by Sam Francis

Paul Benson's 85th-minute strike clinched a hard fought three points for Charlton as they came out 1-0 winners against a stubborn MK Dons team in League 1 on Tuesday night.

Charlton had the brightest of the early exchanges, a clever Jose Semedo give-and-go with Ipswich loan striker Lee Martin, saw the Portuguese midfielder through on goal but he could only prod his shot wide under pressure.

The Valley was left scratching its head 15 minutes later when Danny Woodards appeared to pull down Martin on the edge of the penalty area but somehow the defender only got a yellow card, even though Martin was in a clear goalscoring position.

The home side looked strong in defence with Jonathan Fortune returning for his second spell at the club, teaming-up well with veteran Gary Doherty and former Liverpool and Germany star Dietmar Hamann, now player coach at the Dons, failed to conjour up any chances and blasted a volley into the stands.

The Charlton faithful began to grow restless, singing for the inclusion of Kyle Reid, and when the winger (pictured) eventually came on his presence was felt immediately with his blistering pace causing havoc on the left wing.

The game looked destined to end in bore draw until Reid used his pace and skill on the left before cutting back and curling a delightful cross into the area where an outstretched Benson did the cross justice by placing the ball home.

It was the Charlton striker’s first goal for the club and was enough to secure the points for the hosts, moving them up to seventh in the league.