Another December defeat

Charlton have won only one game in 17 in December under Roland's regime and now it is 1 in 18 after they went down 2-0 at Blackburn Rovers this afternoon. They remain 6th in the table on goals scored.

A goal in each half proved the difference as Rovers made it six wins on the spin in League One with victory over Charlton at Ewood Park. An own goal from former Blackburn man Leon Best set Rovers on their way before Danny Graham's late header ensured three points went to the home side.

Substitute Best flicked home Charlie Mulgrew's superb free kick on the half hour to put the hosts ahead in a pretty dominant first half. But the tables turned in the second 45, with Charlton having the majority of the play but failing to find a way past David Raya and a resolute Rovers backline. And that allowed Rovers to produce a sucker punch, with Graham heading home in the dying embers of the game.

Inside the opening minute Josh Magennis shot from range but it was never going to trouble David Raya in the Rovers goal. Rovers were having plenty of the ball but struggled to create any clear cut chances in the opening stages, whilst for Charlton, Billy Clarke should have done better on the edge of the box but fired well over the upright inside the opening 15 minutes.

But on 18 minutes Rovers had a great chance to get the opener, but neither Bradley Dack or Dominic Samuel could get on the end of a wicked Antonsson delivery from the left. On the half hour Rovers did find the net and it came from the boot of Mulgrew, whose whipped free kick into the box took a deflection off the head of substitute Best and nestled into the bottom corner of the net.

Charlton came out of the blocks quickest in the second half, the home side denying a curling Reeves effort just four minutes into it before denying Magennis' follow up effort, which would have been ruled out for offside had the Northern Ireland international tucked the ball home. Rovers were struggling to get into the half and Mowbray made a double change a minutes before the hour, with Graham and Joe Nuttall coming on to replace Dominic Samuel and Antonsson.

The Charlton pressure kept coming and Mark Marshall hit over the bar from a free kick with time ticking on. The Addicks were throwing more men forward and Jake Forster-Caskey tested Raya from range before Best looked to make amends for his own goal but could only loop a header onto the roof of the net.

Despite Rovers not being at the races in the second half, substitutes Nuttall and Graham combined before the latter nodded home with the last touch of the game to add gloss to the scoreline and secure all three points.

The report from Louis Mendez can be found here: Defeat