CHARLTON boss Chris Powell was furious with referee Carl Boyeson following his side’s 1-0 defeat at Huddersfield on Saturday.

The official made a number of decisions which enraged the Addicks manager, most notably a tackle from Terriers midfielder Anthony Kay on Scott Wagstaff.

Kay jumped in two-footed on the Charlton wide man and when a red card seemed the only possible outcome, referee Boyeson instead awarded a drop ball.

Powell said: “I can’t see anyone justifying the tackle on Scott Wagstaff and the decision to restart with a drop ball, no-one.

“It was a disgraceful tackle.

“I’m not here to try and say people should’ve been sent off.

“But if we’re trying to stamp out dangerous tackles and make the safety of players paramount, then when everyone sees it then they’ll know it’s not right.”

Saturday was Charlton’s third loss in five games and Sheffield Wednesday moved into second spot, cutting the gap to eight points after beating Leyton Orient.

But Powell remains confident his team will end the season on top of the pile, admitting they’ve just got to take each game as it comes.

He said: “We’re still in a terrific position.

“We have only lost five games out of 39 and it’s been an exceptional push, but of course we have to keep pushing.

“We’ll draw a line under today after Monday. We always talk about the game and then we put it to bed and then we think about Leyton Orient at home.

“That’s what we’ve got to think about, we can’t think about three or four games time.”

The game also saw the return of Paul Hayes to the Charlton starting XI, who deputised for Yann Kermorgant after he was ruled out through illness.

Hayes had only been recalled on Friday morning and the Addicks boss in confident he can play an important role in the team between now and the end of the season.

Powell added: “Paul didn’t know until quite late on that he was being recalled.

“He came into a tough game and showed flashes of quality that we all know he has got and some of his link up play was decent.

“But the game changed somewhat when we went down to ten and were trying to maintain a good solid shape about the team, but also get something out of the game.

“We didn’t want to lose by two, three or four goals but we were trying our best to get something out of it but it nearly happened and it wasn’t to be.

“But Paul comes back into the fold now, and I’m sure he’ll make a contribution to the team, not only today but in the rest of the remaining games as well.”

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