Speaking after Charlton’s battling 1-0 win over Brentford, Lee Bowyer spoke to the press about Gallagher’s classy finish, the team’s gutsy performances and the dramatic end to the game.
Speaking about the goal, Bowyer was quick to praise not only the goalscorer, Conor Gallagher, but also Jonny Williams who helped to set up the goal.
“[Tackling] is not a big part of Jonny’s game, but he’s improving on that side and he was sliding to put it into Conor. We said to Conor ‘defensively you’re going to have to work hard but if you run off their midfielder they wont track you’ and thankfully that happened, he was brave enough to run forward, Jonny found him and It was a great finish.“
Speaking on the team’s performance, Bowyer emphasised that the Addicks recent success is no fluke.
“They do that every time. They did the same last season, that’s why we got promotion. We give everything whether we’re winning or losing, they still keep going and going. They never know when they’re beaten.
“When we take the lead, they keep digging in because winning means everything to them. That’s what we’ve installed here and we’ll just keep fighting them till the end and just try to get three points every game. If we fall short on the wrong occasion and get 1 point, then they accept that.
“I’ve got a good group, I said that to you at the start of the season. They’re a good group and they’re unique and I think that you’ve just witnessed that today.”
Click in the video below to view Lee Bowyer's post-match press conference on Valley Pass
Bowyer continued, referring to the start to the season: “We’ve had a tough start. I think we’ve had a bit of everything. But, like you say, only 40 games to go! It’s crazy to be talking about [finishing high] now. We need to get as many points as possible, early.
“We’ve got the momentum from last year and we didn’t lose many games last year. So, if we keep bringing that, then the boys get more confident and believe more. The most important thing is that we stay in the league and establish ourselves."
Despite the cagey end to the game, Bowyer was convinced his side were good for the three points owing it down to the team’s desire to keep plugging away.
“I thought we deserved it. I thought we started okay against a very good team, they’re tipped to be top six – in the play-offs.
“My lads put the effort in on Wednesday night and then had a quick turnaround. We ran out of legs and we couldn’t make enough subs… Obviously losing Deji Oshilaja early on did us no favours!
“It was 30-degree heat and it was tough for us. but again, these lads just keep digging in, they just don’t know when to stop. They’re putting their bodies on the line and because of that, that’s why I say that they deserved to win.
“We didn’t play our best today and we’ve come away with the three points.”