Addicks crash at home

Middlesbrough managed their first away win of the season and made the gap between the Addicks and safety even wider.

It started brightly for the Addicks and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink scored his second goal of the season with a lob shot against his former employers. Emanuel Pogatetz tried to clear his lines with a header but the ball fell straight at the Dutchmen’s feet, Hasselbaink was more than fortunate with his shot which hit the ground and bounced over Mark Schwarzer in the Boro goal.

Charlton looked to be heading into the break with a one goal lead when Cattermole low shot from an angle nestled into the bottom right of Scott Carson’s net right on the stroke of half time.

There was still chances at either end before the half-time whistle, Mark Viduka was a whisker away with a dipping volley and Marcus Bent scuffed a shot when well placed in the visitors box.

Three minutes after the restart Viduka should have put Boro ahead, picked out at the far post by George Boateng he could only watch in agony as his header hit the ground and bounced over the bar.

In the 64th minute Boro got themselves in the lead and it came via a mistake from Hreidarsson. The big defender seemed to get himself tied in knots as he tried to clear a ball, as the ball squirmed away Arca snapped up the loose ball and fired beyond Carson.

Four minutes later the points were put beyond Charlton’s reach. There appeared to be no danger as Yakubu advanced to the edge of the penalty area, and then he unleashed a shot that swerved into Carson’s top left hand corner.

With ten minutes remaining Matt Holland saw his shot from the edge of the area saved superbly by Schwarzer. That might have set up a grandstand finish but a point in the circumstances wouldn’t have been the return that both the Addicks faithful and Pardew were expecting.

Charlton: Carson, El Karkouri, Diawara, Hreidarsson, Thatcher, Rommedahl (Thomas 83), Holland, Reid, Ambrose (Hughes 83), Marcus Bent (Sam 74), Hasselbaink.

Subs Not Used: Randolph, Faye.

Booked: Hasselbaink, Holland, Ambrose.

Middlesbrough: Schwarzer, Xavier, Woodgate, Pogatetz, Taylor, Cattermole, Boateng (Morrison 74), Arca, Downing, Viduka (Euell 90), Yakubu (Christie 83).

Subs Not Used: Jones, Davies.

Booked: Cattermole.