Nathan Jones was left feeling frustrated by a combination of missed opportunities and refereeing decisions as Charlton slipped to a narrow defeat to in-form Norwich City at The Valley on Saturday.
Pelle Mattsson’s early strike was enough to seal victory for the Canaries, but the Addicks boss felt his side created enough opportunities which they felt to take advantage of.
“They are a very, very good side, but I thought it was a pretty even game,” explained Jones.
“We were aggressive, we went after them. We conceded a goal which I’m really disappointed about because it’s a themed goal - we concede that type of goal when we drop into the box and allow shots from the edge of the box.
“We’ve done that [dropping into the box] because we think it’s a safe haven, so we’ll debrief that and learn from that and we’ll show them again, because it has been a theme.
“Then, we needed to demonstrate more quality in the final third, because we’ve had enough situations - we’ve hit the bar, we’ve sliced at shots, we haven’t found the pass - when other teams have those situations they score and punish you.
“We are front-footed and aggressive, but we have to show a bit of guile and quality, and we didn’t do that, but we can learn from it.”
Meanwhile, Jones was also left frustrated by a number of decisions that he felt went against the home side. A big shout for what looked like a foul on Lloyd Jones inside the box by Ruairi McConville was waved away by the referee in the 65th minute and it was just one decision that left the Charlton gaffer infuriated.
“There were some unacceptable decisions today in that game that I’ve gone in and seen the referee about,” he said.
“You can’t say anything because you get yourself in trouble, but there are some decisions in there which I feel were unfathomable.
“The ball’s up in the air and the guy just pulls Lloyd to the ground - it’s a penalty. It’s a free-kick everywhere else on the pitch.
“But, we conceded a poor goal that we have to learn from, we had enough opportunities that we had to take, then we don’t lose the game, but there are some decisions out of our control that we feel let down by.”
The Addicks return to action on Friday, April 3rd when they host Bristol City at The Valley (KO 3pm GMT). Get your tickets now!
