Walsall 1 Charlton 2 - Report and pictures
Walsall's winless run extended to four games with a 2-1 defeat to Charlton at the Banks's Stadium.
The Saddlers had their moments in attack - Kieron Morris found the net in the 71st minute - but the visitors edged it with Nicky Ajose at the double.
Jon Whitney's men had not scored in the three games prior to this one - the 2-0 loss to Yeovil in the EFL Cup, the 0-0 draw at Oldham, and the 2-0 defeat at Chesterfield.
They opted for a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Isaiah Osbourne coming in for Liam Kinsella at the heart of the midfield - the only change from the Chesterfield clash.
Adam Chambers (hamstring) was left out of the squad, Erhun Oztumer made the bench, while Rico Henry is still recovering from a shoulder injury picked up at Oldham.
The Addicks, led by Russell Slade, went into the match with confidence after a 3-0 win against Shrewsbury in midweek and they posed a threat to the home side's backline throughout the first period.
The action was relatively end-to-end and the Saddlers had a good chance to go ahead inside the 16th minute.
Simeon Jackson's shot from the edge of the 18-yard area was fumbled by Charlton shot-stopper Declan Rudd, and record-signing Andreas Makris could only steer wide from close range.
Ricky Holmes was at the forefront of the attacks for the visitors but Walsall had three more opportunities to establish a lead.
Isaiah Osbourne forced a decent stop from Rudd, and a few minutes after both Jackson and Kieron Morris were denied by excellent saves.
It was away side though, after a number of decent moves, who found a cutting edge just prior to the interval.
A lovely cross from Holmes was headed down by Northern Ireland international Josh Magennis and Nicky Ajose got the last touch, guiding the ball past Neil Etheridge into the bottom corner.
Walsall could have, and should have, been 2-0 down after one minute of the second period.
Etheridge, looking for James O'Connor, passed the ball straight to Addicks full-back Chris Solly but the Saddlers goalkeeper managed to atone for his error with a decent save.
Makris, who was relatively quiet for the hosts and substituted in the 62nd minute for Amadou Bakayoko, had a tame header travel wide before his replacement shot over after a corner.
Follwoing a decent period of pressure however, Walsall managed to level the scores.
Morris decided to have a go from outside the box and it paid off, with Rudd unable to make the save.
They were not celebrating for long though and were behind again within less than two minutes.
It was the same combination from Charlton's opener, Magennis outwitted O'Connor, burst into the box and his low drive was bundled over the line by Ajose.
Florent Cuvelier and Oztumer were thrown on by Whitney as Walsall chased another leveller but it was not to be, with Cuvelier and Jackson unable to convert chances at the death.
