Birmingham 3 Charlton 2

Charlton remain 20th in the Championship after going down 3-2 at high-flying Birmingham on Saturday.

Two second half goalkeeping howlers from the normally dependable Nicky Weaver handed Birmingham maximum points after they trailed 2-1 at the break.

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The Addicks fell behind on 13 minutes when James McFadden curled home superbly beyond Weaver from outside the area.

But two cracking Charlton goals in six minutes midway through the first half turned the match around.

First, Hameur Bouazza thundered a left-footed shot into Maik Taylor's top corner in the 21st minute. Then Andy Gray delightfully placed an effort from a narrow angle across Taylor and in off the far post on 27 minutes following Liam Ridgewell's mistake.

Lloyd Sam missed the chance to extend Charlton's lead in the 47th minute when his shot struck a post.

Birmingham levelled in the 50th minute when Weaver slipped in gathering Franck Queudrue's harmless cross allowing the predatory Kevin Phillips to head a simple sixth goal of the season.

And when Weaver fumbled McFadden's shot, Queudrue scored from close range.

The home side's Nigel Quashie was dismissed for a second bookable offence in the 59th minute.

As pressure piled on him after six games without a win, manager Alan Pardew lamented: "No matter how well you prepare a side you cannot legislate for human error.

"Nicky is upset and the players are frustrated because we deserved something from the game."

Addicks: Weaver, Moutaouakil, Hudson, Primus, Youga (Varney 81), Sam, Holland (Shelvey 89), Semedo (Todorov 64), Bailey, Bouazza, Gray. Subs not used: Elliot, Shelvey, Cranie.

Attendance: 20,071.