
"But we're just not going to rush her in this moment because it's a calf injury, it's your running mechanism. If we injure the running mechanism, it takes longer.
"So ideally we'd like her back for those games afterwards.
"The projection is she misses this game [Chelsea], she misses the international window, probably misses the first game after that, and then we'll see from there.
"But because it is such a short block of only three games, we'll assess whether it's worth that or actually resetting to come back after Christmas."
Al-Nassr 1-2 Al-Qadsiah: Aubameyang winner ends hosts' unbeaten run
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hit the winner as Al-Qadsiah inflicted a 2-1 defeat on Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League on Friday to end their 21-match unbeaten run.
Cristiano Ronaldo's seventh league goal of the season put Al-Nassr ahead, but Al-Qadsiah replied swiftly through Julian Quinones before Aubameyang struck the decisive blow.
The hosts drew first blood in the 32nd minute when Ronaldo slotted home after Al-Qadsiah goalkeeper Koen Casteels had spilled a routine catch from Talisca's cross.
However, Al-Nassr's joy was short-lived when Quinones brought down Turki Al Ammar's delivery five minutes later, with the Mexcio winger firing past Bento to level the scores.
Quinones also played a part in the winning goal after brilliantly turning the ball back across goal from Nahitan Nandez's search pass to tee up a simple finish for Aubameyang.
The result sees Al-Qadsiah move level on 22 points with third-placed Al-Nassr, with Al-Shabab also level with them.
Stefano Pioli's Al-Nassr are six points adrift of defending champions and leaders Al-Hilal, who also have a game in hand.
Vlahovic out of Juventus clash with Milan
Dusan Vlahovic will miss Juventus' trip to Milan in Serie A this weekend and is also a doubt for the Champions League game at Aston Villa, head coach Thiago Motta has confirmed.
Vlahovic returned from the international break with a muscle problem in his left thigh, and the manager, after he confirmed the Serbian's absence for Saturday's game at San Siro, was asked about his chances of playing on Wednesday at Villa Park.
"I don't know. He definitely won't be there tomorrow. We hope to have him back as soon as possible," Motta told a press conference on Friday.
"Injuries are part of football. Now it's Vlahovic's turn, but we'll keep playing with the same principles, attacking and defending together."
Vlahovic is the latest of Motta's injury problems at Juventus. Argentine winger Nicolas Gonzalez missed the last six league games and is still unavailable, while Poland striker Arkadiusz Milik is a long-term absentee.
Brazilian midfielder Douglas Luiz will also miss the game with Milan and defender Juan Cabal recently suffered an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury, the same issue which will keep fellow defender Gleison Bremer out for the rest of the season.
"I'm really disappointed for Cabal because, like Bremer, he'll be out for a long time," Motta said.
"This is another reason to push ourselves, to commit that bit more so that these absences don't weigh too heavily."
Juventus go into the game as the only unbeaten side in Serie A but find themselves sixth in the standings in what is so far a very tight title race, with just two points separating Motta's side from leaders Napoli.
"It's very balanced and this is good for both us and the public," Motta said.
"We must all try to continue like this. We have to try to get as many positive results as possible."
Milan are one place behind Juve but six points off Motta's side.
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