Blackburn Rovers 1 Charlton Athletic 0: It used to be Chelsea who were burdened with the tag of southern softies but Charlton are in danger of being handed the label. Whereas the men from Stamford Bridge have become intrepid travellers, Alan Curbishley's side seem possessed by stage-fright at the first glimpse of an LS Lowry setting, this being their fifth defeat in as many visits to the north-west this season.
A narrow but ultimately deserved Blackburn victory came after Charlton's unproductive trips to Bolton, Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City. The goal count is 13-1 against the London club, moreover, and though Danny Murphy was arguably the best player on the pitch they did not do enough to leave with any genuine grievances about the result.
"We took the game to Charlton and we thoroughly deserved the win," said Blackburn's manager Mark Hughes, whose jubilation was only slightly tempered by the attendance of 19,819, their lowest of the season.
Curbishley said: "Four games in nine days is ludicrous and we had no spark at all. We got going in the first 10 minutes and the last 10 minutes but it was dreadfully disappointing apart from that."
Although Charlton saw plenty of the ball the deployment of Jonatan Johansson as a solitary forward left them lacking in attack. Blackburn, playing with Paul Dickov and Jon Stead up front, offered greater potency and Brett Emerton and David Thompson provided far more width and penetration than their counterparts, Dennis Rommedahl and Jerome Thomas.
Emerton also produced the decisive moment, with an emphatic far-post header to convert Thompson's right-wing delivery, exposing generous Charlton marking while he was at it.
It was his fourth goal of the season and it took Blackburn above Fulham into 15th place, six points clear of the relegation places. "It creates a bit of a gap and we want to spend the rest of the season looking up rather than down," added Hughes. "If we play as we have done over Christmas we will be fine."
Hughes had special acclaim for his defenders, who withstood a sustained onslaught during the final exchanges, including four minutes of stoppage-time which were spent almost exclusively in the Blackburn half. Charlton forced several corners and pressed forward in greater numbers but the home players coped admirably and Curbishley must have wondered why his players had not shown such purpose earlier.
"Maybe I picked the wrong team," he said. "I've been a manager a long time but maybe I got it wrong."
BLACKBURN ROVERS: Friedel, Matteo, Todd, Johansson, Neill, Emerton, Flitcroft, Ferguson, Thompson (Reid 88), Dickov, Stead (Gallagher 80). Subs Not Used: Pedersen, Enckelman, McEveley. Booked: Stead, Matteo. Goals: Emerton 41.
CHARLTON ATHLETIC: Kiely, Hreidarsson (Hughes 71), Fortune, El Karkouri, Young, Kishishev (Euell 60), Holland, Murphy, Rommedahl, Johansson, Thomas (Konchesky 60). Subs Not Used: Stuart, Andersen. Booked: Rommedahl, Hreidarsson, Young.
Referee: A Wiley (Staffordshire).
