Holden delighted with Charlton’s response in victory over Dons

Charlton Athletic manager Dean Holden was delighted with the way his side responded to their heavy defeat at the weekend with a win over MK Dons.

Jack Payne’s 61st minute strike was enough to separate the sides as the Addicks bounced back from the 6-0 drubbing at the hands of Ipswich Town on Saturday.

“I think we started particularly well,” said Holden. “I thought we showed real personality in the first half in terms of the way we took hold of the game.

“Tactically it wasn’t easy, because you are playing against a team away from home who were fighting for their lives. They sat in that really low, deep block, so there wasn’t many spaces in there.

“I think in the second half we started a bit sluggishly for the first 10-12 minutes. I looked at the scoreboard around the 57th minute and we started to get a grip of it again. And then we put the hammer down.

“It’s some goal from Payney, it’s a fantastic finish and good build-up to it. I’m pleased for him because of the red card a few weeks ago. It’s not been an easy time for him.

“Then I thought we saw the game out really comfortably. We had to dig in right at the end but we could have won it by more.

“I’m really pleased for everybody concerned. It hopefully shows the way we as a group have handled the drubbing at the weekend. I think we handled it the right way - the players maintained their confidence and there was a committed display out there.”