YONI ON THE SPOT TO MUG BLUEBIRDS
RUSSELL Slade could not help but feel his Cardiff side had been ‘mugged’ after Yoni Buyens’ late penalty snatched a victory for Charlton Athletic.
Cardiff looked to be in total control of this typical mid-table Championship clash after Federico Macheda’s second-half strike.
But Tony Watt equalised before Buyens struck in the 86th minute to complete a comeback victory for the Addicks and keep their revival going.
It was infuriating for Slade who had stopped the rot at Cardiff City with just one defeat in their previous seven games.
But Sean Morrison clumsily bundled over Simon Church in the penalty area and Buyens held his nerve to slot home the winner from the spot.
Slade said: “We dominated 75 per cent of that game so it is frustrating to say the least that we have lost.You could say we have been mugged.
“We dominated for long periods and should have put the three points to bed. But we have to learn to manage the game for the whole 90 minutes. If you look at the table, that’s what the top six sides do.
“It didn’t look as if Charlton were coming back into the game. We just didn’t clear the danger from one cross and then didn’t get tight enough to the blue shirts in the box for their first.
“Then the second goal is totally unnecessary. There are no qualms about it being a penalty but it wasn’t needed when their player has his back to goal and is going nowhere. Sean and the rest of us are disappointed with that.
“But we also have to look at the fact that we didn’t create enough clear-cut chances. We had a lot of the ball but we need to create more opportunities to put opposition to bed.”
Victory was Charlton’s fifth in their last six games and another shot in the arm for boss Guy Luzon. But the Addicks manager admits it took some harsh words at halftime to turn this one around.
He said: “We didn’t play well in the first half and I told the players at half-time that something had to change if we wanted to take three points back to London.
“We were organised but we weren’t keeping the ball and that just wasn’t enough to win.We had to change the tempo and move the ball and then we played a lot better.
“In my philosophy, there is no point to play long balls. If you keep the ball and move it, then you have a chance to score goals. That is the first thing of football.
“We also showed character when we were 1-0 down away from home to get the goal and then to continue playing after the goals.”
It also took the introduction of fresh legs from the bench to galvanise Charlton into action, particularly Chris Eagles. It took the former Manchester United forward less than 60 seconds to register his side’s first shot on target on the hour.
And his burst and pass found Watt unmarked in the penalty area to hit his third in three games.
Fellow substitute Church then made his presence felt by win- ning the penalty that set-up Buyens’ late winner.
Luzon added: “Eagles had a positive influence but so did the other substitutes. This is the job if you are on the bench, to come on and be positive.”
Charlton keeper Stephen Henderson denied Craig Noone and Conor McAleny from long range with the best efforts of a frustrat- ing first-half. But Henderson failed to make the second half with an ankle injury and replacement Marko Dmitrovic conceded when Noone crossed for Macheda to score his seventh of the season.
But Eagles galvanised Charlton and changed the game. Watt struck the equaliser before Morrison’s late blunder.