UNABLE to produce a shot on target in the first half, Charlton came to life towards the end of this contest, scoring twice in the last 16 minutes to claim a fifth win from their last six Championship fixtures.
Guy Luzon, Charlton’s head coach, engineered the transformation with two second-half substitutions, bringing on Chris Eagles and Simon Church. Eagles instilled much-needed invention to the visitors’ forward line and the winger set up Tony Watt for the 76th-minute equaliser before Yoni Buyens calmly converted his penalty three minutes from time after striker Church was felled by Sean Morrison.
A Charlton victory, though, seemed unlikely when Federico Macheda gave Cardiff a deserved lead early in the second period. Russell Slade’s side had enjoyed 62 percent of possession before the interval only to lack a cutting edge in the final third. But in the 56th minute they found the right combination, Craig Noone and Kenwyne Jones combining to set up the Italian striker.
However, Cardiff lost control of the game following Eagles’ introduction and have now won only one of their last nine matches at the Cardiff City stadium, a statistic that must surely concern Slade.
“I spoke to the players and told them they had to play better if they wanted to go back to London with three points,” said Luzon.
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A forgettable first-half saw just two shots on goal, both by Cardiff. After five minutes Noone forced a fingertip save from Stephen Henderson with a fine shot. Despite struggling with a twisted ankle sustained as he collected a corner, the Charlton goalkeeper produced another decent save in added time, palming away Conor McAleny’s 25-yard effort.
Slade was forced to make a change before the interval with Joe Ralls replacing Aron Gunnarsson after the Icelandic midfielder fell awkwardly clearing the ball. Luzon was also required to make a switch, Marko Dmitrovic taking over from Henderson who was unable to continue for the second half.
Cardiff continued to show more ambition than the visitors from south London and they used a direct tactic to breach Luzon’s well-organised defence. Jones knocked Noone’s looping cross down to Macheda who, with the goal at his mercy, placed the ball into the roof of Dmitrovic’s net for his seventh goal of the season.
Luzon needed to respond and on the hour he swapped the anonymous Lepoint with Eagles. Within a minute, Eagles — with his first touch — delivered Charlton’s first shot on target although it was no trouble for Moore.
Charlton then had a penalty claim turned down in the 71st minute when Tony Watt appeared to be fouled by Lee Peltier just inside the penalty area but referee Patrick Miller ruled it was outside. Moments later Cousins’s close-range strike was deflected over the target by Bruno Ecuele-Manga.
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Charlton’s brief bout of pressure was rewarded when Eagles pulled the ball back to Watt, unmarked and near the penalty spot, and the striker beat Moore with an accurate finish before Buyons netted a late penalty.
“We need to manage games better,” said Slade afterwards. “We’ve got to play for the entire 90 minutes. That’s what the teams at the top of this division do.”
Star man: Chris Eagles (Charlton)
Cardiff: Moore 6, Connolly 6, Morrison 6, Ecuele-Manga 6, Peltier 6, Noone 7, Gunnarsson 6 (Ralls 31min, 6), Whittingham 6, McAleny 6 (Kennedy 61, 6), Macheda 6 (Revell 84min, 5), Jones 6
Charlton: Henderson 7 (Dmitrovic 46min, 6), Solly 6, Gomez 7, Johnson 7, Fox 6, Gudmundsson 6, Buyens 6, Cousins 6, Bulot 6 (Church 74min, 6), Lepoint 6 (Eagles 61min, 8), Watt 6