CHARLTON manager Chris Powell was full of praise for his team after they beat Brentford 2-0 at The Valley on Monday, two days after defeat at Leyton Orient.

The Addicks suffered their second defeat of the season on Saturday but goals from Michael Morrison and Danny Green earned them a hard-fought win over the Bees, and a five point lead at the top of League One.

Powell said: “We have been through this scenario already this season after the Stevenage defeat.

"I’m very pleased with the character of my players today less than 48 hours after (the defeat).

“I’m really pleased with how we dug in today. It was a resilient, professional performance more than anything else and a great way for us to start off 2012.

"Of course I want us to go out there and play with style and panache but that is not always going to happen.

“Brentford started off really well and they looked confident, buoyed by their comeback against MK Dons on Saturday, but we grew into it and had a period in the second half when we could have put it to bed.

“But when things don’t go well for you and you get a goal out of nothing, like we did with Morrison, it gives you a platform to perform and we did that in the second half.

“Brentford then threw everything at us and made a few changes and that is where you see the real character of your team.

"Players like Leon Cort who hadn’t played recently and Bradley Pritchard who was making his full debut, and then the players who played 85 minutes at Orient with 10 men all showed real desire.”

Charlton now have a break from League One action when they visit Premier League side Fulham in the third round of the FA Cup on Saturday.

Powell, however, is unsure whether goalkeeper Ben Hamer will feature at Craven Cottage after his early dismissal against Leyton Orient.

The Addicks boss said: “I don’t know when we will get the result of the appeal but we want a quick decision.

“We feel we have got some grounds for the appeal but I certainly don’t think they’ll see it as frivolous so it should just be a one-game ban.

“Unfortunately for Ben it will probably be Fulham which is a big game but I said to him he will have big games throughout his career, hopefully for Charlton.”

Charlton return to League One action the following weekend when they face both Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United in the space of seven days.

Powell said: “We want to do well and we want to perform at Fulham but there’s no pressure on us.

“We are going to have a good contingent from Charlton there, and then we have the two Sheffield games which I think are more important.”

Follow us on Twitter @NewsShopperSprt