Pretty much every word from Nathan Jones' post-match press conference after Charlton Athletic's 2-1 loss to Ipswich Town
'We gave a cheap foul away for the penalty - we can’t afford to do that against good teams'
Darnell Furlong celebrates his equaliser with captain Greg Docherty, who opened the scoring, flat on the turf/Picture: Kyle Andrews
It’s now six defeats in their last seven home matches for Charlton Athletic as they were beaten 2-1 by Ipswich Town last night.
The Addicks came into the match knowing that one more point was required to make mathematically sure they will be competing in the Championship next season after Oxford United, who occupy the final relegation position, had lost 1-0 at home to Wrexham the night before.
But while Portsmouth and Blackburn Rovers were able to breathe easy after the latest round of fixtures, knowing they no longer have any fear of the drop, Charlton have been unable to get themselves over the line.
A home game against Ipswich Town, gunning for automatic promotion and heavily resourced, was always going to be a tough gig.
It started in the best possible fashion with Greg Docherty putting them ahead after just 43 seconds, reacting quickly to fire home when Tyreece Campbell’s shot was pushed out by goalkeeper Christian Walton.
The Addicks, who have taken three points from a possible 21 in a seven-game winless run, made a strong and energetic start in SE7.
But Ipswich levelled through Darnell Furlong in the 37th minute. The Ipswich right-back lashed a right-footed shot between the legs of Docherty and beyond Thomas Kaminski, one of eight changes made by Nathan Jones from Saturday’s uninspiring 1-1 draw at Sheffield Wednesday.
A number of opponents have had joy from distance with Norwich’s Pelle Mattsson and Wrexham’s Oliver Rathbone also scoring with strikes from outside the box in 1-0 successes in SE7 in recent weeks.
Charlton lost Amari’i Bell and Campbell to injury before half-time and that disrupted the momentum and attacking effectiveness they had shown in the opening half-hour.
Ipswich boxed them in at the start of the second period with Charlton having just 11 per cent possession in the early stages.
By the 58th minute they trailed for the first time on the evening. Macaulay Gillesphey pulled back Furlong on the right of the penalty area and referee Robert Madley pointed to the spot.
Ipswich have had plenty of practise with penalties - their total of nine is four more than anyone else in the division. Charlton are joint-second for the most conceded - four.
Jaden Philogene’s effort just squeezed under the body of Kaminski, who guessed the right way.
Charlton failed to register a shot on the Ipswich goal in the second half with their skipper Dara O’Shea typifying their defensive robustness with 16 defensive contributions.
A deflating finale was made worse by the sight of substitute Matty Godden hobbling through the closing stages with an injury to his right leg. The Addicks had made all their changes and so the striker, who had netted twice in the previous three games, was forced to stay on the pitch despite badly struggling for any kind of mobility.
Charlton get another chance to put the drop issue to bed in the lunchtime kick-off against Hull City at The Valley on Saturday.
Greg Docherty celebrates his goal for Charlton/Picture: Paul Edwards
Below is pretty much every word that Nathan Jones had to say after the Ipswich match.
