Interim Manager Jason Pearce said there was a lot to work on defensively after Charlton suffered a 4-3 loss at Crawley Town in the group stafes of the EFL Trophy on Tuesday night.
“As a group we need to learn, and learn quickly, because ultimately if you concede four goals you’re not going to win many games,” he told CharltonTV.
“For a couple of the goals we need to get tighter to the ball and stop them being able to get a shot off,” the boss continued.
Pearce was also unhappy with how his team looked after the ball: “Some of the goals have come from us being in possession and losing it. I felt we could have been better in possession at times tonight and could have managed the game better, especially when we were in front.
“We could have showed a little bit more bravery in keeping the ball and playing shorter to bring them out and then looking to play past them. At times we played a little bit longer, gave the ball away and then we were on the back foot because they’re a good team in possession.”
The interim boss was able to take some positives from a night where, despite the loss, many of the young Addicks shined. “It’s brilliant to see Miles [Leaburn] back. It was important that he came through some decent minutes and obviously scoring a goal was a bonus,” he said.
“Young Josh Laqeretabua coming on and getting his debut is fantastic for him, and seeing some of the other players who have just come in get some minutes and seeing how we want to play is pleasing.
“So there’s a few positives but ultimately we want to win the game so we’re disappointed. We’ve got to be better.
“It’s important when mistakes happen that you learn from them and make sure it doesn’t happen again. We’ve conceded a lot of poor goals this season, so we have to learn and we have to learn quickly.”
