Luke Berry admitted there is a real sense of belief amongst the dressing room following defeat at Deepdale, as the Addicks bowed out of the Emirates FA Cup with an impressive performance against Preston North End in the third round.
The experienced midfielder scored with a well-taken finish in the first-half, taking his tally to five in all competitions.
“I thought we played well,” Berry claimed speaking to CharltonTV post-game. “I thought we was really good in spells, the least we deserved was a draw to take it to extra-time, but it wasn’t to be. They took their chances, and we didn’t quite take ours.”
The 32-year-old emphasised that despite defeat on the road, there are plenty of positives to take from the loss, where the Addicks went toe-to-toe with second-tier opposition.
He said: “There is a lot of belief in the dressing room. We want to be playing in this stadium and others in the Championship next season. We need to keep believing and working on what we are good at, we’re more than good enough to do that, we just need to do it in the league.
“Thierry did really well for the goal, he’s cut it back and I was in the right position in the middle of the goal. There were a few before that where I didn’t get enough contact on it, it just wasn’t to be. I'm glad to get the goal.”
The miles continue to clock up for the Addicks with back-to-back away trips to Rotherham United and Bolton Wanderers.
He said: “They’re tough, but they are games we want to be winning. We’ve got a couple games in hand and if we can pick up as many points as we can and start working our way up the table it’ll be great.”
Berry extended his praise to those who made the long journey up on such short notice following the postponement of Saturday's game.
“It's fantastic support," he said. "They were loud and proud throughout. We can’t thank them enough, a real shame we couldn’t get through to the next round for them. We are so thankful.”
(Photograph by Noah Shulman-Miller)
