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Boro bounce back to bag points

Charlton remain in serious trouble at the wrong end of the table as Middlesbrough came from behind to clinch the points on Saturday.

Ayegbeni Yakubu and Julio Arca were the main protagonists in this fixture for the second time this season, combing to floor the Addicks with a second-half double whammy.

It was all looking so good for the hosts when Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink scored his first goal at The Valley in the 27th-minute to put the hosts in front.

But with Charlton appealing for a foul on Andy Reid, Lee Cattermole had ample time to dispatch a low shot into the bottom corner to haul his side level on the stroke of half-time.

The visitors then sealed the win with two goals in four minutes after a moment of madness and a moment of class allowed the Argentinean/Nigerian combo to cash in.

First Hermann Hreidarsson made a real hash of Stewart Downing's cross, chesting the ball down against home debutante Ben Thatcher and it squirmed loose for Arca to calmly slot the ball home from the edge of the box.

With 64 minutes on the clock the Addicks still had a glimmer of hope but their chances were extinguished shortly afterwards as Yakubu cut in from the left and unleashed a superb drive that beat Scott Carson all-ends up.

And so another case of what might have been for Alan Pardew's Addicks who were just a matter of minutes away from going into the interval in front.

Had that happened, we may well have been looking at a morale-boosting win but Cattermole's strike was just the tonic for the visitors who survived a purple patch from the home side in the early part of the second half and went on to bank the points

And with his side continuing to struggle on the road the Valley boss knows a great opportunity has slipped through his grasp.

The big team news saw Thatcher make his Charlton debut as the Addicks attempted to drag Middlesbrough into the relegation dogfight.

Snapped up from Manchester City on Thursday, the left-back was plunged straight into the team after Djimi Traore's switch to Portsmouth.

There was also a welcome return for midfield playmaker Reid following the Irishman's hamstring trouble and Pardew adjusted his backline with Hreidarsson back after injury.

There was no Radostin Kishishev for the hosts so Moroccan Talal El Karkouri switched across to right back with Souleymane Diawara partnering Hreidarsson in the middle.

Although Darren Bent and Luke Young remained on the sidelines Pardew would have been delighted to welcome back two key men with the influential Reid a big miss over the festive period.

Pardew had also picked out Hreidarsson as a key man so his physical presence would be useful against the likes of Mark Viduka and Yakubu.

Charlton completed a Premiership double over Boro last season although the North East side responded with an FA Cup quarter-final win.

Like Charlton, Gareth Southgate's side had yet to win on their top-flight travels this term ahead of kick-off and there was a familiar face in their side in the shape of midfielder Jason Euell.

An early Boro free-kick lead to a set of ricochets in the Addicks box before Carson claimed the ball while Reid showed tenacity and guile in quick succession at the other end three minutes in.

The midfielder won the ball despite the presence of two Boro defenders but his chip could not beat Mark Schwarzer.

Reid had started the game on the left with Darren Ambrose stepping inside to partner Matt Holland in central midfield.

Holland then drove wide a minute later and then got back to clear from inside his own box after both Diawara and Hreidarsson had been sucked out to deal with Yakubu.

Thatcher's brave low header in the face of Cattermole's boot showed the home crowd what he was all about while Hasselbaink's late challenge on George Boateng earned the striker a tenth-minute yellow card.

Diawara's slip in the box straight after the restart allowed Yakubu the sniff of an opening but the Nigerian's flop to the ground in the all-African challenge did not impress referee Mike Dean who waved away the penalty protest.

It was all a little tense, such was the magnitude of the encounter and Schwarzer got behind an effort from Reid midway through the half after Hasselbaink had helped the ball into his path.

At the other end Diawara produced a timely challenge on Yakubu after Abel Xavier's drilled centre and Scott Carson was called into action for the first time on 22 minutes saving Yakubu's header from a Lee Cattermole cross.

Dennis Rommedahl then showed neat footwork to outwit Emanuel Pogatetz and his wicked cross from the right was put behind by Xavier.

Arca's shot had no pace after a Stewart Downing free-kick had spun off the Charlton wall but it was the hosts who took the lead in the 27th minute.

The already tireless Holland delivered a long ball forward from midfield and Pogatetz's attempts to marshal Marcus Bent saw the Austrian defender's defensive header fall to Hasselbaink.

The ex-Boro striker looked up and delivered a right foot shot from the edge of the box than bounced into the ground and flew over Schwarzer and into the top left corner.

It was the Dutchman's fourth goal of the season, but first at The Valley, and what an important goal it could prove to be as the rain started to fall down.

Diawara again got across well as the ball dropped in the vicinity of Viduka in the box while Cattermole's charge into Hreidarsson earned him a 40th minute booking.

Dean reached for his notebook again three minutes later to dish out a third yellow card of the game, this time to Diawara for a foul on Boateng.

And the visitors nicked an equaliser on the stroke of half-time.

The hosts were a little aggrieved that a barge on Reid by Boateng in the middle went unpunished but as the move continued Charlton found themselves over stretched at the back.

Yakubu found Downing and his clever dummy from the winger's diagonal pass allowed Viduka to look up and spread the play to his right where Cattermole had plenty of time and space to drill a low shot into the bottom corner.

The Australian almost put his side in front after the restart too, taking aim with a superb volley that rippled the roof of the net.

And there was still time for Marcus Bent to fluff his lines in front of goal after Hreidarsson helped the ball into his path in the box before the half-time whistle allowed the hosts to regroup.

The visitors missed a glorious chance to take the lead three minutes after the restart with Viduka the guilty party.

There was nothing wrong with Boateng's terrific curling cross from the left and the big Australian was unmarked at the far post but headed down and over the bar from close range.

A kick to the advertising hoarding behind the goal showed the striker knew he should have done better.

After a brief lull in the action El Karkouri strode out of defence and found Reid on the left with neither Hasselbaink nor Ambrose able to make significant contact in the middle.

The host were enjoying a good spell, with Reid at the hub of all things positive but at the other end the impressive Diawara got across in the nick of time as Yakubu tried to pick out Viduka.

Marcus Bent's 61st minute effort was pouched by Schwarzer and the keeper was scarcely troubled by the same player's header a minute later.

The next phase of play saw Boro take the lead on 64 minutes after a horrible moment at the back for the returning Hreidarsson.

Downing delivered the ball in from the left and in his efforts to chest the ball down in his own box the Icelander could only thrust the ball back against his own teammate Thatcher and as the ball squirmed out to the edge of the box Arca was on hand to stroke the ball into the bottom corner.

It was a poor way to go behind and Ambrose was booked for a foul on Pogatetz before the visitors made it 3-1 in superb fashion on 68 minutes.

This time it was all about Yakubu as the striker collected a long ball from Pogatetz and cut inside from the left before firing a magnificent shot into the top right corner that gave Carson absolutely no chance.

El Karkouri fired a free-kick high over the bar but suddenly it was Boro in full flow with Cattermole's effort saved by Carson after some good build-up play.

Lloyd Sam replaced Marcus Bent for the hosts in the 74th minute with James Morrison coming on for Boateng.

Ten minutes from time Holland's fierce volley was fingertipped round the left upright by Schwarzer and from the subsequent corner Sam spun and hooked the ball over the bar.

But the clock was against the home side who replaced Ambrose and Rommedahl with Jerome Thomas and Bryan Hughes for the closing stages with Boro sending on Malcolm Christie for Yakubu.

El Karkouri's low effort posed no problems to the visiting keeper as the match drifted towards its final minute

Schwarzer fell to grab the ball in the closing moments after a monumental goalmouth scramble with Hasselbaink the closest Addick to the ball.

Euell got a brief run-out for Viduka in the dying stages and El Karkouri got forward to send another drive high over the bar.

And that proved to be the last action of the game as Dean's whistle signalled another morale-sapping reverse that keeps the alarm bells ringing in SE7.

And as the fans streamed away, Crowded House's "Don't dream it's over” blared out around the ground with the Addicks place at English football's top table remaining in peril.

Charlton: Carson; El Karkouri, Thatcher, Diawara, Hreidarsson; Rommedahl (Thomas 84), Holland, Ambrose (Hughes 84), Reid; Hasselbaink, M Bent (Sam 74).

Subs (not used): Randolph, Faye.

Goals: Hasselbaink 27

Booked: Hasselbaink 10 (foul on Boateng), Holland 43 (foul on Boateng), Ambrose 65 (foul on Pogatetz)

Middlesbrough: Schwarzer; Xavier, Taylor, Pogatetz, Woodgate; Cattermole, Arca, Boateng (Morrison 74), Downing; Viduka (Euell 90), Yakubu (Christie 83).

Subs (not used): Jones, Davies.

Goals: Cattermole 45, Arca 64, Yakubu 68

Booked: Cattermole 40 (foul on Hreidarsson)

Referee: M Dean

Attendance: 26,384

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Match Sponsor: Greenwich Council