A young Crewe Alexandra Under-23 side were beaten 4-0 by a strong and impressive Charlton Athletic side at Mornflake Stadium this afternoon.

Ryan Dicker’s side were made up mainly of Under-18s and the visitors were deserving winners thanks to goals from Harris O’Connor, Charlie Barker, Ryan Viggars and second half substitute Jason Adigun.

Ryan Dickers’ side battled away against a tough opponent and after Matus Holicek and Max Woodcock had half chances in the first half, forward Tyreece Onyeka forced the Charlton goalkeeper, Ahmed Kone, into a superb tip over save after he tried his luck from distance in the second 45 minutes.

Crewe trailed 1-0 at the break after O’Connor seemed to get the last touch at a set-piece corner and the visitors’ dominance and clinical finishing saw them run away with it in the second half with two goals either side of the hour mark.

Captain Barker guided home the second goal from close range after Harris provided a tempting cross across the Crewe box before Viggars rounded Tom Booth for the third goal. Sub Adigun completed the scoring with a calm finish after another good Charlton move with five minutes left on the clock.