A frustrating winter's night at The Valley saw Charlton fall to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Accrington Stanley.
A brace from Colby Bishop saw Stanley leave SE7 with all three points, despite a flurry of Charlton chances in the first half.
The Addicks started the brighter of the two sides, with debutant Liam Millar keen to showcase his skills. First, the winger cut in from the left hand-side to test goalkeeper Nathan Baxter with a powerful right-footed shot. Moments later, Millar received a short corner and took on an ambitious shot that was once again met by Baxter.
Five minutes later, Jake Forster-Caskey forced the opposition goalkeeper into making a fantastic save. The midfielder took the ball down on the edge of the box before striking a fierce shot towards the bottom corner, unfortunately for the Addicks, Baxter dived brilliantly to keep the scores level.
But it was the visitors who broke the deadlock 10 minutes before the interval. A long ball from Baxter bounced awkwardly for Pearce. The centre-half tried to nod home to Amos in goal, but his header was weak, allowing Colby Bishop to pounce and flick the ball over the goalkeeper before tapping into an open net.
Charlton were nearly level going into the break but for another fine stop. Paul Smyth’s cross from the right found Alex Gilbey inside the box but the midfielder’s volley was matched by Baxter in the Stanley net.
It was the Addicks who came out stronger after the break, this time Albie Morgan unleashing a left-footed shot which was gathered by the Accrington goalkeeper.
With an hour on the clock, Charlton called for a penalty kick. Millar’s run down the left-hand side saw him go down under a challenge, however the Charlton protests were waved off by the referee and the replays showed the decision to be correct.
The visitors doubled their lead on the 67th minute. The Addicks lost the ball in a dangerous position, allowing Accrington to cross from the right-hand side. The ball fell to goal scorer Bishop, who took advantage in the box to take a touch and finish into the bottom left-hand corner, past a helpless Ben Amos.
The most notable from this point on was the introduction of Ronnie Schwartz, who made his debut from the bench for the club. However, it appeared too little too late as the Dane failed to influence the result.
As snow began to fall, the game lacked energy and with little action the hosts fell to a successive 2-0 defeat.
Charlton: Amos, Gunter, Pearce, Oshilaja, Maatsen; Forster Caskey, Morgan (Williams 63), Gilbey; Millar (Maddison 63 (Purrington 90+1)), Smyth (Schwartz 77), Washington (Aneke 45)
Subs (not used): Maynard-Brewer, Matthews.
Booked: Morgan 52 (foul) Maatsen 85 (foul)
Accrington Stanley: Baxter, Nottingham, Hughes, Burgess; Pritchard, McConville (Roberts 83), Conneely, Butcher, Rodgers (Cassidy 66); Bishop, Charles
Subs (not used): Savin, Barclay, Russell, Sama, Uwakwe.
Goals: Bishop 36, 67
Booked: Pritchard 84 (foul)
(Report by Nick Emms)