Charlton Athletic thrive as returning fans witness a wonderful 5-2 victory over AFC Wimbledon

The sight of fans must have spurred on Charlton as their returning supporters were able to watch a spectacle as the hosts beat AFC Wimbledon 5-2.

Goals from Conor Washington, Jake Forster-Caskey, Jonny Williams, Chuks Aneke and Ben Purrington for Charlton returned them back to winning ways after serving a scare to win 5-2.

Charlton went ahead in the 36th minute with a lovely finish from the edge of the eighteen yard box by Conor Washington who was allowed to turn and shoot by the Wimbledon defenders.

The Dons replied swiftly, three minutes before the interval. Joe Pigott scored a wonderful goal. His shot from outside of the box curled and hit the back of the net past, Ben Amos, in the Charlton goal. The away side then took the lead after defender Daniel Csoka headed the ball into the goal after a cross from Alex Woodyard.

The second half began and Charlton made it 2-2 in the 63rd minute. Jake Forster-Caskey pounced on a rebound to slot it in the net.

One minute and a half later, Jonny Williams put Charlton ahead again with a first-time finish from a cross by Chris Gunter.

Forward Chuks Aneke made it 4-2 with an 84th-minute goal and Ben Purrington capped off the performance scoring from close range in stoppage time. 

This game was mainly about Charlton fans finally returning back to watch a professional league match for the first time since March this year.  So, for Charlton Athletic to be allowed to bring in two thousand fans was great to see.

Staff at the club handled the occasion with great consideration. Fans and the media lined up socially distanced to get their temperature checked with hand sanitiser available.

In the stadium, it was a one-way system to protect everyone and still keeping that two-metre distance. When the full-time whistle was blown, fans were let out at different times to avoid the rush.

To conclude, this was an indicator that fans can be safely allowed into stadiums. With a twenty thousand capacity stadium, it showed the way for other areas in tier three with a higher capacity stadium on how they can easily let fans in safely.

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