Sheffield Wednesday proved too strong for basement boys Charlton with a 4-1 win at Hillsborough.
Jeffers on mark against former club
Sheffield Wednesday proved too strong for basement boys Charlton with a 4-1 win at Hillsborough.
Darren Potter made a dream start on his debut for Wednesday with the opener and Marcus Tudgay added a second seven minutes before the break.
Francis Jeffers netted his first goal in over a year just past the hour mark before Matt Spring netted a late consolation for Charlton.
Wednesday had the final word as Tudgay grabbed his second of the contest from the penalty spot to pile the misery on Phil Parkinson's side.
A bumper crowd of 28,766 turned out to mark the Owls' first home game under new chairman Lee Strafford and chief executive Nick Parker, recently appointed to the club's board to oversee a takeover before a March 31 deadline.
Wednesday made the brighter start against the struggling Londoners and had their first effort on goal in the ninth minute when Jermaine Johnson's shot was held by goalkeeper Darren Randolph.
Opener
But the home side broke the deadlock in fine style in the 16th minute when James O'Connor found space on the right and squared the ball for new boy Potter, who drilled his shot into the bottom corner.
Randolph denied Johnson again and did even better to parry an effort from Jeffers, who went close to scoring against one of his former clubs, before Wednesday doubled their lead.
Michael Gray, on loan from Wolves, sent over a fine cross from the right and Tudgay planted a header beyond Randolph into the bottom corner.
Charlton's woes continued after the break when the injured Graeme Murty was replaced by Yassin Moutaouakil, who blasted a shot from 12 yards over the crossbar soon after.
The Addicks were punished for that miss in the 63rd minute when Tudgay sent Jeffers through on goal.
The former Charlton striker rounded Randolph and swivelled to turn the ball home from an acute angle for his first goal since New Year's Day 2008.
Spring thumped home a fine 25-yard shot into the top corner in the 86th minute, but only a superb double save from Randolph denied Gray his first goal for the Owls.
In injury time, Tudgay picked himself up to convert from the spot after Grant Basey's foul in the area.
