This may not have been the FA Cup shock dreamt of by Truro City but for those supporters who had made the difficult journey from deepest Cornwall to east London there was a moment to savour.
On the hour, the team from the middle of nowhere put themselves on the map against Charlton with a goal of considerable quality.
Aaron Lamont crossed and Tyler Harvey connected sweetly to head down and in. The 946 supporters in the away section behind the goal bounced around celebrating something tangible for their ten-hour round trip.
Charlton Athletic booked their place in the FA Cup second round by beating Truro on Sunday
Ben Reeves (left) scored two of Charlton’s goals, with Mark Marshall (right) getting the other
At that stage they also thought a comeback might be on, Harvey’s goal halving the deficit following strikes by Ben Reeves and Mark Marshall.
But Reeves scored again and for Truro, the first Cornish side to reach the FA Cup first round since 1969, the run ends here.
They did not go meekly, continuing to throw players into attacks and nearly scoring again.
Ben Gerring headed an excellent chance wide, Noah Keats missed a volley, and Harvey hit the crossbar with another header. The team from the National Conference South certainly made light of the 56 places that separate them from Charlton.
The result at The Valley extended Charlton’s unbeaten run to eight games in all competitions
Reeves broke the deadlock with a controlled left-foot strike after 10 minutes of play in London
Midfielder Reeves celebrated the opener by hugging team-mate Jake Forster-Caskey (No 19)
For Karl Robinson’s team, this was business completed as necessary with as little collateral as possible ahead of attentions turning back to promotion attempts from League One.
The home side showed their intent early, with Jake Forster-Caskey heading onto the bar, and within ten minutes they had the lead.
Ricky Holmes crossed from the left and Reeves swept in a finish. Eight minutes after the break they extended their advantage when Marshall cut in off right hit a shot that took a huge deflection off Ed Palmer to fly in.
Then came Harvey’s moment to cherish, although Charlton moved quickly to allay any fears of an upset. With 20 minutes left Reeves exchanged passes with Ricky Holmes and drove home a left-foot finish.