New Burton boss Martin Paterson was relieved after goals from Mark Helm and skipper John Brayford secured his first win with a 2-0 victory over Charlton.
Paterson was denied a point at Derby in his first game in charge but Albion never looked like relinquishing control once they got two goals in front, with a resilient defensive performance the bedrock of the victory.
“It is a really good result and I think my first and most important point will be how hard it is to win football games,” the former Northern Ireland striker said.
“It was a tough game, but we have had a good few days building in from the defeat at Derby but I kept reminding the group about the balance between results and performances and what is key to it is emotional control.
“It is a fantastic result for us today and I thought we played some good football in spells and that can continue to improve. The willingness of the group to take on the details of what I have added in has been excellent.”
Burton had not scored twice in a game prior to Paterson’s appointment since October and have now done so in successive games, with the new boss keen to give his players freedom to play.
“We want players to express themselves when they get into the final third of the pitch and that is a key thing for this team, to give them a little more confidence and a little more freedom,” he added.
“Lots of things that we wanted from the performance we can tick off today but the important thing is not to get too high with a win and we come back in this week and try to improve again.”
Charlton boss Michael Appleton came under fire from Addicks supporters during the game as his side extended a winless run to nine league games, with it now almost two months since their last victory.
“Missed opportunities in the first half cost us,” Appleton said. “We had countless opportunities, and some poor defending didn’t help”.
Albion’s opener came from keeper Max Crocombe’s long clearance being flicked on and finished by Helm, whilst poor defending allowed Brayford to poach a second just two minutes after the break.
“It wasn’t even a chance they have scored from, it’s a half chance,” Appleton added.
“We can show them the poor defending and tell them but they have to take responsibility and do it.”
The second goal, so early after half-time, killed off Charlton’s hopes of a comeback, with Appleton disappointed by his side’s response.
“The timing didn’t help but we still had 40 or 50 minutes to do something,” he said.
“Really once we went two down, we stopped passing forwards and didn’t take responsibility to get the ball forwards.
“We are where we are due to lapses of concentration, which have certainly hurt us. We have an understanding of where we think this season can go and it is up to us as staff and players to deliver that.”
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