Missed The Lot – Scunthorpe 1, Charlton 0

Things started badly for my attempt at covering this game, and the result didn't really do me any favours either. A tricky month financially and a low fuel-tank kept me away from the charms of Glanford Park, compounded further by the fact I couldn't get a DAB or AM reception for BBC Kent's coverage of the game.

So, sadly this is the first game in a while where I can't really add any critique on the performance. This doesn't change the fact that we've slipped up again, and it took a Southampton equaliser at Selhurst to save us from slipping further down the table.

Scunthorpe, without a win in 6 and at busy propping up 22 other teams, looked ripe for the taking today on recent form. Even though we went a goal down, a second yellow card and sending-off for Butler should have given us the opportunity to unlock the Iron's defence.

Those who were at the game will be better placed to tell you if our 11 shots posed a real threat, or if our 10 corners were a sign of dominance, but at the end of the ninety minutes there's only one statistic that counts – Paterson's 11th league goal has cost us the chance of catching up with the league leaders.

In fact, I spent the entire match updating the BBC league predictor with the scores as they came in. It was an interesting way of looking at the games as they progressed – Palace for example managed to be fifth at one point, before slipping to seventh at full-time. Ipswich jumped 4 places to sixth after finally getting an away win. Norwich were the biggest benefactors, leaping to 13th and closer to safety with a 90th minute winner against relegation rivals Preston.

It's a fascinating way to look at the shape of the league as the matches progress – if you're ever unlucky enough to be restricted to the joys of BBC text commentary, swap to the predictor instead – it's much more fun.

So, were back in the thick of it after yet another poor result against a relegation candidate. Anything less than a win against Palace could be a disaster, as Wolves, Hull and Ipswich are sniffing around the playoff spots.

3 points today should have separated us from the rest of the pack, but the reality of today's result is that we're in a real scrap now, and one I expect to last until the final day of the season.