Charlton continued their unbeaten home form on a wet Saturday afternoon and pushed themselves to a 4 point lead ahead of 3rd placed Norwich.
The game was a relatively dull affair compared to the last two home fixtures and gave Charlton the opportunity to display the dogged defending skills that they so sorely missed last season.
Southend started the game brighter and had the early chances to take a comfortable lead, however the Addicks defence was equal to a relatively weak Shrimpers attack.
The visitors did have one clear cut opportunity to score however, as Lee Barnard found himself one on one against Rob Elliot, only for the Charlton number one to produce one of the finest saves ever seen at The Valley.
Charlton’s attacking opportunities were few and far between Lloyd Sam coming closest after 10 minutes as Deon Burton broke into the area, before teeing up David Mooney who unfortunately missed the ball as he swung his leg, Sam was the first to react to the loose ball however and drilled a shot goal bound, only for the Southend defence to make the block and watch the ball go away for a corner.
It was the Addicks who finally made the breakthrough on 24th minutes when Deon Burton rose to head home a Lloyd Sam cross and put the Addicks 1- 0 up.
The 2nd half was much like the 1st, with neither side really taking the game by the scruff of the neck, the Addicks held the early pressure in the half but couldn’t find a 2nd goal. As the half went on, Southend increased the pressure and became the stronger side, appeals for a goal for the Shrimpers went unfounded as Rob Elliot was adjudged to have caught the ball and kept it from going over the goal line, much to the disappointment of the visitors.
The full time whistle blew to a 1-0 victory for Charlton, it is games like today, where results have to be ground out, that make the all important difference at the end of the season, and with Leeds dropping 2 points against Huddersfield and a trip to Stockport next Saturday, Charlton have put themselves in prime position to finish the decade in style.
Come on you Addicks!