Charlton Athletic slipped to a 1-0 defeat against high-flying Preston at The Valley on Sunday afternoon with Paul Gallagher scoring the game's only goal in the second half.

Jason Pearce's foul on Jayden Stockley inside the penalty area proved to be the defining moment of the game, as Gallagher then converted from the spot and Charlton failed to muster an effective response during the remainder of the match.

Lee Bowyer's side delivered an underwhelming performance given how well they have adapted to life in the Championship so far this term, as the Addicks lacked the creativity and invention to truly threaten the Preston defence.

The Charlton boss named a midfield set-up consisting of the likes of Conor Gallagher, Beram Kayal and Josh Cullen, but these players sometimes lacked incision in the final third and this ultimately proved costly to the Addicks.

It meant that in-form striker Macauley Bonne was not always provided with adequate service to continue his impressive goalscoring run, and Bowyer must now aim to assess what went wrong against Preston.

There was a notable omission from the Charlton starting line-up ahead of the match with Erhun Oztumer dropping to the bench, and there will be many Charlton fans wondering why the playmaker was not introduced earlier in the 90 minutes.

The former Bolton man was now brought on until there was one minute of normal time remaining. This gave him nowhere near enough time to cause problems for the Preston defence, and Bowyer should now consider playing him from the start against Millwall next week.

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Charlton have admittedly been unfortunate with injuries so far this season. The absence of Jonny Williams will have certainly hampered the Addicks' creative potential, but Oztumer seems to be the clear replacement for the Welshman in an attacking midfield role.

Oztumer has not been granted a prolonged run in the side since arriving at The Valley over the summer, but he is player with undoubtable quality, and he maybe now needs a string of matches under his belt in order to fulfil his potential.

He has shown glimpses of his ability in the red jersey so far, but it will be difficult for him to find form with limited opportunities in the starting line-up. Therefore, the Millwall match will be a prime opportunity for Oztumer to remind Bowyer why the club decided to bring him to The Valley over the summer.

Charlton do not look as effective without a creative focal point such as Williams or Oztumer, and Bowyer must find a way to find Oztumer into his starting line-up at The Den.