IAIN Dowie admitted the last-minute back injuries to both Gonzalo Sorondo and Andy Reid had an unsettling effect on the team before kick-off but he was full of praise for on-loan Liverpool goalkeeper Scott Carson.

He said: "We did lots of things right for about an hour although we rode our luck a bit with Cristiano Ronaldo hitting the bar.

"We didn't press enough and they've got players who can hurt you."

He added: "The manner of the last two goals was disappointing for me.

"Jonathan Fortune just slipped over for the first one and Darren Fletcher took great advantage.

"And when they're ahead that's the worse time to play Man United.

"We changed system and they matched up with us but we didn't make enough effort to pass the ball and we switched off at key defensive moments."

He went on: "To lose Djimi Traore to suspension, as well as Reidy and Sorondo unsettled us a little bit.

"Gonzalo's got a small fracture in his back and will be out for four to six weeks, while Andy couldn't get out of bed this morning because of a back spasm.

"But we've got a good, together group here and the atmosphere and support was terrific tonight.

"We'll need to get it back on Saturday against Bolton."

Charlton had a good claim for a penalty when Wes Brown appeared to handle the ball in the penalty area, but Dowie refused to use that as an excuse.

He said: "If it'd been a penalty against me I would have been disappointed.

"It hit his hand but I don't think it was deliberate because he had his eye on the ball."

Dowie was able to take positives from the game and spoke highly of the performance of Carson between the sticks.

Norway international Thomas Myhre was on the bench and Dowie was pleased to have two first-class goalkeepers at his disposal.

He said: "Scotty played great tonight but we've got two number ones at this club.

"I hold Thomas in high regard and I rate him very highly.

"But Scott's just got the nod at the moment."