Stoke cruised to an emphatic 4-0 Sky Bet Championship win by dismantling 10-man Charlton Athletic with a ruthless home performance. The Addicks had not lost a league game this season before their visit to the bet365 Stadium, but a brilliant brace from debutant Justin Devenny and other first-half goals from Ethan Galbraith and George Hirst saw the Potters put the contest to bed before the break. Second-half substitute Danny McNamara was sent off for two careless yellow cards in the space of three minutes as the afternoon spiralled spectacularly out of control for the visitors. Booked first for pulling back Eric Bocat, full-back McNamara was dismissed in the 50th minute after berating referee Robert Madley.
Stoke should have gone on to score more goals, but the second half was a stroll as both sides played possession football with the result all but confirmed. Charlton had started the brighter of the two sides and could have easily been ahead after some good early pressure. Former Stoke striker Tyreece Campbell had a goalbound shot charged down in the eighth minute and then skipper Lloyd Jones shot wide from close-range. Galbraith cut inside and saw his powerful left-foot curler deflected over as Stoke countered, before the hosts took the lead from the penalty spot in the 15th minute.
Charlton debutant Timothy Ouma, one of four changes for the visitors, was adjudged to have bundled over Ben Wilmot in the box and new signing Devenny coolly slotted into the bottom left corner for his first goal since joining from Crystal Palace. Hirst headed over from a Galbraith cross soon after before the latter doubled Stoke’s lead with a fine finish into the bottom left corner in the 22nd minute. The jubilant Stoke fans could not resist teasing their former manager with the chant “cheer up Nathan Jones” as the afternoon started to unravel for the visitors. Three minutes later it was 3-0 when Hirst headed home from close-range from a delightful Bocat cross from the left.
Northern Ireland international Devenney fired wide of the right post on the half hour mark and Bosun Lawal headed over as Stoke dominated. And they got a fourth four minutes before half-time when the impressive Devenny rifled into the bottom right corner to leave the Addicks with a mountain to climb. McNamara was sent off five minutes after the restart to compound a poor trip for the Addicks who, after conceding so many in the first half, were never in the contest after that. Replacement Jack McGlynn had a decent chance to make it 5-0 with eight minutes remaining but he struck his left-foot shot straight at goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo.
Addicks sub Millenic Alli tried his luck with a long-range effort two minutes later, but his shot flew high and wide, summing up a bad day for the off-colour Londoners.
