Nathan Jones said his Charlton side are in “a wonderful place” after Matty Godden’s brace earned them a 2-1 victory over Wigan.
The Addicks have recorded seven straight home League One victories for the first time since 2019 and they are undefeated in their last six matches, taking 16 points from a possible 18.
No wonder fans are dreaming of a top-two finish after Godden, a summer signing from Coventry, scored twice from close range in the first half to take his tally for the campaign to 15 goals.
Godden finished confidently in the 11th minute after Wigan failed to clear Kayne Ramsay’s cross and his second was a routine tap-in after Macaulay Gillesphey headed down Luke Berry’s free-kick after 35 minutes.
Charlton looked to be cruising until Chris Sze cut the deficit in the closing stages.
Jones said: “We were pretty dominant. They have had two opportunities in the game and that shows we have been very, very good defensively.
“We made it a little more hairy and interesting than we needed it to be. We were aggressive, front-footed and moved the ball – everything we work on, we did.
“I’d love to go back to July and look at some of the comments, scepticism and things that said he (Godden) is not him, he is not this or he is a journeyman. I knew he wasn’t.
“I could be really self-righteous now and say: ‘I told you so’. Matty Godden is class. He has had a wonderful career and is a goalscorer. We brought him here to score goals for Charlton Athletic and he has given us the return we wanted.
“Apart from the last six minutes I didn’t see us losing the game but we didn’t kill things off and took the odd liberty late on. I’m just delighted with the win – because that is the most important thing.”
Sze made it a jittery finish for the Addicks when he was able to convert despite an excellent initial save by Will Mannion from Ronan Darcy.
New Wigan head coach Ryan Lowe, initially expected to take a watching brief, was in the technical area.
“It was too late that we rallied,” said Lowe. “I told the boys we need to have a bit more of a calmness. This place (The Valley) is a bit of a fortress and we left it too late.
“(If Owen) Dale goes through second half and he scores, then it is a different ball game.
“We just needed a little more belief and they know that.
“We knew it wasn’t going to be easy. There wasn’t much football from either side.
“When we did get it down we looked good but it was balls into the box, set-plays and long throws – that is them and they are quite good at it.”
