The Addicks took 26 players to the match and occupied both the home and away dressing rooms.
There were four trialists in the Addicks’ line-up –
Lewis Buxton, Andrew Crofts, Alex Pike and Emmanuel Sonupe – but Chris Solly, Harry Lennon, Tony Watt, Patrick Bauer and Ahmed Kashi missed out.
Russell Slade was a vocal presence on the touch line, and even gave his his post match speech to the ‘first half’ team on the pitch.
Most interest was focused on the new boys who will be pleased with their efforts - Lee Novak and Nicky Ajose quickly formed a working partnership up front.
Buxton was solid, and Crofts was the midfield fulcrum in the first half. Though still raw, Sonupe could be a dangerous player.
Charlton flew out of the the traps and El-Hadji Ba – playing further forward than usual – headed Buxton’s pinpoint cross beyond Chris Lewington to open the scoring after just three minutes.
The Addicks dominated early proceedings and Nick Pope had little to do other than make a straightforward save from a George Allen header.
Slade fielded a stronger team after the break but Welling quiclky levelled things up. Jose Teixeira bundled Jamie Slabber over in the area, and Oliver Sprague sent Stephen Henderson the wrong way to level things up from the spot.
The Wings’ joy was short lived however. Three minutes later, Cristian Ceballos hammered Novak’s cross back across goal, and Ajose nodded in from close range.
Midway through the half, Ajose struck again. Jordan Cousins’ slide rule pass found Novak on the right. Novak pulled the ball back for Ajose to tap home from close range.
Ajose completed hiss hat-trick after 77 minutes. He robbed a defender on the edge of the box and slotted the ball past the keeper to complete a comprehensive 4-1 win.
The downside for Slade was the injury to Diarra. The Frenchman had a similar injury last season and will be out for several weeks.
Slade will be encouraged by what he saw, and will approach Tuesday’s game at Bromley in similar style.
Charlton (First half): Pope; Buxton, Johnson, Konsa, Fox; Harriott, Muldoon, Crofts, Ba, Sonupe; Ahearne-Grant.
(Second half): Henderson; Pike, Johnson (Thomas 69), Teixeira, Holmes-Dennis,; Ceballos, Cousins, Jackson, Holmes; Ajose, Novak.
Subs (not used): Mitov, Umerah, Kennedy.
Goals: Ba 3, Ajose 55, 68, 77.
Welling: Lewington; Nelson, Brown, Corner, Francis, Allen, Joseph-Dubois, Waldren, Slabber, Devyne, Sprague.
Subs: Smith 62; Hayles 46, Jackson 62, Bush 58, Taylor 46, Smith 58, Johnson 58, Macdevitt 58, Hughes 46.
Goal: Sprague 52 (pen)
Referee: Ian Fissenden (Kent).
Nicky Ajose’s hat-trick grabbed the headlines but how much did we find out at Welling?
In truth, it would be wrong to base opinion on just one game against fairly ordinary opposition, but there were certainly some encouraging signs.
Lee Novak made plenty of intelligent runs, and can create as well as score goals. Nicky Ajose showed why he was League One’s top scorer last season, and Ricky Holmes and Cristian Ceballos – if used – could cause havoc if Russell Slade opts to play with two inverted wingers.
Novak and Ajose looked a good partnership, and Charlton should have plenty of firepower.
Of the four trialists on display, only Spurs wideman, Emmanuel Sonupe will be disappointed with his performance. Clearly he has skill, but Slade may want to have another look at him before making a decision.
The other three – Lewis Buxton, Andrew Crofts an Alex Pike – will be happy with their performances, with Pike probably the pick of the trio.
Slade will again field different teams in each half at Bromley on Tuesday. The Addicks will then fly out to Austria on Wednesday.