Here are five things we learned from Millwall's victory over Charlton: 

Shaun Hutchinson is back and here to stay

He scored in the 5th-minute which set the tempo for the rest of the match but the game taught us much more about Hutchinson.

After cracking his knee cap last season, the defender failed to find his rhythm on his return to the side and was quickly replaced by loan signing Alex Pearce who impressed from the off. His future at the club looked bleak as with Jake Cooper’s attacking contributions and Pearce being named club captain it seemed there was no way in for the former Fulham defender. 

However, fast forward to November and Hutchinson is back to being one of Millwall’s most consistent performers with the armband tightly wrapped around his arm and his performance against Charlton epitomised this. 

He hardly put a foot wrong, showing both pace and perfect timing to quell the threat of Macaulay Bonne and Jonathan Leko. His goal did not enhance his performance but only brought attention to his defensive brilliance which he has consistently shown so far this season. 

The secret weapon that Rowett never thought he wanted 

Name a better relationship than Matt Smith and the back post? I’ll wait. 

Brought in by Harris as a target man, Smith has not started a game yet under Rowett as it is clear that the striker does not suit his style of play. 

However, his 91st-minute goal would have definitely put into context how good Smith is at heading the ball. The goal was the striker’s 4thgoal of the season, the third with his head. 

Rowett came out and described the ex-Fulham striker as the best header of the ball in the division and we may not see Smith start games under Rowett but you can expect him to be brought on to change the dynamic of Millwall’s play. 

Millwall’s new manager has shown that he is tactically flexible in the three games he has managed so far and Matt Smith could be the secret weapon he never thought he wanted. 

Yep, definitely a derby. 

Many Millwall fans play down the Charlton fixture as not being a derby due to them holding West Ham and Crystal Palace in higher stead than their closest rivals. 

However, having said that with this being the first meeting of the two sides since 2017 the atmosphere around the ground carried that derby day buzz. 

The terraces were filled with fans who made noise throughout and when Smith’s winner went in the celebrations could have been heard in central London.

They may hate to admit it but Millwall v Charlton is a big fixture in the calendar to Lions fans and it showed today. 

The 23-year record stays intact

It is 1996, John Major is still Prime Minister, ‘Wannabe’ the debut single from the Spice Girls is number one in the charts and Charlton have just beaten Millwall for what would be the last time in 23 years. 

It is a truly astonishing record, one which Millwall fans love to gloat about and they very much would like to keep going for as long as possible. 

With the euphoria Lee Bowyer has instilled back into Charlton and the fact that he was on the scoresheet in their last win, the feeling amid Addick fans was that this was the day that it would finally end. 

However, they were wrong. The players were different. The kits were different. The managers were different. But the narrative stayed the same. 

Harsh on Addicks, but Millwall still need to improve 

Having said that, Millwall know they were not at their best against their local rivals and Rowett even expressed that he felt it was ‘harsh’ that Charlton came away with nothing from the game. 

After a jittery 25 minutes, Charlton dominated possession throughout and controlled the tempo. If it was not for a couple of wonder saves from Bartosz Bialkowski then the scoreline could have been a lot different. 

A draw would have better suited this game in reality and a point is what both teams deserved.

Despite the emotions of winning in dramatic fashion, there is still a lot of improvement needed if Millwall want to start being worthy of three-points instead of just scraping to victory.