Going into the Portsmouth game, there was reason to feel content.
Charlton had strung together three fine performances, earning seven points and three clean sheets. There was momentum, confidence, a sense that Nathan Jones had steadied the ship.
But there was also a nagging awareness of Portsmouth's threat — they'd battled bravely against Preston and Sheffield United, even if the results hadn't gone their way.
It was going too well, wasn't it?
For me, the tide actually began to turn last Saturday when Blackburn unexpectedly won at QPR. Perhaps not that surprising, aided as they were by the 'new manager bounce' under Michael O'Neill.
And then, before kick-off, came another blow: Matty Godden ruled out with a hamstring issue. Jones had spoken pre-match of having a strong squad to choose from — while Portsmouth had a much depleted squad.
Charlton's night unravelled from there. Harry Clarke missed a golden early chance, and on 22 minutes, Thomas Kaminski allowed a soft effort from Terry Devlin to creep in.
Then there were the cards. Referee Leigh Doughty seemed determined to brandish yellow at every red shirt in sight, before awarding a contentious penalty to make it 2-0.
Momentum, as in life, can reward and punish in equal measure. And it punished us.
The frustration in the stands boiled over after the final whistle as one fan voiced their anger, and Jones reacted.
It was that kind of night: rotten, raw, and restless in SE7.
Now comes another south coast test — Southampton away.
The side who humiliated us 5–1 here back in November. Will the tide turn again in our favour? Or are we drifting back toward the Championship's relegation scrap?
For me, this was a grim echo of the Millwall performance.
We lacked the front-footed aggression that had driven us in recent weeks. We didn't block shots, didn't close down space, didn't lay a glove on an injury-ravaged relegation-threatened Portsmouth side who simply looked sharper and braver.
That's what hurts most. These so-called six-pointers offered a chance to break free of danger — instead, we froze.
The referee didn't help, but the bigger story is our failure to compete.
It was the chance to show we were serious about safety. And we blew it.
The joys — and agonies — of following your football team. Gutted!