Bob Peeters believes Charlton deserved better than the 1-0 defeat by Brighton that leaves them without a solitary win in nine.

From the back post, midfielder Rohan Ince headed in Solomon March’s 62nd-minute, right-wing free-kick to take Brighton three points clear of the relegation zone and five behind the home side, who remain 13th.

To compound Charlton’s misery on an afternoon when it appeared they should have been awarded a first-half penalty for a potential handball, Johnnie Jackson was substituted at half-time after suffering a fresh injury and George Tucudean followed minutes later.

“The turning point was when we hit the bar,” said Peeters on his 41st birthday.

“A few seconds before we gave a foul away. It wasn’t necessary to give a foul away over there, and then we make an individual mistake, they score a goal, and you know they’re going to defend with everything they’ve got to avoid us from scoring.

“First half was a bit nervous from both sides. Second half we came out better. Especially with Tony Watt, who had a chance with his first touch.

“The ball is not really rolling for us. Then you can see the set-piece, and the goal. That hurts, but the boys are working very hard in training and don’t get rewarded for their work, and that’s a bit painful.”

Peeters remained uncertain about the penalty decision but was adamant referee Lee Probert should have given one in second-half stoppage time. He also chose to focus on a positive, however, which came in the promising debut of striker Tony Watt.

“The first half I don’t know, but the last second of the game there was definitely a penalty on (Andre) Bikey,” he said. “I just saw the clips. I think (Gordon) Greer has him in a grip.

“But we have to do better with that goal because a few individual mistakes cost us.

“Then you’re unlucky, the ball comes out on the bar (from Chris Solly), but that’s football, you can’t do anything about it.

“(Watt’s) showing a lot of good things. He’s a good player, he’s very lively, very positive on the ball. Hopefully he can take that into the next game and score some goals.

“Igor (Vetokele) is still struggling with his Achilles but he keeps on playing. We try to manage him as good as possible because he’s a very important player. Hopefully he’ll recover and play again Saturday.

“If you don’t get the results I know people are not happy. When you have a 20,000 crowd, there are always one or two will always shout.

“We can only do the best we can. We always try to play football whether we win or lose.

“At this moment we’re not talking about fund available (for new signings). We’re trying to get the team organised and winning again.”

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