The Blues will have been disappointed to come away from the Valley without even so much as a point on an evening when they dominated large parts of the game. For the first twenty minutes Charlton hardly got a kick, but despite this found themselves a goal up through Matt Svensson.

Martijn Reuser got an equaliser, but a Richard Rufus second won the day for the Addicks.

Town lined up as expected with Richard Wright returning between the sticks after his back injury. Elsewhere the side was unchanged.

Matt Holland headed over in the fifth minute as Town put on some early pressure while at the other end Claus Jensen had a shot saved easily by Wright. Town came inches from scoring when Martijn Reuser hit the post from a freekick just outside the area. The ball looked to be well and truly goalbound, but Reuser just missed out.

On 12 Charlton went ahead. Up 'til then it had been all Town. Shaun Bartlett got away down the right, hit a great cross in and Svesson headed home on the near post. It was a well-taken goal, but a bad one to concede. Bartlett was given too much space to get his cross in and Bramble might have got his head to the ball before Svensson.

Town tried to get back on terms and Jermaine Wright hit a shot which went wide. But with the game 20 minutes old the Blues got back on terms. A swift break from the Blues had seen a three against one situation, but as Stewart stuck his foot out to poke the ball into the path of Jermaine Wright, a defender hit the ball out for a corner. Reuser took it and played a one-two with Jim Magilton and the Dutchman sized up his options and curled the ball into the box. It was missed by everyone and nestled in the corner of Ilic's net. It was a goal reminiscent of David Beckham's at Portman Road in August. It may have been a touch fortuitous, but it was all Town deserved for their pressure.

Town continued to play the better football with Reuser in the thick of it. His set pieces were always a handful and one of his corners even hit the bar. Jermaine Wright seemed to have a shoot on sight policy and hit several attempts goalwards most of which were wayward.

Marcus Stewart went close when he was put in by Matt Holland after excellent work from Hreidarsson and Reuser down the left. The Icelander put in a cross which Holland knocked down and Stewart hit ferociously goalwards. Ilic pulled off a magnificent save from a shot which should have put Town 2-1 up.

Surprise England call-up Chris Powell had a shot for Charlton, but this went tamely wide. Charlton were doing a little better as half-time approached, but were still spending long periods in their own half. Most of their best work was coming from Claus Jensen, although he wasn't getting on the ball as much as he would have liked.

On 34 minutes Town had a major scare when Scott Parker found himself one-on-one with Richard Wright. The Town keeper slipped as he ran towards the midfielder, but recovered to block the Charlton player's effort. The two collided and after treatment both continued. Parker had clearly felt the challenge the most and a few minutes later he was replaced by Graham Stuart.

Half-time came and Town fans were confident that a second goal would come from somewhere. Although clearcut chances were few in number they had created one or two and Reuser's freekicks and corners were proving very tricky for the home side.

There were no further changes at half-time, but Charlton appeared to have taken more from the half-time chat. They looked far more positive than in the first half and Town were put under their first spell of pressure.

Town fans, as well as singing a couple of songs about Manchester City's plight, were getting increasingly infuriated with referee Rob Styles. This came to a head when a blatant corner was denied by the official. Players protested, but to no avail.

Martijn Reuser almost put in Marcus Stewart and Hermann Hreidarsson, but his cross from the right was just too deep. A few minutes later Reuser had a freekick plucked out of the air by Ilic who was having an excellent evening. He was starting to command his box better and was catching crosses with little trouble.

Charlton's defence was also served well by Richard Rufus who used his strength to good effect on several occasions, most noticeably when Reuser bore down on goal on a couple of occasions, the first of which saw the Dutchman crash to the ground, but no penalty was given. And it wasn't just in defence where Rufus was doing well, it was the defender who put Charlton back in front.

A Jensen freekick was looped in from the Charlton right and headed out to Graham Stuart unmarked inside the penalty area on the left of the Town box. Stuart hit a shot goalwards and, just as Richard Wright was about to grab the ball, Richard Rufus nipped in and slipped the ball over the keeper. Questions should certainly be asked about the lack of marking of both Rufus and Stuart.

Reuser again went close to scoring when he hit a trademark freekick and Ilic tipped it over. It seemed the Dutchman's luck had run out after his earlier goal.

For Charlton Robinson hit a shot wide when he should have done better and not for the only time. The Welshman was having a poor time in front of goal.

Jim Magilton came close to scoring when he hit a shot wide from just outside the area. On 65 Town had Marcus Stewart substituted for Mark Burchill after the striker acquired a thigh strain. He is thought to be a worry for next week's game at home to Manchester City.

Richard Wright made a good save from Bartlett as Charlton had their share of the action. For Town Bramble came very close to breaking through inside the area after a good ball from Stewart. Rufus, as so often, was on hand to dispossess him.

There was a minor scare for Town when Richard Wright hammered a clearance at Barlett and the ball rebounded beyond the keeper. Fortunately Bramble was behind him and the defender cleared up.

As time ran out fans became increasingly frustrated and it appeared that despite the high level of possession, and Reuser in particular coming so close to scoring, Town were going to come away with no points.

After three minutes of injury time the whistle went and Town remained in fourth position. Town now must win their last two games of the season and hope that Liverpool and Leeds slip up. Leeds have an early opportunity to do so next week against Arsenal.

Town side: R Wright, Makin, McGreal, Bramble, Hreidarsson, Holland, Magilton, J Wright, Reuser, Stewart (Burchill 65), Armstrong.

Photo: Action Images

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