Derby County's confidence in the League One automatic promotion race took another dent last night, as relegation-threatened Charlton Athletic pulled off a surprise win at the expense of Paul Warne's Rams.
Nathan Jones masterminded his new Addicks troops to a 2-1 win away at Pride Park, with Derby relieved to see that their fellow rival to the top two spots in Bolton Wanderers also succumbed to a loss away at Wigan Athletic.
Warne will need to change up his starting XI again for this weekend's forthcoming League One clash against Port Vale therefore, a number of Derby players fearing for their secure spots as a result.
Joe Wildsmith's spot in between the sticks could well be up for grabs consequently, the Rams goalkeeper having a poor night against Charlton with some rash decision-making costing his side dear.
Joe Wildsmith's performance vs Charlton in numbers
The former Sheffield Wednesday keeper would face only three shots on target all match, conceding two of those in a disastrous day at the office.
Wildsmith's impulsive decision to run out whilst Charlton forward Daniel Kanu bombed forward would give the visitors a way back into the contest in the second half, in a match in which Derby had dominated for large chunks of the first 45 minutes.
The 28-year-old would clatter into Kanu rampaging through on goal, giving the referee no choice but to point to the spot with Alfie May then confidently scoring the subsequent penalty.
Only making one save over the course of a lacklustre 90 minutes for the Rams shot-stopper, Warne could now be tempted to freshen things up in-between the sticks and give experienced rotation option Scott Loach the nod to start against Vale on Saturday over Wildsmith.
Wildsmith misplacing 14 of his 30 passes playing out from the back just ramped the nerves up from a Rams perspective, with that raised tension not helped whatsoever by Kane Wilson for the hosts who was equally lackadaisical with the ball at his feet.
Kane Wilson's performance vs Charlton in numbers
The second-rate Derby number two would come in just one shy of Wildsmith's dire total, misplacing 13 passes himself from down the flanks for Warne's men.
That would result in Wilson giving up possession a costly 25 times, with one of those instances resulting in Charlton's game-clinching second strike at Pride Park.
A haphazard ball back to defensive midfielder Ebou Adams would allow the Addicks to construct an attack out of the blue to win the encounter, finished off by Karoy Anderson hammering the ball into Wildsmith's net for 2-1.
Minutes played
90
Touches
54
Accurate passes
24/37
Accurate crosses
0
Successful dribbles
0
Duels won
2/11
Possession lost
25x
Only winning a pitiful two duels from 11 attempted on the night, DerbyshireLive journalist Leigh Curtis' 4.5/10 rating handed out to Wilson was a fair reflection of his torrid showing.
Curtis would bemoan Wilson's 'annoying' habit of keeping hold of the ball for too long, which proved to be ultimately detrimental to his promotion-chasing side come full-time.
The only silver lining Derby can take away from this slim defeat to the Addicks is the fact Bolton also slipped up, but the automatic promotion candidates will know they need to get back to winning ways sharpish with Darren Moore's Valiants up next.
With Vale occupying a similar spot to Charlton near the foot of the third tier, the visitors cannot be underestimated which could see Warne tinker with his XI in order to try and field the best possible side to clinch a crucial three points.