Charlton boss Lee Bowyer says there’s pros and cons to take from Shrewsbury draw – and admits his side looked tired at times

BY LOUIS MENDEZ

Charlton boss Lee Bowyer said he will take pros and cons from his side’s 1-1 home draw with Shrewsbury Town – and blamed tiredness for a disappointing spell after half-time.

The Addicks had played fairly brightly in the first-half but a sluggish start to the second-period was punished as Sean Goss headed home unmarked to give Salop the lead – the South Londoners failing to keep a clean sheet for the 13^thhome game in a row.

Substitute Chuks Aneke rattled the crossbar when he really should have scored from close-range with just over 20 minutes left to play but Conor Washington did find a leveller as he drilled a shot through a crowded penalty area and in for his third goal of the week and 10^thof the season 15 minutes from time.

Neither side could find a winner, despite the Addicks gifting Shrewsbury two gilt-edged opportunities late on.

The results leaves Charlton unbeaten in four and two points outside the League One play-off places – although the games in hand held over the South Londoners by all of their top six rivals remain a concern.

Bowyer said: “Overall, a lot of pros and a lot of cons to take from it. I’m disappointed, I look at it as two points dropped but Shrewsbury ain’t a bad side. They don’t concede many, they’re difficult to play against. Two points dropped but at the end, the players you have to give them credit because they kept going and going. When they’ve played as many games as they have in a short time of late, they could easily have just thought I’m tired, which they were, but they kept going until the end and got a point they at the least deserved. Happy and sad.

“You haven’t been beaten. There was quite a few that looked tired to me. Young Albie [Morgan], I brought him off – not because he was playing badly, he played well. Because he was tired. He physically couldn’t move any more from where I was standing. He wasn’t alone, there was a few like that. They’re human. I only made the one change where normally I try to freshen it up a bit more. But when they’re in a good pace like that I don’t really want to disturb too much. But if you don’t disturb too much, you get this, the fatigue side of things. They kept going. The lads who came off the bench did well and they helped us to get a point.

“I thought we started really well. The first 45 minutes we were very good. Should have gone in at half-time leading but we didn’t take our chances. We created a few good chances. They cleared one off the line from Albie’s shot that beat the keeper, good defending. Jayden [Stockley]’s chance, a couple of set-pieces we had chances as well. I thought we looked very good first-half but then everything we did well, getting the overlaps and creating the overloads out wide – we just stopped doing it second-half. Everything was a lot slower. It just seemed slow, when we were passing it everything was slow, the tempo.

“We just didn’t get going in the second-half. They got the goal, I didn’t think there was really much in it until then. We had to change shape, a few personnel looked tired. Once we changed shape we got on top and looked very good. Had Chuks scored, we probably go on and win the game, I honestly believe that. We were really good. Conor steps up and gets his goal. Then we’re so pushing, wanting to win, we were trying so hard to win that we left ourselves a bit vulnerable at the back at times. Pearcey, outstanding defending when he was one v one. He did really well to snuff it out.”

PHOTOS: PAUL EDWARDS/ KYLE ANDREWS