By Gareth Vincent
South Wales Evening Post

Alan Pardew admitted his team were "embarrassed at times" by Swansea City despite Charlton coming out on top of Saturday's Championship opener at The Valley.

Pardew's Premier League old boys took all three points thanks to set-piece goals at either end of what otherwise was an encouraging first day for Swansea.

Roberto Martinez's team played better football than their hosts and dominated possession for long periods in front of more than 21,000 in South East London.

And Pardew conceded Swansea had triumphed in the midfield battle after hauling off 16-year-old wonderkid Jonjo Shelvey early in the second half.

"JJ won't have experienced anything like that before," said the former West Ham manager. "He had three good passers round him and he was caught in the headlights a little bit as a result.

"Swansea are a really good side. They really pass the ball well and at times they embarrassed us in midfield.

"We do a lack a bit of experience in that area and that's why I brought Matt Holland on. The experience and know-how he brought helped us close out the victory."

Asked what he thought of Swansea's prospects this season, Pardew said: "They'll be all right. No problem."

But the Charlton boss reckoned his team had shown more cutting edge than their opponents.

"I thought we were stronger than them in central defence and up front today," he said.

"They are the most important areas and that was the key to us getting the result. It was a blow for Swansea that (Jason) Scotland wasn't ready.

"I think he's an important player for them and you could see that when he came on and did a couple of nice things."

Mark Hudson set Charlton on the road to victory after losing Garry Monk and nodding home Shelvey's corner.

And Swansea were undone by the dead ball again when Grant Basey's free-kick was headed in by Andy Gray.

"Set-pieces are so important in this division that we were going through them in the dressing room," Pardew said.

"It's an area where we let ourselves down last season, and to score from two on the opening day is very pleasing."