Michael Appleton: My Charlton side competed more in second half against Stevenage – we were denied stonewall penalty

Michael Appleton felt his Charlton Athletic side were more competitive in their second half showing as his start to life as the club’s new head coach ended in a 1-1 draw at Stevenage.

The home side were dominant in the opening 45 minutes and took the lead through Jamie Reid.

But Corey Blackett-Taylor levelled from the penalty spot in second minute of stoppage time in the second half. Substitute Slobodan Tedic was fouled inside the box by Dan Butler.

Appleton said: “We came up against a side at the top end of the league and flying. You could see that in the first half – a lot of confidence.

“Having said that, I was disappointed how we competed. I expected us to be much better and stronger. To be fair to the players they proved in the second half they were more than capable of doing it.

“I knew there was more to come and I expected more from them – certainly in possession. Out of possession you could argue we could be stronger but the reality is we were up against a side who are probably one of the best at it in the division.

“I still liked that fact some of our players, whether they are five-feet two or six-feet two, to make sure they are competitive. We didn’t get that in the first half, we did in the second half. The performance in both halves was chalk and cheese. A lot of that came down to the physicality. We competed more.”

Appleton felt his side should have had more spot-kicks in the match. Miles Leaburn appeared to be fouled by Stevenage keeper Taye Ashby-Hammond while Nathan Thompson also escaped punished for appearing to handle as substitute Chuks Aneke chased a long ball.

“The one in the first half (Leaburn) was probably the biggest one – absolute stonewall penalty,” said Appleton. “Then the linesman is looking right across as Thompson decides to slam dunk the ball in the penalty area.

“It was frustrating because it didn’t need to be that kind of situation where the referee is making it difficult for the game to be played because everything is being slowed down. I still think we had an opportunity to go and win the game – so did the players. You could tell that.”