For the second time in five months, Rochdale plundered three points from the Addicks with a narrow 1-0 win.

On the day Charlton were poor, but they should still have won the game comfortably. Dale were dogged, determined and never gave Lee Bowyer’s team time to settle.

They clung on to an early lead given to them by skipper, Ian Henderson‎, to take three valuable points.

The Addicks had a decent following at Spotland which included 13 members of the Swedish Addicks group. It is a pity they did not witness a better performance.

Bowyer made two changes to the team that drew with Oxford on Tuesday. Krystian Bielik replaced Ben Reeves in midfield, and Jamie Ward came in for Tariqe Fosu at the tip of the diamond. Both Reeves and Fosu made second-half appearances from the bench.

Darren Pratley kept his place alongside Jason Pearce at the back. Pratley hooked a couple of Dale efforts off the line, and was effective at set pieces at the other end.

He earned his team a penalty when Brendan Moore sent him tumbling, and should have had another when the keeper brought him down again just before the break.

Though Taylor struck the penalty well, he telegraphed his intentions, and it was at a comfortable height for the keeper.

Taylor also skimmed the bar with an effort, and Josh Cullen hit the post.

Cullen appeared to have scored a perfectly good goal direct from a free-kick, but the assistant controversially ruled it out for offside. It could be that the ball took a slight deflection off another Charlton player. Karlan Grant also had an effort ruled out for the same reason.

Another Cullen free-kick found Jason Pearce unmarked in the box, but the skipper’s header sailed wide of the far post.

The visitors had a couple of efforts cleared off the line, but in truth it was a disjointed performance in a game they should have won. Bowyer questioned his team’s attitude after the game:

“It wasn’t good enough. First half, we were very poor. We didn’t compete, we didn’t pass the ball and everything we’re good at we just didn’t do. I don’t know whether we thought we could just turn up and be handed three points, but that isn’t football.

“I’ve just questioned their attitude because you can’t do what they did against Barnsley, the best side in the league that we’ve played, and then go and get one point out of six against Oxford and Rochdale.

“That’s just wrong, so I’ve questioned them and their attitude because, for me, that wasn’t good enough.

“We have to fight and compete as a minimum. We certainly didn’t do that in the first half.”

The manager did not use Cullen’s disallowed goal as an excuse either:

“I’ve not seen it yet (Cullen’s disallowed goal), but it doesn’t matter. We missed a penalty, we hit the bar, the keeper made a great save from Josh. We had all those things, but we still didn’t do the right things, so it’s all irrelevant.

“It was slightly better second half, but still not good enough – not for what we are and what we’re about.

“It’s disappointing, but we’ll go again, keep working at it and I’m sure we’ll get it right.”

Bowyer did praise Pratley for his performance in defence, but was critical of Bielik’s performance at the base of the diamond:

“Pratley was outstanding on Tuesday and I thought he was again today. That’s why I played him there.

“Krystian Bielik is normally good at sitting at the bottom of the diamond, but today he took too many touches and kept getting caught in possession. He needs to learn that you have to move the ball quickly because that’s the way we play. Not just him, everybody was poor first half.

“It was disappointing all round, but we’ll work to put it right.”

Doncaster‎ visit The Valley on Saturday, and Bowyer will have to work hard to lift his troops for this one.

They visit Walsall and Mansfield in the FA Cup after that, before there is another international break, and‎ Bowyer will be desperate to restore some momentum to his team.

The south Londoners have now slipped to thirteenth in the table, thirteen points adrift of top spot, but only five behind Accrington in sixth, with a game in hand. It is a gap that they must not be allowed to widen.

 

Charlton: Steer; Dijksteel, Pratley, Pearce, Solly; Bielik (Reeves 46), Cullen, Aribo, Ward (Fosu 61); Taylor, Grant (Vetokele 76).

Subs (not used): Phillips, Sarr, Lapslie, Ajose, Vetokele.

Booked: Ward 48 (foul), Cullen 82 (foul)‎.

Rochdale: Moore; Rafferty, Delaney, McGahey, Dooley; Camps, J Williams (Andrew 67), Rathbone (Perkins 67), Inman (Cannon 90); Hart, Henderson.

Subs (not used): Lillis, MJ Williams, Done, Clough.

Goal: Henderson 4‎

Booked: Inman 45 (foul), Rathbone 50 (foul)‎.

Referee: Andy Haines (Tyne & Wear),

Attn: 3,109 (483 Charlton)‎.