Four takeaways from Charlton’s 3-1 defeat at Barnsley: Woeful defending coupled with poor finishing is a recipe for disaster

Charlton are now winless in six after falling to a 3-1 defeat at Barnsley.

Here are Louis Mendez’s four takeaways from the defeat at Oakwell.

RINSE AND REPEAT

The same old story. Charlton fell behind early thanks to Josh Benson’s stunning strike but they were the better team in the first half. Chances came and went for Corey Blackett-Taylor and Albie Morgan. Jes Rak-Sakyi looked his usual, busy self. Mandela Egbo impressed on the right and squandered an opening of his own. But the Addicks didn’t make their good spell count. I could have written that about every game during this six-game winless run.

I’m also repeating myself when I say that they couldn’t reach the same level of performance in consecutive halves. A poor showing in a second-period, during which the Tykes added two calamitous goals through James Norwood and Devante Cole, meant that Jack Payne’s maiden Charlton goal five minutes from time was nothing more than a footnote.

Charlton could legitimately claim that they would have won four or five of these last six if they made their dominant periods count. But they haven’t. Failing to do that once or twice is careless. This has become par for the course.

DEFENSIVE LAPSES

My word. Charlton were a defensive disaster-class yesterday. Nobody closed Benson down for the first goal but that was small fry compared to the goals the South Londoners gift-wrapped in the second-period.

Eoghan O’Connell – sadly not for the first time this season – was guilty of a misplaced pass inside his own final-third 10 minutes after the restart. To add insult to injury, he then allowed Cole to brush past him too easily before squaring for Norwood’s tidy flick.

O’Connell then partnered up with Sam Lavelle on an ill-fated pilgrimage to stop each other blocking a cross that left Cole with the easiest tap in for Barnsley’s third. An inability to defend between the posts has been mentioned by both Garner and Charlton TV pundit Steve Brown this year. I had to double check the highlights to see if there was a blue shirt inside the Addicks box, let alone between the posts for that third goal. Awful.

NOT CLINICAL

Charlton haven’t always created as many clearcut opportunities as they did at Oakwell yesterday. But forging these openings is as futile as not doing so at all when the Addicks are as wasteful as they are.

A strange quirk of the South Londoners’ misses yesterday was that they all seemed to be ballooned over the crossbar. Some of the Addicks’ efforts were more likely to be pulling a goal back for Wycombe Wanderers away at nearby Sheffield Wednesday than nestling into Barnsley’s net.

It’s another issue that has plagued Charlton recently. They are consistent in that they’ve scored in all but one league game this season. Before yesterday’s games kicked off they boasted the highest open-play xG in the division. But the fact they have only scored once in each of their last six games tells its own story. You have to take advantage of the moves that get you into goalscoring positions.

MANAGER PROTECTING PLAYERS

Ben Garner has said that any criticism for the side’s six-game winless streak should be directed at him and not his players. It’s not unusual to see a manager try to form a protective shield around his squad by taking the flak for their shortcomings.

But deep down his charges will know that they must improve individually. Poor finishing and outrageous lapses at the back simply have to be ironed out. Whether it’s a lack of composure or a dereliction of concentration, the side should look to take steps to better themselves.

Tellingly, the fact that Charlton have players who do make these basic lapses in the first place though should be aimed above the manager. The ownership set his stall out in the summer for the calibre of player that will be brought into the club and now he’ll pay the price.

PHOTOS: KYLE ANDREWS