Southampton 2 Charlton 3
The two most lowly placed clubs in the Championship did not exactly slug it out until the final whistle. A goal late in the match by Bradley Wright-Phillips did not affect Charlton's lead that was achieved through a combination of factors, ranging from far sharper finishing to the fact that Southampton's players inevitably were contemplating whether they, as well as the club, have any kind of future.
Both managers were sent to the stands in stoppage time for arguing between themselves and with the fourth official.
Charlton, as well as taking an early lead and scoring two excellent goals in the second half, also missed a penalty. Even so, both clubs will do well now to avoid relegation.
"We will never give up, but we did not have the quality in our game today," said Mark Wotte, Southampton manager.
Before the kick-off, there was a plea over the tannoy from former manager Lawrie McMenemy to the fans to continue to support the club whatever the "personalities have done to it".
There was an excellent crowd of 27,228, if not quite the full house that was promised, but the sense of foreboding was heightened when Charlton scored after six minutes. Jonjo Shelvey was picked out by a long ball from his goalkeeper, Robert Elliot, and tucked the ball past Kelvin Davis.
Southampton equalised through David McGoldrick. He punished an error by Darren Ward, cutting outside another defender before firing home. A further inspired moment followed when Davis saved Tresor Kandol's penalty.
Thierry Racon hit Charlton's second and Nicky Bailey put them 3-1 up before Wright-Phillips' late strike.
Star man: Thierry Racon (Charlton)
Referee: J. Moss
Attendance: 27,228
SOUTHAMPTON: Davis, Thomson (Liptak 80mins) Perry, Saeijs, Skacel, Lallana(Smith, 63mins, 5) McGoldrick, Wotton, Surman (Wright-Phillips 83mins, 6), Euell, Saganowski.
CHARLTON: Elliot, Butterfield, Hudson, Ward, Youga, Sam (Ambrose 73mins, 4) Racon, Zhi (Holland, 67, 5) Bailey, Shelvey, Kandol (Burton, 77mins, 4).
(Edited from the report by Ivo Tennant on www.timesonline.co.uk, Sat. Mar. 4, 2009.)