Five star Charlton

Damian Matthew's Charlton youngsters booked a Quarter Final date with Sunderland next Wednesday after blowing Swindon out of the competition at The Valley last night.

Their Fifth Round tie was effectively over as a contest as early as the 25th minute with Charlton already 4-0 up.

Charlton poured forward from the start and some slick and imaginative passing in midfield kept the front players supplied with chances. The pressure was relentless in the first half, with the home side threatening to better the 6-0 scoreline achieved against Sheffield United in the previous round. They could even have had a couple of goals before opening their account on seven minutes.

Rashid Yussuff showed impressive acceleration as he sprinted clear down the right before hitting the ball low and hard into the goalmouth. Swindon 'keeper Mark Scott, who couldn't really be faulted for any of the five goals, pushed it out and Jonjo Shelvey was on hand to blast home from near the penalty mark.

Then another shot from virtually the same place gave the shaven-headed No.8 his second goal on 18 minutes.

Danny Uchechi, always lively up front, flicked the ball past the last defender for Addicks skipper Scott Wagstaff to run in behind and expertly lift it over the advancing Scott for 3-0 six minutes later.

Almost immediately it was four, Ben Godfrey gleefully poking the ball in with the 'keeper completely exposed once again.

Uchechi didn't get on the scoresheet, but thumped one shot against the face of the crossbar and had a close-range effort turned round at full stretch by Scott.

The beleagured visitors had barely mustered a worthwhile attack as they battled to stem the tide, but they had the encouragement of a goal on 32 minutes. Charlton 'keeper Joe Wooley and central defender Rhys Coleman went for the same ball in front of goal and the latter inadvertently slapped it against his own crossbar. Ben Joyce, Swindon's two-goal hero against Middlesbrough, took advantage of the confusion to fire the ball high into the net.

Play was noticeably more subdued in the second half, with a Charlton win assured, but the home side did make it 5-1 on 54 minutes. Wagstaffe received a pass wide on the right and a twisting run into the box took him past two or three defenders and into a shooting position on his left foot. Scott couldn't quite get a hand to the ball as it rolled into the corner to his right.

It turned out to be an almost embarrassingly easy win for Charlton. But Sunderland, who knocked out holders Liverpool, might cause them a few more problems at The Valley on 27 February.

Attendance: 1,459