Charlton boss Ben Garner identifies key reason behind Addicks’ Portsmouth thrashing

The Addicks’ boss also admitted he was a ‘little disappointed’ that his side were unable to extend their advantage during their first-half dominance.

Danny Cowley’s men endured a dismal night at The Valley as they were comfortably beaten 3-0 by the hosts.

The aftermath of the defeat saw the Blues come under heavy criticism from the Fratton faithful, who vented their anger at seeing their team extend their winless run to four games in League One.

However, Garner believes Charlton’s game plan was the key to Pompey’s downfall as they minimised the visitors threat along with capitalising on their defensive weaknesses.

Indeed, the head coach told the Addicks’ official website that his side could beat anyone at home after they continued their unbeaten start to the season at The Valley.

He said: ‘We had a shape that we thought would work against them in terms of spaces between their lines and through their pitch. I thought that worked well, the players took that on brilliantly.

‘The way we worked without the ball was fantastic. Our defensive structure and organisation was really good. We pressed well and we were such a threat on the transitions.

‘When we play like that we can beat anyone, especially here at The Valley and I think we’ve proven that so far this season.’

After an underwhelming opening 45 minutes, Pompey went into the break 2-0 down before Eoghan O’Connell completed the 3-0 thrashing early in the second.

Garner admitted that he was disappointed that his side didn’t take a greater scoreline into the interval after dominating the first period.

Nonetheless, the Addicks head coach was full of praise for their performance which sees them move up to 10th in the table.

He added: ‘It was a really pleasing performance.

‘I thought we started the game really fast and intense and set the tone for what we wanted in the game.’

‘We deservedly went ahead and I was probably a little disappointed that we didn’t come in 3-0 at half-time.

‘We had some other great opportunities to really put the game to bed and saw it through. I’m really pleased with the clean sheet.

‘I think the standout for me was the team ethic, how hard all the players are working for each other, which is something we have spoken about and want as a minimum standard here.

‘The pleasing thing for me is that I think we can still play a lot better and improve a lot more.’