Charlton Secures Third Consecutive Win Over West Ham
Charlton made it three wins from three and turned up the heat on Nuno Espirito Santo with a fierce 2-1 victory over West Ham in a breathless London derby at a restless London Stadium.
The Championship season is barely out of the blocks, but the mood around these two clubs could hardly be more different.
Jones’ overhead lights the fuse
Charlton needed just seven minutes to silence 62,000 home fans. From Sonny Carey’s long throw, Lloyd Jones chested the ball up and, with the composure of a centre-forward rather than a centre-back, hooked an overhead finish past Mads Hermansen.
One throw. One touch to control. One acrobatic swing. One-nil.
West Ham, tipped heavily for promotion, looked rattled. Manor Solomon tried to drag them level, his curling effort from the edge of the box heading for goal until Billy Koumetio launched himself in the way and nodded it behind.
Charlton smelled uncertainty and almost doubled their lead inside 20 minutes. Tyreece Campbell mugged Kyle Walker-Peters on halfway and broke at pace, feeding a counter that ended with Miles Leaburn clipping the top of the crossbar. The hosts were open. The visitors were ruthless in transition.
Carey then burst into the box and went for goal at Hermansen’s near post when Campbell screamed for the square pass. Wrong decision, wrong finish, and West Ham survived again.
Only in first-half stoppage time did the home side finally string together the kind of move their supporters expected. Ollie Scarles whipped in a teasing cross from the left, Taty Castellanos met it cleanly, but his header went straight at Arthur Okonkwo. A first save of note, and a comfortable one.
Charlton went down the tunnel a goal up and looking sharper, better drilled, and far more certain of themselves.
Campbell punishes more Hammers errors
If Nuno wanted a reaction after the break, he didn’t get it. Instead, Charlton struck again.
On 56 minutes, Konstantinos Mavropanos hesitated under pressure from Leaburn and paid for it. The Charlton forward robbed him, the ball broke kindly, and Campbell drove into the box before drilling a clinical low finish across Hermansen into the far corner.
Two-nil. Boos. Heads in hands. West Ham had been warned all afternoon about Charlton’s aggression in the press. This time, the punishment was severe.
That goal finally jolted the hosts. Okonkwo, thrown straight into the Charlton XI after arriving on loan from Wrexham on Thursday, now had work to do. On the hour, he flung out a strong right hand to claw away Joel Piroe’s strike from the edge of the area. Moments later, Castellanos glanced another Scarles cross just wide of the far post.
The pressure built. The anxiety did too.
Piroe, making his debut on loan from Leeds, then missed a close-range header he should have buried. It looked like another moment that would haunt West Ham. Instead, it was a warning of what was to come.
Piroe strikes, Okonkwo stands tall
With 74 minutes gone, the game cracked open. Castellanos forced Okonkwo into a low save with a driven effort, but this time the rebound fell straight to Piroe. The Dutchman reacted first and hammered the ball into the net. West Ham were back in it, 2-1, and the stadium finally roared with some belief.
Charlton, who had controlled so much of the contest, suddenly had to dig in.
Okonkwo rose to the occasion. Hammers substitute Divine Mukasa, newly arrived on loan from Manchester City, thought he’d found the top corner with a fierce effort, only for the Charlton keeper to spring up and tip it over the bar. It was an outstanding save, the kind that wins points and, in this case, protects a perfect start to the season.
At the other end, Charlton almost killed it. Joe Rankin-Costello burst through and tried to slide a low finish past Hermansen, but the West Ham goalkeeper spread himself and blocked with his legs. It kept the game alive and set up a chaotic finale.
Penalty drama and rising pressure on Nuno
Deep into stoppage time, West Ham were thrown a lifeline. Referee Andrew Kitchen pointed to the spot after Conor Coventry was penalised for handball. The noise swelled again. Castellanos grabbed the ball.
This was the moment to rescue a point and ease the pressure on Nuno, if only slightly.
Castellanos went low to the right. The ball beat Okonkwo but not the woodwork, thudding against the base of the post and bouncing away. The groan from the stands said everything. Charlton players punched the air. West Ham players sank.
Nuno stood by his striker afterwards.
“We trust Taty to take the penalties,” he said, before admitting the obvious: “We started badly again. We got punished from a situation where we know Charlton create problems… Of course, I feel under pressure. West Ham is pressure every day – it is a big club… we let them down.”
The numbers will show plenty of possession and territory for the hosts, but not enough precision where it mattered. Too loose at the back. Too wasteful in front of goal. A familiar story for a side expected to set the pace, not chase it.
Jones’ Charlton set their standard
On the other bench, Nathan Jones refused to get carried away, even as Charlton’s flawless start continued.
“This is the norm now,” he insisted. “It isn’t a cup game or a one-off match – this is the league.”
His team backed up his words. Organised, disciplined, dangerous on the break, they defended their box with conviction and took their chances when West Ham faltered. Jones praised Lloyd Jones’ dominance in both boxes and highlighted Campbell’s composed finish as exactly the kind of outcome they demand from the young forward in those positions.
Above all, he reserved special praise for Okonkwo, calling the keeper “outstanding” and lauding his desire to join the club. On this evidence, Charlton have found a goalkeeper who can turn tight games their way.
Three games. Three wins. A statement made.
For West Ham and Nuno, the question now is simple: how long can a promotion favourite live off potential and possession before the table – and the fans – demand something far more concrete?
