Andrew Pennie won us a spot-kick which Jashayde Greenwood coolly converted to give us the lead. Greenwood returned the favour 14 minutes later, setting up Pennie’s goal which put us back in front after Charlton’s Jayden Twum equalised in the 28th minute.

The Blues pushed for a third in the second 45 minutes and our persistence soon told as we earned and converted another penalty through Greenwood.

Blues duo posing problems

In the first half it was all Chelsea and it didn’t take long for us to take the lead. Pennie was played through on the left wing with two defenders still to beat. He cut inside, drawing a foul from the Charlton defender, leaving the referee with no choice but to point to the penalty spot.

Greenwood stepped up to take and made no mistake, going hard and low into the bottom right corner while sending the goalkeeper the wrong way.

The visitors responded with a goal of their own, as Twum managed to get half a yard on Jacob Hall before tucking the ball into the far corner.

We regained the lead quickly, as Greenwood became the creator and Pennie the goalscorer. The former received the ball and opted to drive down towards the byline; he then cut his pass across the face of goal to Pennie, who thumped the ball against the crossbar and in to make it 2-1 before the break.

Eyeing a third

After the interval, we came racing out the blocks once more, aiming to extend our advantage to ensure our spot in the last eight.

We enjoyed the best opportunities of the half through Heze Grimwade and Kwamina Ampah. First, Grimwade was played through one-on-one with the goalkeeper by Greenwood but dragged his shot wide.

Minutes after coming on Ampah was presented with the golden chance to settle the match as Gabriel Sambou dinked a cross into the penalty area, but Ampah’s shot was off target.

Charlton put some pressure on us too, but we handled the heat well and stood firm. Josh Henry in particular denied the visitors another equaliser with two lunging challenges to turn goal-bound efforts out for a corner.

Settling the score

The Blues eventually got their third, and it was from the spot once again as Greenwood remained composed to net his brace. We earned the penalty when Emmanuel Ayinde headed Grimwade’s cross towards goal, only to be denied by the hand of Raynon Richman.

Greenwood elected for a different spot-kick approach this time; he stuttered and waited for Williams to move before smashing his strike into the opposite corner.

What it means

This win means that we are through to the knockout stages of the Under-18 Premier League Cup.

What comes next?

Chelsea Under-18s host Arsenal in the Under-18 Premier League on Saturday 21 November at Cobham Training Ground. The game gets underway at 11am GMT and supporters can watch the match live with a CFC+ subscription.

The teams

Chelsea (4-3-3): Toby Bell; Riley Ebho (Emmanuel Ayinde 78), Josh Henry, Jacob Hall (C), Isago Silva (Gabriel Sambou 77); Isaac Badu, Jayden Malundama (Rico Sealey 82), Isaac McGillvary; Heze Grimwade, Jashayde Greenwood, Andrew Pennie (Kwamina Ampah 67)
Unused subs: Aaron Woolford, Jack Anderson, Eliah Semakula
Scorers: Greenwood 21, 89, Pennie 35
Booked: Malundama 45+1, Pennie 58
Manager: Dan Hogan

Charlton Atheltic (4-3-3): Logan Williams, Theo Laronde, Cameron Reid, Harry Randall (C), Mikhail Simons; Takudzwa Muvhuti (Patrick Boje 82), Edward Thomas, Kacper Podgorny; Zaion Christian, Jayden Twum (Kayode Peterkin 57), Raynon Richman
Unused subs: Finley Lapper, Noah Grover-Smith, Kit Fleming
Scorers: Twum 28
Booked: Richman 89
Manager: Jason Pearce