CHARLTON manager Chris Powell was delighted to see his record-breaking Addicks take another huge step towards a return to the Championship at AFC Bournemouth on Saturday.

Striker Yann Kermorgant scored the only goal of the game deep into stoppage time to extend Charlton’s lead at the top of League One to 13 points.

And the win meant the table-toppers broke a club record for the number of away wins in a season, which was previously set in the 1999/2000 campaign Powell was a player in.

It was also a season the Addicks achieved promotion.

Afterwards, the Valley boss said: "I was part of the team that won twelve, so I've lost a record but gained it in another way as a manager, which is pleasing for me," 

"I'm just so proud of the players, they just keep pushing each other.

“They have the ability when it's not going right for us, with regards to attacking play, to hang in there.

"I've always said to them that you never know what is going to happen at the end of games.

“When it doesn't quite happen for you over the 90 minutes, you need to stay in the game.”

In a match of very few clear-cut chances, Charlton had to remain patient and show their real battling quality at times.

Charlton academy product Harry Arter, who left SE7 in 2009, went closest for the hosts before Kermorgant struck the decisive blow.

After an evening of flowing football last Tuesday at Chesterfield, Powell was pleased to see his team show real grit and determination on a mild afternoon on the south coast.

He confessed: "It was a real smash and grab for us. But you need these things to go for you in a season.

"Today we were not in the ascendancy as much, but you have got to stay in there because you never know what might happen.

"It was a tricky game away from home, but we like playing away, as our results have shown so far.

The 92nd second minute on Saturday may have proven to be a significant moment in the League One title race.

As Kermorgant headed in Charlton’s winner, Sheffield United and Huddersfield Town both conceded goals, which saw them both drop points.

But Powell is refusing to get carried away and insisted there is still a long way to go, with Colchester United visiting The Valley on Tuesday.

He added: “We've got ourselves in such a fantastic position. I keep pushing the boys, saying we haven't won anything yet.

"As a manager, I'm just focussing on the next game, which is Colchester at home.

"Teams obviously want to beat us because we are the leaders - we have to handle that.”