Charlton Athletic 2-1 Leeds United

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Yoni BuyensImage source, Empics
Image caption,

Yoni Buyens celebrates as he scores his ninth goal of the season

Leeds United fell to their fifth straight defeat as Charlton Athletic fought back to win at The Valley.

The visitors were awarded a penalty when Tal Ben Haim tripped Sam Byram, but Stephen Henderson saved Billy Sharps' spot-kick.

Steve Morison's volley put Leeds ahead before Tony Watt levelled with 16 minutes remaining.

Goalkeeper Stuart Taylor then brought Igor Vetokele down in the box and Yoni Buyens made no mistake from the spot.

Media caption,

Luzon on Charlton v Leeds

Leeds United manager Neil Redfearn's plans were dealt a blow by the sudden withdrawal of six players before the game.

The hosts, who have not won since beating Fulham on 18 March, fell to 16th in the Championship table while Charlton moved up to 10th.

Leeds started brightly, with Luke Murphy sending his volley over the bar from 10 yards out.

They should have gone ahead on 37 minutes when Ben Haim fouled Byram as he honed in on goal, but Sharp's penalty was tipped onto the post by Henderson.

The deadlock was finally broken when Murphy's corner found Morison in space and the forward found the back of the net from 12 yards out.

Charlton upped the tempo after the interval and when Johann Berg Gudmundsson's cross reached an unmarked Watt, the Scotsman volleyed past Taylor.

Taylor then spilled a Gudmundsson shot before tripping Vetokele as the striker latched onto the rebound.

Buyens sent Taylor the wrong way from the spot and Charlton held on to take the three points as Leeds' miserable run continued.

Leeds boss Neil Redfearn on the withdrawal of six of his players: "It seems a freakish set of events. Marco Silvestri got a knock after the Norwich game.

"We rested him thinking he would be available today, but he came in on Friday and said he was still struggling so he couldn't travel.

"If the lads come in and say they're injured, you've got to take them at face value. They're professional people and you expect them to do the right thing."

Charlton manager Guy Luzon: "We had to change the rhythm and tempo after the first half. We had to play with more aggression. It's not the first time we've changed the result like this.

"It shows the good character of the players and the team. In the last two weeks, we've played five games and we've had to rotate a bit to keep players fresh.

"We need to continue this in our remaining games."

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