Charlton ruin Bent's dream start

Ipswich Town, quick on the draw with two goals in the opening five minutes, saw even a draw snatched away at The Valley yesterday to end their happy holiday revival. Marcus Bent, the £3m acquisition from Blackburn Rovers, scored twice while Charlton were still toasting the new year, but before half-time the midfielders John Robinson and Scott Parker had equalised for an improving home side.

On the hour, after Bent had struck a post, Jason Euell scored what turned out to be the goal that sent his team eighth in the table while pushing their visitors back into the mire after three successive victories had given them a sniff of fresh air.

Ipswich will be reminded more times than they care to be over the next few months that no team bottom of the Premiership at Christmas has yet escaped relegation. Wins over Tottenham, Leicester and Sunderland in the space of eight days had them believing in themselves again, but, with Southampton and Middlesbrough successful yesterday, they are once more four points from a position of safety.

Worse, defeat in these circumstances was the sort to drain much of that renewed confidence away again. Saturday's FA Cup tie away to non-League Dagenham & Redbridge ­ who went so close to knocking out Charlton last season ­ now takes on an important psychological aspect ahead of the next league games against Spurs and Derby County. All those matches, and more besides, will also have to be played without their gifted Nigerian winger Finidi George, who now leaves for the African Nations' Cup in Mali.

The Ipswich manager George Burley put the collapse down to poor defending and pressurising against a side who work as hard as any. "We took our foot off the pedal," he said. "All credit to Charlton, who lifted their game, but we've got to defend better than that. We've got a lot of hard work to do to stay in the Premiership."

The visitors could hardly have begun any better. Within a minute, Hermann Hreidarsson headed a Mark Venus free-kick back across goal and Bent, unchallenged, nodded in. In the next move Charlton's recently secure defence ­ three goals conceded in six games after signing Jorge Costa ­ was all over the place again as Bent chased Jim Magilton's long pass and Dean Kiely, with no chance of reaching the ball, raced from the security of his goal to watch Bent clip it neatly past him.

"It was five past three and you're thinking you want to go home," said Curbishley. He stuck around, joining his assistant Mervyn Day on the touchline to demand greater application from a young side who responded slowly but steadily. Robinson launched into a tackle on Thomas Gaardsoe that might have brought a red card from a letter-of-the-law referee, but stayed on the field to score after 15 minutes; Matt Holland headed Luke Young's long throw only as far as Robinson, who took advantage of a frosty penalty area to bounce his shot past Matteo Sereni.

Ipswich had further chances on the break before, in the 32nd minute, Mark Fish flicked on Young's free-kick and Parker forced his first goal since January over the line. From then on Charlton were the better side, playing much neat football typified by the third goal: Parker's pass for Robinson's cross, a header by Kevin Lisbie, well saved, and a follow-up from Euell.

Charlton Athletic (4-4-2): Kiely 4; Young 5, Fish 6, Jorge Costa 7, Powell 6; Robinson 8, Parker 7 (Bart-Williams, 82), Jensen 4 (Johansson, 88), Konchesky 5; Lisbie 6 (Bartlett, 86), Euell 6. Substitutes not used: Ilic (gk), Fortune.

Ipswich Town (4-4-2): Sereni 4; Makin 5, Gaardsoe 4, Venus 4, Hreidarsson 6; George 5, Magilton 4 (Peralta 5, 66), Holland 5, Clapham 4 (Reuser 5, 66); Armstrong 6, Bent 7. Substitutes not used: Branagan (gk), Naylor, Wright.

Referee: U Rennie (Sheffield) 6.