Sunday 22 March 2015 17:20, UK
Reading boss Steve Clarke was disappointed on two fronts as he saw his side slip to a 3-2 defeat at in-form Charlton despite taking a first-half lead at the Valley.
FA Cup semi-finalists Reading opened the scoring through Russian striker Pavel Pogrebnyak, but a second-half brace from Charlton midfielder Yoni Buyens and a third from a substitute Simon Church claimed victory for the Addicks.
Pogrebnyak fired an injury-time second for the Royals after Danny Williams had been sent off for a second yellow card in a match that saw seven bookings.
Clarke lamented a poor second-half display but also took issue with the refereeing, particularly for Charlton's penalty that levelled the scores at 1-1.
"The difference between the first half and the second half is incredible. Unfortunately it is symptomatic of the season and it's not too difficult to see why we are where we are. The quicker this league campaign is over and we are secure in the table that's all we can hope for and then we start again.
"We had more poor decisions from the referee. We have had plenty of them and I think we are getting used to them. Their penalty, it looked like a push, our defender was off balance, it is not a good decision.
"He sends Danny Williams off for I don't know what. I don't know what his two yellow cards are for but this is the standard of refereeing in this division and the quicker we can get professional referees in the Championship the better for everyone.
"The boys in the middle and their assistants are doing the best they can but the sad facts of the matter are, until you get professional referees in this division, you will always get poor referees."
Reading have a Wembley FA Cup semi-final to look forward to against Arsenal in April but defeat at the Valley saw them drop to 19th in the Championship. Charlton have won seven from nine and move up to 11th.
Addicks boss Guy Luzon said: "We started the game very well, for first 20-25 minutes we moved the ball very well. The problem was the last pass, we were not efficient. I told them to move the ball like we did at the start but to be more efficient in the last part.
"I think the second half was brilliant. We played great football and we score three goals and we could have scored another three, four or five goals.
"For me it is not important to only win, it is important the way that we play. We need to enjoy the game, we need to play with a smile and I think we did it well today. I am happy, the players are happy and the staff are happy and also the fans."
