Town suffered their second defeat to Charlton in three days as Addicks’ second string took the Town defence apart as the sides racked up nine goals between them. The game ended 6-3 as Town failed to cope with the threat of Kevin Lisbie and Charlie McDonald in the Charlton attack.

The early action was at Town’s end with the first chance falling to Charlton. Pullen fluffed a save from an Adrian Deane shot, but as Charlton players ran in the keeper dived on the ball. A couple of minutes later Deane failed to convert an easy chance after a good ball in from Kevin Lisbie.

In the 13th minute Burchill put Town ahead when he ran swiftly on to an Ashley Nicholls through ball and finished quickly.

Two minutes later Charlie McDonald scored an equaliser for Charlton after neat one-two inside the box. And in the 22nd minute Charlie McDonald scored a second from an Adrian Deane cross from the left. Pullen was clearly at fault as he came a long way for a ball he should have left to his defence.

On 32 Adrian Deane should have made it three when he exchanged passes on the edge of the area but put the ball wide. A minute later Karic was booked after a couple of fouls and chat with the referee.

Town got back on terms in the 35th minute after they were awarded a penalty after Burchill was fouled in box. Naylor had put a Karic cross into the path of the Scot and he was pulled down carelessly. Sean Friars took the penalty and scored for the second reserve game running.

Burchill ought to have done better five minutes later from a Friars cross from the right. In the end he got under the header and it went over.

Town continued to be shambolic at the back and in 41st minute they conceded their third. MacDonald was put through on goal, but Pullen rushed out and blocked his shot. It ran loose to Karic who failed to clear giving Lisbie a shot at an empty net with Pullen still grounded.

A minute later Charlton went 4-2 up, again through Lisbie. MacDonald got away down the right and put a well hit cross into the box where Lisbie was completely unmarked and finished with ease.

Town came close to scoring early in the second half when Mark Burchill put in a low cross which Marc Van Eijk and Richard Naylor only just failed to get on the end of. A few minutes later Neil McCafferty was booked for Charlton. McCaffety was luck to get away with a handball a few minutes later on the right of the box as he brought the ball out.

Charlton scored a fifth when Deane crossed and Shaun Newton headed the ball home while unmarked. It wasn’t turning out to be a great afternoon for the Town defence.

Nicholls scuffed a header wide in the 58th minute from a Karic cross. Burchill had used his pace to good effect to run on to the ball and lay it back to the Slovenian. Karic had moved into midfield as Moffat had come on for Van Eijk. The Heerenveen player had had a quiet afternoon.

On 67 Friars showed tenacity to get a cross in, but as so often there was no-one there to get on the end of it.

In the 71st minute Lisbie completed his hat-trick when he was given acres of space and eons of time to slot the ball past Pullen.

Two minutes later Lisbie almost had a fourth as he headed a cross goalwards. Pullen was equal to it and tipped the ball for a corner.

With ten minutes left Charlton nearly added a seventh when Jon Fortune had a header from a corner cleared off the line. Fortune did hit the net with three minutes left, but at the wring end. Richard Naylor got beyond the defence and out a cross into the six yard box. Fortune bundled the ball into the net with no-one pressuring him.

Newton nearly regained the four goal advantage but Miller deflected it wide for a corner. But that was that for the scoring on an afternoon when few of the Town reserves performed well.

Pullen, Croft, Karic, Nicholls, Miller, Brown, Van Eijk (Moffat 57), Abidallah, Naylor, Burchill, Friars. Unused subs: Logan, Kelly, Graaven, Claes.

Photo: Action Images

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