Gritty Charlton hang on

CHARLTON clung on for a precious point in their fight to beat the drop after withstanding a sustained second half assault at the Reebok Stadium.

Henrik Pedersen headed the home side into a sixth-minute lead but the Addicks were only behind for six minutes before Jussi Jaaskelainen let Talal El Karkouri’s free-kick through his fingers. Pedersen, Kevin Nolan and Ivan Campo all had clear chances to win the game for Bolton but Jerome Thomas could also have won it for the visitors with a late counter-attack.

With Kevin Davies missing with an ankle injury and El-Hadji Diouf suspended, it did not take long for Pedersen to seize his chance in only his second start of the season.

The Dane met Gary Speed’s precise cross from the left with a well-timed glancing header which sailed across the stretching Scott Carson and into the corner of the net. Pedersen was posing plenty of early problems for the Charlton back-line, getting another shot off before being ruled offside.

But just when they seemed set to build on their lead, Jaaskelainen’s uncharacteristic error handed the grateful visitors a way back into the match.

El Karkouri fired an innocuous-looking free-kick low through the Bolton wall in the 12th minute but the ball bounced out of the keeper’s normally safe hands and over the line.

Bryan Hughes survived a penalty appeal against him in the 14th minute after clambering above Kevin Nolan in the box, as Bolton began pressing in a bid to regain their advantage.

Charlton countered through Thomas on the hour but his bright move petered out with a miscued cross.

BOLTON: Jaaskelainen, Hunt, Meite, Faye (Ben Haim 67), Gardner, Nolan, Campo, Speed, Pedersen, Anelka (Teymourian 32), Giannakopoulos (Vaz Te 61).

CHARLTON: Carson, Sankofa, El Karkouri, Hreidarsson, Thatcher, Rommedahl (Lisbie 74), Faye, Holland, Hughes (Diawara 84), Thomas, Marcus Bent (Hasselbaink 85).

Ref: L Probert (Gloucestershire).