Burnley had Charlton on the ropes, but a late equaliser cancelled out Steven Thompson's first goal for the club in a frustrating draw at Charlton.

Steve Thompson opened his Clarets account in the 13th minute of a totally one-sided first half, deflecting Joey Gudjonsson's shot home.

The Addicks improved after the break and half time sub Svetoslav Todorov salvaged a point that should never have been in the equation.

And incredibly, it took a last gasp goal line block from Michael Duff to even save a point for Owen Coyle's side!

Burnley named an unchanged starting 11 for the third time in succession, the only change coming on the bench as Stephen Jordan stepped in for Remco van der Schaaf.

The confident Clarets were straight on the front foot and Gudjonsson stung Nicky Weaver's gloves in the third minute with a fierce angled volley.

The game descended into farce in the eighth minute when Martin Paterson's perfectly good goal was chalked off for offside.

A Charlton player clearly headed the ball back into his own half to set the Clarets leading scorer free and referee Rob Shoebridge ignored a flag 60 yards away to wave Paterson on.

Paterson wasted no time in cutting back from the by line and slotting past Weaver, but ridiculous appeals by the Athletic players persuaded Shoebridge to consult his assistant and incredibly change his mind.

I was staggering incompetence from the men in the middle and, in particular, a referee unsure of his own judgement.

Owen Coyle cannot believe it as Paterson's goal is disallowed

But the Clarets shrugged off that blow to score again in the 13th minute. Shambolic defending from a corner failed to clear and Gudjonsson drilled the ball through a sea of legs from 18 yards for Thompson to flick home his first goal for the club.

It was clear to see that Burnley roared out of the blocks to take advantage of the hosts' fragile confidence.

Elliott's dangerous 28th minute cross was headed over his own goal by Yassin Moutaouakil, with Steven Thompson waiting to pounce.

From the resulting corner, only a last gasp deflection denied Chris McCann from 12 yards.

And on a Graham Alexander-inspired break just after the half hour, Elliott's first time cross was inches beyond the inrushing strikers Paterson and Thompson.

The resounding boos that cascaded from three sides of the Valley told their own story.

While the only worry for Burnley fans was that Coyle's confident side were not out of sight!

Another mazy run, this time from Elliott, struck Paterson to the relief or the ragged Addicks, who simply could not string two passes together in the onslaught.

However, the classy Clarets could not add to their lead as a superb opening 45 minutes came to a close.

Lloyd Sam and Svetoslav Todorov were half time substitutions for the home side.

But it took another fantastic header over his own goal by Grant Basey to deny Thompson a second within seconds of the restart.

But Charlton really should have been level with their first effort of note in the 50th minute when Luke Varney headed straight at Brian Jensen from eight yards with no challenge in sight.

That gave the home side heat, while it was the signal for Steven Caldwell to be replaced by Stephen Jordan after picking up a knock

Grant Basey was shown a yellow card moments later for blatantly tripping Elliott in full flight as the Clarets winger weaved his way towards the box.

It was now much more of a contest though, and the home side sensed a shift in the balance.

The hour mark was the signal for Chris Eagles to replace the ever-willing Paterson in attack mode.

There was more abysmal refereeing three quarters of the way through the game when Gudjonsson broke form midfield and was bundled to the ground by a combination of two defenders on the edge of the area.

A goalscoring opportunity denied? Absolutely!

But incredibly there was not even a yellow card as the inept Shoebridge allowed the hosts to escape without any punishment.

Burnley wasted a four v two advantage as Eagles strayed offside with 19 nervy minutes remaining.

And what a pivotal moment that proved as disaster struck with 14 minutes remaining.

Jordan conceded a free kick on the right side and from the delivery Todorov glanced home the equaliser.

Back came Burnley and Gudjonsson was a whisker away from winning it for a second time as his rocket crashed off the crossbar with Weaver beaten.

And as a breathless half drew to a fantastic finale, with both sides slugging it out for the all-important win, Charlton should have won it.

Jordan's back pass left Jensen woefully short and Varney waltzed around him and homed in on goal, only for Michael Duff to make a magnificent goal line block to save the day.

Burnley: Jensen, Duff, Caldwell (Jordan 51), Carlisle, Kalvenes, Alexander, Elliott, McCann, Gudjonsson, Paterson (Eagles 60), Thompson (Blake 73).
Subs: Rodriguez, Penny

Booked: Elliott 45

Charlton: Weaver, Moutaouakil, Bailey, Hudson, Ambrose, Varney, Wright (Holland 81), McLeod (Todorov 46), Basey, Cranie, Primus (Sam 46).
Subs: Elliot, Bouazza

Booked: Basey 53

Ref: R Shoebridge

Att: 21,884