ADDICKS boss Dean Holden couldn’t fault his side’s display despite going down 1-0 at Peterborough yesterday.
An open and evenly contested clash was decided just before the break when Hector Kyprianou scored the only goal of the game.
Summer signing Alfie May came close to breaking his Charlton duck when he was denied an equaliser by the quick thinking of Posh keeper Nicholas Bilokapic.
Corey Blackett-Taylor was also twice unfortunate with efforts that went wide and although the visitors ultimately went home empty handed, the SE7 manager felt the outcome was harsh.
Holden told Charlton TV: “Anyone inside the stadium will agree that it is a game we should have got more from.
“I think our supporters would agree.
“You saw that at the end in terms of their reaction clapping the players off, so we have to take that one on the chin I think.
“I’m disappointed to lose the game but it’s a performance I can relate to in terms of the way that we ran, in terms of the way that we pressured the opponent, the amount of time we won the ball back, middle part of the pitch and high up the pitch – I’d be interested to see the numbers.
“Obviously their keeper has made two fantastic saves.
“We have to keep working. We’re missing some key players in attacking areas.
“It’s about how we respond on Tuesday (v Bristol Rovers). (I’m) really pleased with the performance, but disappointed with the result.”
Despite praising the performance, the Charlton manager was less impressed by how his side were undone at such a crucial point in the game.
“It’s a poor goal to concede right on half-time from a throw in which bounces on the edge of our box and we need to clear it,” Holden said.
“We don’t, we get punished and we come in and 1-0 down and it should be 0-0 really.
“We’ve come to an opponent who finished 15 points in front of us last season, a team that got to the play-offs.
“It was always going to be a big test for us but I thought in the second half, the first 20-25 minutes in particular, it was one-way traffic.
“We’ve had so many moments in and around their goal. We’ve had the big chance for Alfie May, we’ve had Panutche Camara’s header first half and Corey has got on the inside three or four times – we just couldn’t quite find that moment.
“They got a bit more momentum back into it. They changed the system, they slowed the game and then we’ve put the foot to the gas again and we’ve finished the game really, really strongly.”
