Harvey Knibbs came off the bench to score a dramatic stoppage-time winner as Charlton Athletic marked their return to the Championship with a deserved 1-0 victory over Watford at The Valley.
Nathan Jones's side, promoted as League One play-off winners last season and playing at this level for the first time in more than five years, created the game's clearest chances and finally broke through in the fourth minute of added time when Knibbs pounced from close range following a corner, handing new Hornets head coach Paulo Pezzolano a losing start.
Watford enjoyed spells of possession and produced some dangerous crosses but struggled to seriously test debutant goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski, while Charlton were repeatedly denied by the impressive Egil Selvik and saw a strong penalty appeal turned down before surviving a stoppage-time shout at the other end in a contest ultimately decided by fine margins.
Charlton seize early initiative as Jones goes close