Alex Mitchell's scathing Charlton Athletic words after Huddersfield Town defeat | OneFootball

The defender wasn't pleased with his side's defensive performance in the trip to Yorkshire

Charlton Athletic defender Alex Mitchell believes "lazy defending" is costing his side at the moment, with the Addicks on a run of just one win in their last nine League One matches.

The Addicks went down 2-1 to Huddersfield Town at the weekend, with Matty Pearson and David Kasumu getting the goals for the hosts, with the visitors’ reply coming through a Matt Godden penalty.

Greg Docherty was shown a red card ten minutes before the break for Nathan Jones’ side that made their task all the harder at the John Smith’s Stadium, with the Terriers making their man advantage count with the winner just after the hour mark.

With no clean sheet in their last five outings, Mitchell believes his side need to up their game when it comes to keeping the ball out the back of the net, with a team effort needed to help the cause.

Alex Mitchell slams Charlton Athletic defensive unit after Huddersfield Town defeat

Charlton find themselves lodged in mid-table after defeat in Yorkshire on Saturday, with the gap to the relegation places smaller than that to the play-off picture at this moment in time.

The defeat to Town was the latest example of a weak underbelly that has left the Addicks exposed time and time again this season, with Pearson’s opener coming as he got his head to a corner early in the game.

That marked the fifth time Mitchell’s side had conceded from a set-piece this season, and the centre-back is determined to put a stop to those sort of scenarios in the future.

The former Millwall man said to the South London Press post-match: “Second half, we had enough chances to win the game but at the moment we’re getting sucker punched by lazy defending at goals. It’s not just the defenders, it’s the midfielders, attackers like with set-pieces. I pride myself with keeping clean sheets, defending. We’re paid to keep clean sheets so at the moment we’re not doing our job.

“This team has a lot of character and heart. At the moment it’s taking us a goal to properly get our foot on the gas. We’ve got to change that. There’s a stat where if we score the first goal, we don’t really lose. We’ve got to keep going and it’ll come. Just stay patient.”

Greg Docherty red card leaves Charlton Athletic with a mountain to climb

Charlton would have been looking to take the ascendancy after restoring parity from the spot just after the half-hour, only for Docherty’s red card to change the game in an instant, just four minutes after the scores were levelled.

The ex-Hull City man [pictured] was given his marching orders after failing to connect with the ball and instead volleying Terriers’ Nigel Lonwijk, with the challenge mistimed more than malicious.

With an hour to play with a man disadvantage, the London side were eventually made to pay as Kasumu found the net from distance, and Mitchell isn’t convinced referee Simon Mather made the right call, as the Addicks fell to a fifth defeat away from home this season.

He continued: “It’s a frustrating one. We started really well but they got a bit of momentum after 15 or 20 minutes. The red card was a bit of a sucker punch for us. It’s a game of opinions. I don’t want to talk too much about it but it’s a weird one in my opinion.

“I know it’s frustrating for the fans. The away support, it’s crazy how good it is. I’d be hugely frustrated if we keep performing like that for them and they’ve got a five-hour journey now. I can only apologise for them, but apologies aren’t really good enough – it’s about getting performances on the pitch and getting the points.”