Rovers edge out Charlton

Fish and Duff challenge for the ball

Charlton Athletic 0-2 Blackburn Rovers
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Second-half goals from Damien Duff and David Dunn settled a competitive encounter at The Valley that Charlton will feel they ought to have at least drawn.

The Addicks, coming into the game on the back of a four-match unbeaten run, were the superior side in the first half but paid the price for failing to convert their chances.

Rovers, beaten in their last three Premier League matches, lacked self-belief in the early stages but grew in confidence as the game wore on.

  Key moments

31 mins: Kiely saves from Tugay

37 mins: Stuart heads wide from seven yards

57 mins: Duff scores for Rovers

90 mins: Dunn scores for Blackburn

Duff scored after 57 minutes and substitute Dunn wrapped up the points with an injury-time strike.

Charlton dominated the opening stages of the match and created several good chances.

Kevin Lisbie's cut back after three minutes presented Claus Jensen with a superb opportunity but the Dane sliced his shot.

Jason Euell met Chris Powell's cross after seven minutes but, with the goal at his mercy, the striker headed over.

It was a very gritty performance by my team

Rovers boss Graeme Souness

Powell himself had an excellent opportunity to open the scoring shortly afterwards but, in acres of space, he could not quite reach Euell's through ball.

Rovers, with Corrado Grabbi back in the starting line-up, struggled to make an impact on the game until Tugay forced a great save from Dean Kiely after the Addicks keeper had parried Alan Mahon's free-kick.

Graeme Stuart should have scored for Charlton but, having charged from midfield to meet Powell's cross, he headed tamely wide from seven yards.

Matt Jansen almost snatched a goal for Rovers on the stroke of half-time, but his free kick drifted inches wide of Kiely's right-hand post.

Grabbi tries to ride Parker's challenge

The second half began with Charlton in the ascendancy, but it was Rovers who broke the deadlock.

Duff reacted first to Keith Gillespie's slide rule free kick and slid the ball past the advancing Kiely and into the far corner.

Stuart had another chance to score for the Addicks but, as with his first-half header, he failed to hit the target.

We have had some great results lately and a lot of people expected us to roll Blackburn over - but football ain't like that

Alan Curbishley
Charlton manager

Charlton poured forward in the latter stages desperately seeking an equaliser but it was Rovers who scored the game's second goal.

Rovers might have got a second after 77 minutes when Gillespie was allowed to run unchallenged to the edge of the Charlton area before teeing up Dunn, only for the substitute to volley wastefully over.

But Dunn fired home Gillespie's cut-back in injury time to ensure Rovers recent losing streak came to an end ahead of the busy Christmas programme.

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Charlton: Kiely, Fortune (Johansson 66), Costa, Fish, Young, Stuart, Jensen, Parker (Bart-Williams 81), Powell (Konchesky 82), Lisbie, Euell.

Subs Not Used: Roberts, Brown.

Booked: Fish, Parker.

Blackburn: Friedel, Neill, Berg, Short, Bjornebye, Gillespie, Tugay (Dunn 66), Flitcroft, Mahon, Grabbi (Hughes 65), Duff.

Subs Not Used: Kelly, Ostenstad, Taylor.

Booked: Flitcroft, Short, Neill.

Goals: Duff 57, Dunn 90.

Att: 25,857

Ref: A Wiley (Burntwood).