Barnsley head coach Daniel Stendel said his side's performance was 'not the best' in their 2-0 loss at Charlton Athletic on Saturday.

The Reds conceded early in each half to Karlan Grant and suffered their second defeat of the League One season which saw them fall from third to fifth. 

Stendel said: "It was not our best performance but for an away game a good one for my team. The first chance put Charlton in front and for the rest of the first half we were better. We had a lot of ball possession but we didn't get that big chance and Charlton fought and defended very well. We couldn't find our rhythm or the final pass. They played for time and went down injured and we didn't have the big chance, just half chances.  

"At half-time we put on Kieffer Moore to give us a second striker in the box and five minutes later we were two-nil down and it was very difficult to change the result. Maybe if we had scored one we would have had the chance to turn the result but today it wasn't possible.

"We played well but only up to the 18-yard box and Charlton played clever, smart.  When you're one-nil up at home you get more confident all the time and it's easier to defend when you don't give away big chances. It was okay that Charlton won the game.

"In the first half we had too many interceptions, we lost the ball too easily. And in the second half it's it's easier when you are two-nil in front. We made pressure but didn't score. They were a clever team and it's our fault we didn't take a point. In the second half we played a maximum of 30 minutes.

"I think we wanted to press higher to give fewer chances to their fast strikers but in the 50-50 situations I think Charlton wanted to win the duels more. That was the reason Charlton won today and not us."

Stendel replaced central midfielder Cameron McGeehan, who scored in the previous game against Luton, with top-scorer Moore at half-time, The Reds boss said: "I think Jacob Brown deserved his chance to play but in the first half the impression was that we were not so dangerous on the box. We changed and we made more chances in the second half. I'm the end it was not the right decision but it's easy to say after the game."

German midfielder Mike Bahre was not in the squad.  Stendel said: "He was injured against Luton and trained yesterday but had too much pain to play today. We hope he can play on Tuesday. He has been a good player for us but we have lots of players who can play in the first eleven and that's not the reason that we didn't win a point today."

Liam Lindsay backed the Reds to bounce back. He said: "We just didn’t have the wee bit of spark that we have had in recent weeks. We just couldn’t find it today and Charlton are a good team. We lacked the final ball which is not like our forward players, and perhaps just a wee bit of luck as well, it just didn’t bounce our way. These things happen in football. Not every game is going to be perfect, we know that. But now we need to get a result on Tuesday.

"There will be no overreaction and we will move on. We know we need to put a run of wins on the board but it’s early days and I’m sure we’ll get there.

"We made a statement with the 4-0 win at Peterborough and I’m sure some people looked at us and thought we were a great team but things don’t work sometimes in football. We just didn’t really turn up today.

"I don’t think any team is ever the finished article but it shows that you have to be at it every week and if not you lose points. The best thing is to get back out there and pick up points."

Barnsley have conceded two in each of their last two games against Luton and now Charlton. Lindsay said: "It’s disappointing when you concede any goals. We’ve had a decent goal difference but in the last two games we’ve conceded two so we’ll look at the video and see what we need to do better. We’re a young group and we need to step up but we know we can do it and we have the quality there. We have set the bar high but we keep it there with concentration and consistency. It’s hard to be consistent when you’re young but we’ll get there."