Brentford fell to their second defeat in four days as Conor Gallagher’s first half strike was enough to give Charlton the bragging rights in this London derby.

Thomas Frank’s side dominated possession at a noisy Valley but offered little in terms of goal threat.

Gallagher’s strike from the edge of the area after some neat work from Jonny Williams maintained Lee Bowyer’s undefeated start to the season.

The Chelsea loanee struck on 42minutes to capitalise on a rare spell of Addicks pressure.

First Half

Brentford had the best of the opening quarter, with Sergi Canos in particular feeling he should’ve done more to test the shaky Dillon Phillips in the Addicks goal.

He saw his header fly well over the bar from a Emilianio Marcondes cross before his long-range effort was fired well wide.

Deji Olishaja’s forced withdrawal on half an hour seemed to cause more issues for the Bees than the home side.

A change of formation shifted the balance in the Addicks favour as they seized control of possession.

Shortly before the interval, the Addicks took the lead as Jonny Williams won possession in the attacking third, drew three men and slid in Chelsea loanee Gallagher on the edge of the box who made no mistake with the finish.

It was Gallagher’s third goal in five Championship appearances, not a bad start to his professional career.

Second Half

Brentford’s calls for a penalty shortly after the re-start fell on deaf ears as referee Tim Robinson deemed Rico Henry’s fall under Darren Pratley’s pressure as theatrical.

Frank’s men asserted themselves on the game but it wasn’t until the hour before Phillips was forced into a save.

Ollie Watkins for the first time ran at the defence and unleashed a rocket of a left-footed shot which the keeper tipped over.

Camped deep in Charlton’s half Brentford introduced Said Benrahma and Kamohelo Mokotjo on the hour as they looked for an equaliser but found the going difficult against a resilient Addicks defence.

Despite all their dominance in possession Brentford found themselves flirting around the penalty area rather than making inroads into the box.

Bryan Mbeumo’s introduction gave another attacking option but with no recognised target leading the line it felt they’d need to rely on a bit of magic or luck to draw level.

Neither of which came, despite a last-minute goalmouth scramble which saw Henrik Dalsgaard and Benrahma efforts cleared off the line.

The defeat drops Brentford to 20th, while Charlton climb back into the top two.

Referee: Tim Robinson

Teams:

Charlton: Phillips, Purrington, Oshilaja (Lapslie 30’), Lockyer, Pearce, Pratley, Cullen, Gallagher, Williams (Field 81’), Leko (Hemed 46’), Taylor.

Subs: Amos, Bonne, Sarr, Hemed, Field, Oztumer, Lapslie

Brentford: Raya, Henry (Mbeumo 72’), Pinnock, Jansson, Racic (Benrahama 60’), Dalsgaard, Jensen, Norgaard (Mokotjo 60’), Canos, Marcondes, Watkins.

Subs: Daniel, Benrahama, Mokotjo, Da Silva, Mbeumo, Clarke, Jeanvier

Attendance:16,771