Boss says slight mistakes cost us both goals against Charlton in league opener.

David Artell says that the harsh reality of playing in a division higher was reflected in Charlton Athletic’s first goal on Saturday.

Crewe were swiftly punished on the counter attack by the Addicks after one of our promising moves broke down in their half of the pitch.

Charlton broke with real purpose and Alfie Doughty slotted past Will Jaaskelainen for the opening goal. The Addicks went on to add another through Conor Washington before the break.

The boss told crewealex.net: “The higher you go, the more clinical the opposition are. If you are not right behind the ball when you lose possession then you will be punished.

“We were on the attack when the transition and counter attack occurred. We weren’t quite right and the ball ends up in our net. It was disappointing and both goals they scored were avoidable from our point of view.

The boss added: “It is something that we have to learn from and we will. We won’t be too critical because we played well in possession but we can’t defend like we defended for their goals.”