Charlton 2-0 Crystal Palace

Luke Varney celebrates scoring his first goal

Luke Varney's brace gave Charlton a deserved win over promotion rivals Crystal Palace in the London derby.

Greg Halford, Zheng Zhi and Varney came close for Charlton in the first half.

Varney finally found the back of the net with the outside of his right boot after Andy Gray had flicked on a Matt Holland free-kick into the box.

Both sides had penalty claims turned down, before the lively Varney finished with aplomb into the top-right of goal for his second with four minutes to go.

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Charlton manager Alan Pardew on Luke Varney:
"He works very hard for the team and you could see the joy from the other players when he scored.

"If he believed in himself a bit more he can be a really terrific player.

"He's handling it well and we are starting to see the fruits of him settling in at the club."

Crystal Palace manager Neil Warnock said:
"I was disappointed with our first half, we never got going.

"I enjoyed the second half and I felt we gave them a game.

"We've got an honest bunch of lads but we need to create more chances. But anyone can get into the play-offs."

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Charlton: Weaver, Halford, Bougherra, McCarthy, Youga, Sam, Zhi, Holland, Ambrose (Semedo 84), Gray (Iwelumo 84), Varney (McLeod 90).
Subs Not Used: Elliot, Basey.

Goals: Varney 60, 86.

Crystal Palace: Speroni, Butterfield, Lawrence, Hudson, Halls, Danns (Kuqi 75), Watson, Derry, Morrison (Freedman 80), Scowcroft, Ifill (Scannell 46).
Subs Not Used: Soares, Fonte.

Att: 26,202

Ref: Lee Probert (Wiltshire).