Charlton rued missed chances after losing 2-0 to Plymouth on Saturday.
Jake Jervis’ second-half brace condemned the Addicks to their first defeat of the season.
Charlton should have been at least 3-0 up at the break, but could not beat Pilgrims goalkeeper Luke McCormick.
Here are five things we learned…
Charlton need to replace Tony Watt
Addicks boss Karl Robinson confirmed Watt’s departure. It leaves Josh Magennis and Lee Novak as Charlton’s only senior strikers.
With Mark Marshall and Ben Reeves not available for selection, Charlton’s lack of depth in the forward positions showed when Robinson subbed on youngster Reeco Hackett-Fairchild for his league debut.
Novak has struggled for form and confidence since arriving in SE7, while Magennis has never scored 20-plus goals in a campaign before. So, Charlton need to bring in a proven goalscorer, whether that’s on a permanent or loan deal, very quickly.
Ben Amos fails to impress again
News Shopper’s words about Amos in last week’s five things we learned came in for some criticism from Charlton fans.
But in his second game for the club, he fared no better. He should’ve saved Jervis’ second goal, which went right through him, and had shaky moments throughout the match where he was extremely indecisive.
Robinson wants to loan out Dillon Phillips, and explained to News Shopper why he thought the young goalkeeper wasn’t ready to be Charlton’s number one. But Phillips looks like a safer pair of hands than Amos.
It just wasn’t Charlton’s day
In the first-half which ended goalless, Charlton had 10 shots, six on target, on Plymouth’s goal. Magennis missed two golden chances and hit the crossbar, while Jake Forster-Caskey had a volley cleared off the line.
It felt like one of those games where Charlton wouldn’t have scored if they had played for another three hours.
They failed to replicate their first-half dominance after the break, but even Karlan Ahearne-Grant’s excellent long-range effort at 1-0 couldn’t beat McCormick.
Plymouth contained Tariqe Fosu
Despite the likes of Magennis, Billy Clarke and Ricky Holmes in the team, Plymouth clearly picked Fosu out as Charlton’s dangerman. And rightly so, given his performance against Bristol Rovers last weekend.
Every time Fosu got the ball, Plymouth had two players on him, whether that was in a central or wide position, the young winger was rarely one-on-one with a Pilgrims defender.
Plymouth’s plan worked as Fosu had a relatively quiet game.
Don’t panic… yet
League One new boys Plymouth, home or away, are a team Charlton should beat. And it sounds simple, but if the Addicks had taken their openings in the first-half, they would’ve been out of sight.
It’s one loss, and the club could be in a worse position. Promotion favourites Blackburn have lost their first two games and last season’s League One champions Sheffield United failed to win their opening four fixtures.
So, at the moment, there is no need to panic.
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