‘There are no excuses’ – Charlton Athletic boss Dean Holden on 3-2 defeat to Port Vale

Charlton manager Dean Holden reckons that a fixture-free week is exactly what is required – admitting his squad has been stretched.

The Addicks suffered a third straight League One loss as Port Vale, winless on the road since January 1, left SE7 with a 3-2 victory.

Charlton are without first-teamers Chuks Aneke, Miles Leaburn, Tyreece Campbell and Scott Fraser.

But the Addicks’ downfall today was defensively. Michael Hector misjudged a long ball which allowed former Wimbledon attacker Ethan Chislett to put Port Vale 2-1 ahead – just moments after his excellent free-kick was headed home by James Wilson.

And towards the end of normal time a counter by the visitors saw Nathan Asiimwe fail to deal with a bouncing ball, while Josh Thomas was initially denied by Ashley Maynard-Brewer the Vale substitute crossed for Funso Ojo to tap him from close range.

Alfie May’s 10th-minute penalty – his first goal for the club – had put Charlton ahead as they started with real intensity and purpose.

Daniel Kanu, promoted to the starting line-up in place of Jack Payne, headed a second-half equaliser to make it 2-2.

“I was really pleased with the start of the game – for 25 minutes we were excellent,” said Holden. “We scored the goal through the penalty but also had the big moment when Corey (Blackett-Taylor) shot and it was cleared off the line.

“I was a little bit disappointed after that, we got a little bit careless with the ball. We invited the pressure on to us a little bit – they had come here to defend deep, play for set-pieces and long throws.

“I was comfortable at half-time. It was a bit like Newport, when we get that first goal I want to see us take the game away from the opposition.

“The start of the second half was really disappointing.

“The two goals we’ve conceded are really poor errors. You’ll never find me talking publicly about individuals and mistakes. We’re finding different ways to lose games from good positions.

“We got back into it with a wonderful header from Daniel Kanu. We’ve created enough to win a game. We need to address these individual moments.

“The positive now is we’ve got a free week to work on some things and players can get a little bit of respite – we’re light, in terms of numbers. Players are having to do every minute in a three-game week, so early in the season.

“We’re disappointed with two defeats at home, particularly, in four days – no-one wants to see that. It doesn’t matter if you’re the better team or you create chances – if you don’t defend your box well enough or those moments then you’ll obviously concede goals. There’s no magic formula, we’ll keep working.

“If you watch the full game back and watch a top Premier League game over the weekend you’ll see loads of mistakes – it’s natural. Unfortunately on those two occasions we’d have liked to have seen those moments off and been a bit more diligent ensuring we cleared the ball. They lead to a goal, both completely against the run of play.

“You can focus on that as much as you want but there are a lot of things for us to do all over the pitch. We should have more points on the board than we do now but this is a wonderful opportunity for us, with a free week, to pull together, get ready for the Oxford game and show the spirit we have got.

“There are a lot of youngsters in there at the moment. We’re very light on numbers and have got injuries. We’ve got what we’ve got – including new players who are not really up to speed but are having to play.

“There are no excuses. We have to face up the facts. The fans will have no complaints about the commitment of the team – there are just glaring mistakes we’re being punished for.”

PICTURE: PAUL EDWARDS