Charlton Athletic chief explains why Mark Marshall played in young side at Milton Keynes

BY RICHARD CAWLEY

Charlton Athletic boss Lee Bowyer has cleared up Mark Marshall being involved in a very young Charlton side that lost 3-0 to Milton Keynes in the EFL Cup on Tuesday.

The former Bradford City winger was taken off at half-time in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Shrewsbury Town and then started for the Addicks in Buckinghamshire in midweek.

Bowyer said: “He only had 45 minutes on Saturday and we gave him the option – because he is a good pro he said he would rather play. It wasn’t us making him, or anything like that.

“I played Nicky [Ajose] because he has had no minutes whatsoever. It was good for him to get some minutes under his belt.