Bob Peeters hailed the performance of referee Mick Russell after Johnnie Jackson earned Charlton a late victory at Norwich.

The official correctly disallowed a first half goal for a foul on keeper Stephen Henderson and also denied the hosts a penalty after a handball by Jackson after the break.

And Peeters, whose side moved within two points of the Championship’s summit, praised the official for not giving in to a vocal Carrow Road crowd.

“He was the best man on the pitch,” said the Addicks boss.

“I never say things about the referee but I think he did everything right.

“Sometimes you have decisions given against and sometimes in your favour but tonight he was quality.

“He was not influenced by the crowd.

“Every ball that came into our box was supposedly handball and they were shouting for a lot of fouls.

“He was brilliant for both sides and I need to give him credit. He managed a tough game where two sides were fighting for every ball.”

The Norfolk crowd was angered after Bradley Johnson clattered into Henderon, allowing Wes Hoolahan to stroke the loose ball home. 

Peeters added: “If your goalkeeper gets a ball and then is punched in the face then it’s a foul, otherwise we’d play without goalkeepers.

“If you go continental, it’s a foul if you even touch the goalkeeper.

“Here they can challenge him and they did with two people.

“If they think it’s a goal then there is something wrong with the crowd here.

  “It was the right decision and they could have scored when Joe Gomez was struggling with his ankle but they didn’t.

“We did and that is football.

“On Saturday, we deserved the three points against Middlesbrough, especially in the second half, but it is all about putting the ball in the net. We punished them.” 

The Addicks mustered four attempts on goal, compared to the Canaries’ 15, and Peeters revealed part of the game plan was to come a frustrate the table-toppers.

He said: “We started with two attacking midfielders and one defending midfielder. We pressed them for the first 20-25 minutes and I think we had the better play.  

“Norwich are a top team and I showed them a local newspaper that showed a prediction for them to win 3-0.

“I said if we stick with the game plan, press them in midfield and close the angles then they are going to struggle.

“They had one really good chance, when Joe Gomez was struggling with his ankle, and that was it.”

Peeters added: “I said at half that they would get tired, the crowd would get frustrated because they couldn’t handle our game plan.

“At the end we knew the spaces would get bigger and if we get one or two chances then we need to punish them.

“If you play away at Norwich, a team that wins four games in a row, and one that calls itself one of the favourites to win promotion, then it is a good result to win it 1-0.

“If you compare their budget to ours then it already says a lot. Our boys worked very well.

“We had to do it without Chris Solly and Johann Gudmundsson, two important players, and if you can then win 1-0 it might be a robbery.
“We defended well and it football it is not only attacking, but defending, and sticking to the game plan.

“You see this a lot of times in the Champions League.

“When Italian teams do it they say it’s brilliant and when it is us, then it’s robbery.” 

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