Blackburn supporters celebrated a hard won victory – not the 1-1 draw but the end to the 22-month reign of their much despised former manager Steve Kean. In his place, the assistant Eric Black steered the side to a solid performance against an attacking home side, hailing his players for their response to a turbulent 24 hours.

"They made it an awful lot easier than it could have been," he said. Asked whether he would like to take on the role permanently, he replied: "I've hardly time to have my breakfast this morning ... somebody else will make that decision I'm sure."

Blackburn arrived here under bizarre circumstances. Kean had travelled to the game as their manager – the Scot having told reporters earlier that day that he was having a "great week" despite rumours of his impending dismissal – yet on Friday evening the 44-year-old told players that he was resigning. How did they react?

"There was a sombre response, which you can understand," said Black. "They all thanked him and wished him all the best. Today I thought the attitude was excellent, there was a real vibe in the dressing room and the players deserve a lot of credit for that. It couldn't have been easy for the players but we've got to fully respect Steve's decision to move on."

The Charlton manager, Chris Powell, rued his team's failure to seal three points following an impressive display but paid tribute to their response to last minute changes – Ricardo Fuller having been sent home with a virus at lunchtime, yet another name on Charlton's growing injury list. "My players adapted really well at the eleventh hour," said Powell.

The draw marks an upturn in fortunes following Charlton's win against Ipswich last Saturday, on the back of a run of defeats. Powell also took time to express his sympathy for Kean. "I feel sorry for him, I really do. To be put in the position he was, there should have been some direction from upstairs ... he shouldn't have been subjected to a lot of what went on."

A powerful strike from Dickson Etuhu gave Blackburn the lead after Jordan Rhodes sent a ball in for Nuno Gomes to set up the Nigeria midfielder. Minutes later and Morten Gamst Pedersen conceded a penalty. Johnnie Jackson's resulting low shot was easily saved by Paul Robinson but the Charlton captain soon atoned for his error, converting Danny Green's cross with a neat header to level the scores midway through the first half.

Charlton continued the attacking theme after the break – Carl Cort saw a close-range header saved early on, while Michael Morrison, Green and Bradley Wright-Phillips all clutched heads in frustration at near misses.

Blackburn's travelling support were jubilant, singing, "Stand up if you're glad he's sacked". When news had filtered through that Kean had quit after his position had become "untenable", fans had popped champagne corks in the streets of Blackburn, while on Saturday morning there were queues to renew season tickets at Ewood Park.

With sections of Blackburn's support having threatened to boycott the next home game and attendances dwindling such strength of feeling had left many outside the club bemused – Blackburn have suffered one defeat this season – but near on two years of simmering conflict, fuelled by contentious managerial decisions, bizarre signings, and a memorable TV interview in which Kean claimed he did not have a dog (but had a packet of dog food positioned behind him) had created a stand-off between all parties that went beyond resolution.

Now the focus will be on moving forward. Black could not reveal any clue as to who might replace Kean but the former Blackburn heroes Tim Sherwood, currently at Tottenham as first team assistant coach, and Alan Shearer have been linked to the job.