Chris Powell had a taste of FA Cup fever on Tuesday night after leading Charlton Athletic into the Fourth Round with a convincing replay victory over Oxford United.
The Addicks boss admits he needed stern words with his side at half time of the first tie seven days ago, after they found themselves 2-0 down against their League Two opponents at the Valley.
Huddersfield Town
v Charlton Athletic
FA Cup with Budweiser Fourth Round Proper
Saturday 25 January, 3pm
Winners receive £90,000 from The FA prize fund
But they came back to earn a replay on that occasion and made no mistake in the re-match at the Kassam Stadium, with a 3-0 win securing a weekend trip to face Huddersfield Town in the next round.
Powell said: “The FA Cup is a wonderful competition and we’re delighted to get through.
“It’s been much maligned at times, which I think is a disgrace, because it’s one of the best.
“Now, it comes alive in the later rounds and we didn’t want to be a casualty, which we were close to being last week.
“But we’ve come through it and now I want us to go to Huddersfield and get through that game.
“For our club to draw a big side at home in a later round would galvanise the season.
“The league is our bread and butter and what we’re all about, but The FA Cup is a competition that we want to take seriously and I’ll be looking for us to progress and see where it takes us.”
Video highlights of the game at the Kassam Stadium.
Charlton will be buoyed for their trip to Yorkshire by Tuesday’s performance.
The south London club never looked troubled by their hosts and once Yann Kermogant had put them ahead in the first half, it was relatively plain sailing.
And that was something which Powell believes will give his squad belief ahead of Saturday’s game with their Championship rivals.
“Considering what we went through last week in the first game, I thought we approached it very well today,” he added.
“I thought the players put in a real sterling performance and we got a clean sheet, which we haven’t had for a while.
“The goals came at the right time and I thought we were very clinical, we were able to play some football on a decent pitch and I was pleased with all aspects of our play this evening, which was good for our fans as well.
“It’s going to be a tough old game at Huddersfield, that’s for certain, but we do need some momentum and to instil some confidence into the players.
“They will get that from tonight because, as we saw last week, Oxford are a decent side and we managed to keep them at bay.
“So overall it was a good night for us.”
