TRUST a man named Kettle to send Wanderers’ play-off hopes completely off the boil.

You cannot blame the Rutland ref for the fact that Dougie Freedman’s side chucked a comfortable lead down the pan, nor for the dithering defending that gifted the Addicks two second half goals, but Kettle’s decision making was most certainly not everyone’s cup of tea and proved a very important factor in a potentially season-defining result for both sides.

Geed up from the first yellow card he dished out after 42 minutes to Sam Ricketts, it seemed someone had flicked a switch in Kettle – a senior air traffic controller with the RAF by trade – and from there on in, no-one was safe.

In 57 minutes of football, including the nine minutes of added time in either half, Kettle saw the need to produce 10 cards – including reds for Ricketts and Craig Davies.

By the time the yellow confetti began, Wanderers had surrendered their early domination. Marvin Sordell and Medo had put them into a commanding position but the free-flowing football that had torn Charlton to shreds early on soon slowed down and Jonnie Jackson had halved the deficit.

That – just as much as Kettle’s inexplicable performance – will be the source of frustration for Freedman as he drives into the training ground this morning.

Once Ricketts saw red 57 minutes in, Charlton equalised in a flash through Dorian Dervite and then quickly seized the lead with a penalty from Yann Kermorgant.

It was hard to deny that Chris Powell’s plucky side had taken full advantage of the gift given to them but by the time Davies was sent off deep into stoppage time, it just felt like salt being rubbed into the wounds.

Does this result spell the end for Wanderers’ play-off hopes – well, that might hinge on how they bounce back against Huddersfield Town tomorrow.

Once again, results elsewhere went the Whites’ way. Someone up there likes us, even if they have a funny way of showing it.

There is a point of view that the areas in need of improvement so evident at times against Charlton would be remedied with another year in the Championship.

Given a pre-season, would Freedman’s obvious flair for organisation and preparation mean next season’s side would be a more complete package?

I can see their point – but that philosophy was no doubt thrown around at Sheffield Wednesday, Leeds United, Middlesbrough, Birmingham, Nottingham Forest or even Charlton at one stage or another. The Premier League, now, more than ever, is where it’s at.

Financially, another season in the second tier would be a bitter pill to swallow – making Kettle and his quick-fire yellow card a very easy target right now.

Freedman made two changes, bringing Medo in for Chris Eagles and dropping Kevin Davies to the bench for Marvin Sordell.

Both replacements scored in an opening 20-minute blitz that should have seen Wanderers home and hosed.

David Ngog and Chung-Yong Lee had already missed gilt-edge chances by the time Sordell showed them how it’s done with a neat finish from the edge of the box just four minutes in. The early exchanges between Ngog, Chung-Yong and Sordell had the home side in complete disarray, so when Medo curled his first goal in English football off the base of Ben Hamer’s post 20 minutes in, there was no telling how bad the rout could get.

And yet for some unknown reason it all stopped there.

Jackson had one sighter, then with a neat bit of skill danced round two challenges to slot a lovely shot past Andy Lonergan to pull a goal back.

Kermorgant sliced another effort wide as a reminder that despite their woeful home form, there was still plenty of fight left in the South Londoners.

But when Ricketts’ innocuous challenge on Callum Harriott received the same punishment as Andy Hughes’ horrible thigh-high tackle on Medo just before the break, you sensed problems were afoot.

After a long and protracted change of assistant early in the second half, Charlton got the huge helping hand they needed.

Ricketts got caught as last man with the rangy Ricardo Fuller and despite doing his utmost to prevent a tangle of legs, knew his second yellow was on his way by the time the big Jamaican target man hit the floor.

Danny Butterfield was sent on immediately for his debut in place of the unlucky Sordell – but he could do nothing as Kermorgant curled a free kick against the post and Wanderers failed to react to the loose ball, hammered home by Dervite.

At that stage, the shutters should have come down for the Whites. And yet three minutes later it was Fuller again, twisting and turning in the penalty box, bringing a daft trip out of Darren Pratley. Kermorgant drove home the penalty to make it 3-2.

Craig Davies entered the fray looking to rough up Charlton enough to force another equaliser.

Wanderers had to ride their luck – and got some as Harriott slid one shot into the side netting and Craig Dawson diverted one goalbound effort from Kermorgant over his own bar.

Lonergan also made a nifty stop from Bradley Pritchard but the Whites just could not force a decent chance at the other end on the break.

Too much possession was wasted trying to force the issue, and that lack of patience on the ball will have added to Freedman’s exasperation that was clear by his constant prowling on the touchline.

Young striker Sanmi Odelusi was given his debut among all the chaos but it was asking too much of him to make a significant impact.

When Davies saw two yellows – the first understandable for dissent, the second unfathomable for trying to hook the ball back into the penalty area – you knew Wanderers were done.

Whether the same can be said of their pursuit of a play-off place, we may learn in the next 24 hours.