Charlton suffered a 1-0 home defeat against Championship play-off contenders Reading on Saturday.

Neither keeper was tested in a poor first half at The Valley which saw Jordan Cousins shoot tamely at Royals’ No.1 Alex McCarthy with the only opportunity.

Reading raised their game after the break but Danny Williams shot wide and former Real Madrid man Royston Drenthe missed the ball completely while unmarked from a corner as the visitors missed good chances to go in front.

The visitors were on top, with Adam Le Fondre firing wide before Danny Guthrie’s free-kick brought out the best in Addicks’ keeper Ben Hamer.

But there was nothing Hamer could do when Guthrie broke from midfield and fed Williams, whose shot found the top corner for the only goal on 74 minutes.

Boss Jose Riga felt his side deserved more.

He said: “Second half, we made only one mistake and were immediately punished but it’s football.

“We have shown during the game that there is not much difference between a team playing for the play-offs and a team fighting relegation.”

Charlton are two points clear of the relegation zone in 21st place ahead of a crucial home game against fellow strugglers Yeovil on Tuesday night.