Magpies pay penalty for poor defending

IF Martin O’Neill is to become the next manager of Newcastle, his first task will be to sort out the poor defending that continues to blight the club.

Slack play at the back contributed to this defeat at Charlton the Magpies' fourth in a row which ended Newcastle's nine-match unbeaten sequence against the London club.

Scott Parker's brilliant 35th-minute equaliser was one of the few bright spots for the Magpies, who were sunk by Darren Bent's 23rd-minute penalty, a freak own-goal from Lee Bowyer and a late header from substitute Jay Bothroyd.