ChampionshipWest Ham United 1-2 Charlton Athletic
Saturday, 22nd August 2026
by Chris Wilkerson | Forum match thread
If the players and manager at West Ham United cannot move on from the misery of last season, the scars of relegation will ruin another season and leave the club mired in the Championship.
Because all the talk of their quality being too much for this league was made a mockery of by a drilled and efficient Charlton Athletic, who were clinical in front of goal and defiant defending their own to leave the London Stadium with a 2-1 victory and a deserved three points.The Hammers were laboured, left devoid of creativity by a 4-4-2 that seems to leave them open to danger whilst offering none of the benefits of carrying an extra attacking player.
An early overhead kick goal by the captain Lloyd Jones stunned the support in the first league game of the season in front of the home fans, and as their team floundered in their attempts to break the visitors down, a counter attack in the second half saw The Addicks double their lead through Tyrese Campbell to take all three points across London with them.
A debut goal for Piroe gave the finish some tension, but The Hammers could not do to Charlton what Burnley had done to them only a week before, failing to find that equaliser and instead starting their Championship season with a draw and a defeat.
They were given the same chance Burnley were, a stoppage-time penalty with moments remaining to give the team an undeserved escape, but Castellanos could only strike the post and West Ham were left ruing another slow start.
It is now seven defeats in the last nine home openers to the season for West Ham, continuing a habit of putting their worst foot forward and stumbling before any momentum can even be found.
Nuno was able to field two debutants, as Piroe replaced the injured Pablo, and Engels took Orford's place in midfield. Divine Mukasa made the bench since his loan signing a day earlier, but there was a notable absentee, with Diouf not selected in the matchday squad.
In a more rigid 4-4-2 than is usually seen when Pablo is supporting Castellanos up top, West Ham were set up to dominate, but a goal inside the opening 10 minutes threw their plans into disarray.
It was a simple goal, a long throw into the box from the right wing that was allowed to bounce. It popped up onto the chest of defender Jones, and as it dropped down in front of him, with his back to goal, the Charlton captain did the only thing he could, an overhead kick. Hermansen was caught flat footed and reacted too late to save the low bouncing effort.
Suddenly, the mood changed. A packed home support had come expecting victory, however much they may have claimed otherwise. After a torrid season, this new dawn was supposed to be one of dominant victories and a club ready to use its size and its Premier League talent to find success.
After the collapse at Burnley a week prior, fears arose that the hangover from a dismal year would hinder the team into this new campaign. Watching the side give away a soft early goal on a set piece only brought those fears into sharper focus. Had anything really changed at the club over the summer?
West Ham quickly put the pressure on, but the visitors were comfortable defending in a disciplined shape, deep in their own half. Bowen searched desperately for shooting space and fired harmlessly wide, before Solomon darted through two to make shooting space, only to be denied by brave blocks from the Charlton defence.
At the other end, West Ham were a threat to themselves. Scarles, Walker-Peters, Mavropanos and Kante were all guilty of sloppy passes that presented openings to the away side, and had Leaburn just a little more about him, he may have done more with the space he made for himself in the penalty area with Kilman retreating.
The Hammers didn't hit a shot on target until a long-range effort from Piroe nestled safely in the hands of debutant Okonkwo in the Charlton goal. The goalkeeper could hardly have asked for a better debut after sealing a permanent move away from Hollywood's Wrexham, a win on the biggest stage he'll play on this season where he was barely tested.
Had the finishing been better, he really should have been. Castellanos was as guilty as anyone, and missed the chance of the half in stoppage time.
After a slow build, a sad staple of West Ham's laboured play throughout, Scarles found space on the left and lifted a lovely cross to the far post.
Castellanos lost his man 10 yards from goal, but his header down was right at the goalkeeper when he should have scored.
It left the score at 1-0 going into the break, and Nuno's side looked devoid of the creativity required to break down their opponents. There had been little outside of slow passing and then playing it wide to sling in crosses. Piroe and Castellanos were standing in the same places whilst their teammates struggled to make anything for them.
The manager made a change at the break, replacing Kante with Orford, who offers more control and sharper passing in deeper positions.
An early freekick was wasted, and whilst West Ham started on top, the fight was only coming from the increasingly erratic aggression of Castellanos, shoving a defender to the ground whilst waiting for a corner, his second physical confrontation off the ball in the game. He ended up flicking the corner harmlessly into the goalkeeper's hands.
Charlton went forward quickly, a clearance fired forward as Mavropanos sprinted back. He won the ball, but having taken it down under pressure, he seemed to immediately forget that the player was there, and as he looked up to pass, the ball was nudged away from him.
It came to Tyreece Campbell (or, to use his rather incredible full name: Tyreece Anthony Tupac Shakur Campbell), who dribbled it into the box, moved it calmly onto his right boot and curled it from the left of the area and across goal into the far corner, with Hermansen given no chance. With a little over 25 minutes to go, West Ham had to find two goals to rescue even a point.
Another 15 minutes later, West Ham had hardly threatened, forcing the manager to act. Off went Scarles and Mavropanos, on came the debutant Mukasa and the experienced Veltman, the latter immediately bringing a sense of calm to the defence.
Piroe forced the first real save Okonkwo had to make, a controlled but tame effort from the edge of the box that had the goalkeeper scrambling, before Castellanos sent a header just wide from a Scarles cross, and The Hammers started to knock on the door.
Piroe probably should have scored after a Bowen cross found him with a header that he powered right at the goalkeeper, but the debutant was in the right place at the right time a minute later as the home side got a lifeline.
Bowen was free on the wide right, and he calmly took his time before playing it low across the box to Castellanos. His first-time shot was right at the goalkeeper, but the power forced him to parry, and Piroe was there to slam the rebound into the roof of the net. With 15 minutes to go, the game was setup for a raucous finish.
Mukasa forced a good save after Bowen squared to him just inside the box, the captain the next to shoot at goal but blazing horribly wide. There was a chance for further embarrassment as Taty dived to try and steal a penalty, collapsing under no contact. If you believe in karma, he soon got his.
Charlton did threaten on the odd break, but it wasn't until the 92nd minute that West Ham looked to have forced an opening to get themselves a point they never deserved.
After shifting the ball back and forth to look for an opening, Solomon found Mukasa on the edge of the box, and he quickly squared for Orford. The midfielder hit first time, only to see his shot blocked by a Charlton arm. The referee pointed to the spot, but it was not the captain he stood over it to take the crucial kick.
Up stepped Castellanos, and here came that karma. The goalkeeper flew to his right, Castellanos placed it to his left, but it smacked the foot of the post and bounced clear.
With a minute left to play, there was nothing left. Instead, as they so often do, West Ham started another home campaign with a loss.
After a summer that seemed to start with new hope and the beginnings of change, The Hammers are back in familiar territory, the figure of Sullivan still tarnishing the padded seats, the team left underfunded, the fanbase already unhappy. If the novelty of relegation is more wins and new games, it feels it may already have worn off.
Looking for two points a game, they've started with just the single point from the opening two fixtures. Question marks remain over the depth of the squad, a lack of pace and quality on the ball, a weak mentality and confusion over the sales of promising young players. Has an arrogance about our size left us short of the required grit and craft required to win games of Championship football?
Welcome to the new season, the same as the old.
Manager's Rating
Nuno Esp?-rito Santo: 3/10 There is very little excuse to have the players he has in comparison to his competition and to provide such a stale and rigid team. This coming Wednesday marks 11 months at the helm for Nuno; has he improved us in that time?
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Click to view all West Ham United vs Charlton Athletic match reports Click to view all match reports by Chris Wilkerson Like to share your thoughts on this article? Please visit the KUMB Forum to leave a comment.Player Ratings
Click on any player's name to view their full KUMB bio, including all historical match notes and ratings/10.Mads Hermansen
Just didn't read the first goal, leaving him too late to react. Nothing he could do on the second.
Kyle Walker-Peters
Poor on the ball and not making the runs from right back to support the attack. Bowen needs a runner, and Walker-Peters doesn't make those runs.
Ollie Scarles
Whilst he had the odd moment on the ball he'd like to forget, his crossing was one of the few ways West Ham carried any threat.
Konstantinos Mavropanos
Should have done better on the first goal, and it's worrying how meek he has looked in that regard in these opening two games, but a brainless error reminded everyone of the player he has been for the majority of his time here: clumsy and always capable of a dangerous error.
Max Kilman
The more solid of the two, Kilman seems a bit more suited to a team that has some possession as he's strong with the ball at his feet. None of the errors his partner made, he's had the better start to the season.
Mohamadou Kante
Sloppy in possession on a few occasions and unable to have the positive attacking influence he has in the last two games. Isn't someone who should play as one of a pair in midfield.
Arne Engels
Considering this was his debut, it was tough for a player who will be tasked with creating to be aligned with his teammates. Charlton packed the defence, giving him little room to operate in and very few gaps to find passing forwards.
Manor Solomon
Lovely dancing feet, very little end product. Whilst many complain about someone like Scarles, Solomon consistently delivered poor crosses and didn't threaten at all.
Jarrod Bowen
Looks a bit lost out on the wing so wide. He made his name and has had all his success as a player who is close to goal and is a major threat getting on the end of things. Under Nuno, he is deeper and wider, and getting isolated by the lack of overlapping runs and players near him.
Joel Piroe
A goal on debut would usually give someone a shot at man of the match, but Piroe was a lumbering old man up front. Watching him move, you could feel the joints clicking and whining at the effort of travelling five yards. Immobile and slow, he's going to have to score a lot of goals to be worth accepting the rest. However, having barely played for a year, he may be due some grace and patience.
Taty Castellanos
Not just for the penalty, which should have been left to Bowen and cost us a point, the dive was also embarrassing, whilst he was lucky not to be on a card already at that point having twice got involved in physical altercations off the ball. The bigger problem is the lack of movement, with the Argentine basically just a poacher expecting service.
Substitutes
Lewis Orford(Kante 46') He and Kante have been the bright sparks of the season so far, and he looked good again here. He should be starting in a three-man midfield.
Divine Mukasa
(Scarles 70') Glimpses of promise, and he's got good size for his age, but couldn't make much impact.
Joel Veltman
(Mavropanos 70') Quite nice to see an adult at the back doing the defending. Just exuding calm in a way Mavropanos does not. If he is comfortable at centre back, he needs to start.
Alphonse Areola
Did not play.
Airidas Golambeckis
Did not play.
Ezra Mayers
Did not play.
Keibar Lamadrid
Did not play.
James Ward-Prowse
Did not play.
Josh Ajala
Did not play.
Match Facts
West Ham United: Mads Hermansen, Kyle Walker-Peters, Ollie Scarles, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Max Kilman, Mohamadou Kante, Arne Engels, Manor Solomon, Jarrod Bowen, Joel Piroe, Taty Castellanos.Goals: Joel Piroe 74 .
Booked: Max Kilman Taty Castellanos .
Sent Off: None sent off. .
Charlton Athletic: Okonkwo, McNamara, Jones (c), Koumetio, Bell, Coventry, Chalobah (Rankin-Costello 77), Carey (Mwamba 65), Campbell, Grant (Sichenje 77), Leaburn (Mbick 70).
Subs not used: Brooks, MesÃk, Knibbs, Alli, Apter.
Goals: Jones (7), Campbell (56).
Booked: McNamara, Grant, Coventry.
Sent off: None.
Referee: Andrew Kitchen.
Attendance: 62,264.
Man of the Match: Lewis Orford.