Appleton after Posh loss: Charlton’s second-half showing would beat vast majority of League One sides

Michael Appleton reckons Charlton’s second-half showing against Peterborough would have been enough to beat the vast majority of sides in League One.

The Addicks’ winless streak has been extended to eight league games following the Posh’s 2-1 triumph at The Valley.

Ephron Mason-Clark had given Darren Ferguson’s promotion-chasing side a deserved half-time lead during a first period in which the hosts didn’t muster a shot on or off target.

Appleton, who was trialling a new formation with a back-three and just Alfie May up top, switched things up at the break – with Daniel Kanu introduced to partner May.

It paid off as the two linked up with Kanu’s cross being converted by May for his 20^th goal of the campaign shortly after the restart.

The second-period was much more evenly contested but Peterborough won it when Mason-Clark bagged his second 15 minutes from time.

Charlton have now lost four of their last five and have failed to keep a clean sheet in 14 consecutive league matches.

Appleton said: “Frustrating first-half. I thought we were a bit tentative. Showed them a little bit too much respect. That wasn’t part of what the game plan was. In the second-half, once we made the change that certainly helped us. Playing with that extra striker, a little bit higher up the pitch and closer to their two baseline midfield players. I thought we were great in the second-half. Outstanding at times.

“That [second-half] performance would have beaten 90 per cent of the teams in this league. We’ve come up against a really top side. We went toe to toe with them in that second-period. Created many opportunities. A little bit better finishing, better timing of pass or composure and it could have been a different story.

“It’s not necessarily sometimes personnel [that caused the improvement after the break]. It suited us to pass the ball forward a little bit earlier and look to play forward earlier. That was my frustration at half-time. I wanted us to pass the ball forward quicker and make runs without the ball. I didn’t think we were making runs without the ball in the first-half. There were too many players coming towards the ball to receive it. We got that in the second-half.

“It wasn’t just Alfie and DK, there were runs from midfield. That helped us and made them desperate at times, they had to defend desperate at times. That made the atmosphere what it was in he second-half.

“What I saw in the second-half gave me loads of hope and encouragement. I really enjoyed the second-half and think the fans did as well.”

The South Londoners, who are now a mammoth 16 points off the top six but still only seven above the drop zone, were booed off at half-time.

Appleton added: “[The booing] doesn’t affect me. I was just as frustrated as them. There’s no point me coming in and booing the players in the dressing room. I’ve got to find ways of picking them up and improving them. A tweak to the system helped that. The way the players came off the bench was good. That was something I’d been reasonably critical of in the last eight to 10 games.”

PHOTOS: PAUL EDWARDS