Injury ravaged Charlton were left heartbroken when Sunderland scored their winner deep into stoppage time.
The injuries restricted Lee Bowyer’s bench options, and he was only able to name five substitutes.
The afternoon ended with Jason Pearce added to the injury list, and Chris Solly’s head heavily bandaged after an aerial clash with Jerome Sinclair in the penalty area after 54 minutes.
Lewis Page suffered cramp in the second half, and a number of players were running on empty before the end.
The away end at the Stadium of Light is not for the faint hearted, it is accessed by nine flights of stairs.
Fans who could not make the long journey were able to watch the game on Sky – the fourth successive Addicks game the satellite broadcaster has screened live. Unfortunately, Charlton have lost all four.
The Addicks were the dominant team in the first half, and took the lead after 9 minutes. Lewis Page brought the ball out of his own penalty area, and played a diagonal ball to Karlan Grant in midfield.
Grant’s pace took him into the Black Cats’ box, before Chris Maguire scythed him down. Referee, John Brook, had no hesitation in pointing to the spot.
Though Jon McLaughlin dived the right way. Lyle Taylor’s penalty was struck with such venom, the keeper could not keep it out.
Charlton had the upper hand for most of the opening period, with Taylor and Grant a constant thorn in the side of the Sunderland defence.
The second half saw the hosts as the team in the ascendancy. The Addicks visibly tired, and Pearce was clearly struggling with his mobility.
But Bowyer would have been disappointed with the Mackem’s equaliser. Midway through the half, Josh Maja was given the time and space to turn in the area, and his fierce shot beat Phillips at his near post.
Pearce was finally forced off three minutes from time following a nasty challenge from Lynden Gooch. Naby Sarr came on – the only substitution that Bowyer made during the match.
To add insult to injury, Gooch grabbed the winner six minutes into stoppage time when he nodded a deep cross past Phillips and into the far corner.
Bowyer said this after the game:
“It always hurts to concede that late on. The lads gave me everything, they didn’t deserve to lose that and come away with nothing. A draw was probably a fair result.
“We were the better side first half, they were the better side second half – it is what it is. Everyone is gutted because we put so much into it.
“We’re a depleted squad, we’re down to our bare bones and the lads gave everything.
“To lose the way we did, hurts. The first goal shouldn’t have happened. He was allowed to turn on the edge of the box and get a free shot off and that should never happen.
“The second was a great delivery and his momentum got on the end of the cross in front of Pagey who wasn’t in a bad position. It was just a great ball and a great finish.
“Today we’ve come to Sunderland and we didn’t deserve to lose.”
Bowyer expects to add a keeper, a defender and a midfielder to his squad before Thursday’s transfer deadline.
Charlton: Phillips; Solly, Bauer, Pearce (Sarr 90), Page; Marshall, Pratley, Aribo, Lapslie, Grant, Taylor.
Subs (not used): Maynard-Brewer, Sarr, Maloney, Ajose, Hackett-Fairchild.
Goal: Taylor 9 (pen).
Booked: Page 34 (foul), Pearce 42 (foul), Solly 81 (foul).
Sunderland: McLaughlin; Matthews, Loovens, Ozturk, Love (Oviedo 26); Honeyman, Gooch, O’Nien (Sinclair 46), Maguire; Maja, Mumba.
Subs (not used): Ruiter, Baldwin, Embleton, Hume.
Goals: Maja 65, Gooch 90.
Booked: Maguire 9 (foul ), Gooch 87 (foul).
Referee: John Brooks (Leicestershire).
Attn: 31,079 (770 Charlton).
