Charlton boss Lee Bowyer fumes over “two points dropped” after Shrewsbury bag late leveller at the New Meadow

BY LOUIS MENDEZ

Charlton boss Lee Bowyer was left fuming after the Addicks dropped two points as Shrewsbury Town bagged an added-time equaliser at the New Meadow.

The visitors had struggled to carve open a rugged Salop side but Ben Watson’s maiden Charlton goal inside the final 20 minutes looked like it would be good enough to claim a second away win in eight days.

But the struggling hosts, who remain winless at home this season, pushed for an equaliser and had already hit the bar twice before a sliced clearance from Albie Morgan and a clumsy challenge from Chris Gunter lead to Steve Cotterill’s side being awarded a penalty in the fifth minute of second half stoppage time.

Oliver Norburn did the damage from the spot to secure a share of the spoils for the hosts.

The Charlton boss said: “We should have gone home with three points. There’s no question, we have to manage the game better. It’s something simple. All you had to do was just clear your lines and we win the game. Instead of trying to smash the leather off the ball and the ball has ended up bouncing in our bloody box.

“It’s stupid – pathetic. We should be leaving with three points and we’re leaving with one. Not good enough. To concede the way we did, it’s just wrong. It shouldn’t be happening.”

When asked if he felt his side had deserved to go on and take three points, Bowyer replied: “Yes, because we were the team that tried to play the right way and I think as times we got into good positions but again didn’t take care in that final third, again. Too sloppy.

“The goal [from Watson] was something we worked on yesterday. They defend their six-yard box well but they don’t defend around their penalty spot well, we worked on it. And it came off. That’s pleasing, you think here we go and then you’re in injury-time and we’re going home with three points and then that happens. All that hard work goes to waste, it frustrates me. It makes me mad.

“We should be leaving here with three points today and we ain’t. That’s not good. It’s been tough, we’ve played four out of the last five games away from home. It’s never easy coming here. We had to dig deep and I thought we’d done that. I thought we’d done enough to win the game and it hasn’t happened, it’s frustrating.

“That will happen all season. All teams will have that inconsistency but today we should have taken the three points and we haven’t. That’s definitely two points dropped.”

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