The Ghana captain headed in a 25th-minute equaliser at The Valley before substitute Matt Godden struck late to hand Charlton Athletic a 2-1 Championship win.

Published 7 Nov 2026, 19:53 GMT

2 min read

Ghana captain Jordan Ayew made his long-awaited debut for Sheffield United on Sunday, coming off the bench in the Blades’ narrow 1-0 defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers in the English Championship.

Listen to this article

Playback position

0:002:44

Playback speed

Jordan Ayew ended a 215-day wait for a club goal with his first for Sheffield United on Saturday, but the Black Stars captain could not stop a 2-1 Championship defeat at Charlton Athletic.

The 35-year-old Ghanaian forward headed in from close range in the 25th minute at The Valley to cancel out Millenic Alli's early opener, before substitute Matt Godden struck in the 79th minute to win the game for the hosts.

It was Ayew's first strike since he joined Sheffield United on a one-year contract as a free agent on September 8 following his departure from Leicester City, and his first club goal since netting for the Foxes against Sheffield Wednesday on April 6.

Ayew almost gave the visitors the lead after four minutes, only for Charlton goalkeeper Will Mannion to stop his low shot with his legs. Eight minutes later, Alli collected Dan McNamara's pass and drilled a 20-yard finish inside goalkeeper Michael Cooper's left post for his first goal since arriving from Luton Town.

Sheffield United were level after Alli brought down Romelle Donovan out on the left.

Mannion could only punch out Kalvin Phillips' resulting free-kick, and Ayew reacted quickest to nod home from close range before playing 71 minutes of the contest.

Mannion preserved the lead late on by tipping away an 85th-minute Phillips free-kick and diving low to deny Sydie Peck deep into eight minutes of stoppage time.

The loss halted a streak of consecutive league wins for Chris Wilder's Blades, who sit 10th in the Championship table ahead of a home fixture against Watford, while Charlton climbed to 19th.

Araba IncoomAraba Incoom writes on multiple topics with a vast knowledge across different sector. You can almost call me an AI, after all, my initials are Araba Incoom.

Jordan Ayew scores first Sheffield United goal to end 215-day drought in Charlton loss

Suggested for you

More Stories

JUSAG vows to continue strike if government fails to meet revised demands

Tinubu congratulates Flamingos for winning FIFA U-17 Women&#8217;s World Cup

KETASCO champions of KGL Mental-Slam in Volta Region

Asempa FM’s Ekosiisen wins Best Radio Programme of the Year (Ghanaian Language)

Asempa FM’s Philip Osei Bonsu &#8216;O.B.&#8217; named 2026 GJA Journalist of the Year

BoG Governor Johnson Asiama says professional journalism is vital in fighting digital misinformation

Discussion

Tinubu congratulates Flamingos for winning FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup

Asempa FM’s Philip Osei Bonsu ‘O.B.’ named 2026 GJA Journalist of the Year