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01 Nov 2025

Nathan Jones hoping Charlie Kelman can kick on after opening goalscoring account

Nathan Jones hoping Charlie Kelman can kick on after opening goalscoring account

Charlton manager Nathan Jones is hoping that Charlie Kelman can hit the goal trail after the summer signing got off the mark in the 1-1 draw against Swansea.

The Addicks were hunting a third straight Valley victory in the Championship and looked on course when the former QPR frontman struck in the 46th minute.

But Swansea piled on the pressure in an impressive second-half showing.

Adam Idah levelled for Alan Sheehan’s side shortly after the hour mark.

“If you can’t play well then don’t lose,” said Jones. “We weren’t really at it. It continues the unbeaten run and this is the Championship – there are no easy games.

“First half we had some chances to take the lead but when we did that we didn’t really have any control.

“Swansea played well today. They passed the ball better than us in the second half and kept the ball better. They had more control. It was too open for what we would have liked.

“The injuries really disrupted us, to lose two centre-halves. Amari’i (Bell) was his hamstring and Reece (Burke) was his foot. We were going to get to half-time and change Reece anyway, because he was feeling stiff.

“But within a minute of deciding to keep him on he has done something to his foot. It’s frustrating. Losing those two is going to stretch us. It seemed to rock us a little bit.”

Former QPR striker Kelman scored his first Championship goal in his 36th match in the competition.

“I’m delighted for Charlie, on a personal level,” said Jones. “He has worked tirelessly and generally been in good form.

“But strikers thrive on goals – their record is all about that. He has got that monkey off his back. Now we hope he kicks on. It doesn’t matter who scores, as long as we score one more than the opposition.”

There was a huge let-off for Charlton, who dropped out of the top six, in injury time when right wing-back Josh Key blazed over from close range with the goal gaping.

Swansea carried an attacking threat despite top-scorer Zan Vipotnik being ruled out with a quad problem.

Swans head coach Sheehan said: “We didn’t start the game well in the second half, we didn’t deal with the ball over the top, but then we took over for most of the game.

“I’m really disappointed to come away with just a point.

“They are a difficult side to play against – they are man to man all over the pitch so you have to wear them down. We made a few little tactical tweaks and took control.

“We just missed that killer ball or killer finish, that final action.

“Zan wasn’t available today but Adam came in and scored. He was a real handful. He is disappointed he didn’t get a couple more.

“There are a lot of positives to take. We dealt with the direct play and played some good football. I was waiting for the net to ripple on a number of occasions but we just couldn’t get that second goal.

“They are very strong at home and this is a difficult place to come. We had Man City on Wednesday night so it was a quick recovery. It was never going to be an easy game here. Our game plan worked. We looked like the team that was going to get a second or third goal.”

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