Gillingham 0 Charlton Athletic 5

GILLINGHAM conceded five and had a man sent off during a testing pre-season friendly against rivals Charlton.

Simon King was the unfortunate recipient of a red card after referee Gavin Ward harshly sent the defender for an early exit.

Gillingham were already four down by the time King went as Charlton’s impressive pre-season campaign marched on.

Alan Pardew’s first team made it four wins from four in pre-season and have yet to concede a goal. Ronnie Jepson, meanwhile, had plenty to think about after a difficult game against a strong Charlton side.

Charlton’s midfielder Andy Reid was the architect of three of the goals, while their final effort came from the penalty spot, after King had pulled down Chris Iwelumo in the box.

Darren Ambrose opened the scoring on 14 minutes for Charlton, after Reid’s pass unlocked the defence, and another 14 minutes passed before Reid again set up Ambrose to slot home the second.

Six minutes before the break it was 3-0, as Reid and Svetoslav Todorov exchanged passes in the Gillingham defence, allowing the Bulgarian to net from an acute angle and open his account for his new club.

Just two minutes into the second half and Charlton added the fourth, when Jerome Thomas whipped in an inviting cross, and Todorov was there to claim his second of the match.

Thomas then got on the scoresheet on 69 minutes after King’s foul in the area to seal Charlton’s win.

Gillingham: Royce, Southall, King, Armstrong (Hamilton 82), Sodje, Brown, Crofts (Stone 45), Cogan (Patrick 45), O’Connor (Bentley 45), Facey (Mulligan 45), Graham (Cox 70).
Subs Not Used: Pugh, Stillie, Clohessy, Bryant, Ndumbu-Nsungu.

Charlton: Weaver, Moutaouakil (Holland 58), Thatcher, Diawara (Sinclair 74), Reid (Fortune 74), Todorov, Ambrose, Thomas, Iwelumo, Bougherra (McCarthy 74), Semedo (Powell 66).
Subs Not Used: Elliot.

Attendance: 3,315.

* Keep up to date with all the news from Priestfield every Monday and Friday in the Medway Messenger.* Keep up to date with all the news from The Valley every week in the Bexley Extra.