Lee Bowyer was pleased with the display his young side put in during today’s 1-0 loss at home to West Bromwich Albion in the third round of the Emirates FA Cup.
Charlton were up against an experienced Baggies side and gave a good account of themselves but weren’t able to capitalise on a late spell of pressure that saw Josh Davison hit the crossbar with a lovely shot on the turn.
Speaking after the game Lee Bowyer said: “At the end of the day we’ve lost the game. I don’t like losing any game but taking into account the lads that have started, their age, their experience, then I think we gave a good account of ourselves.
“In the first half we got into our shape, the goal was poor but I think we restricted them and the second half we had a go. We had a couple of chances, some half chances, Josh [Davison] hit the bar. We could have had a penalty – it was close.
“They were playing against experienced players, I’ve played against three of those players. Gareth Barry, Charlie Austin, Chris Brunt, they’re proper players. These lads are playing against proper players and they held their own. Of course at times, especially first half, our quality wasn’t quite there but they worked hard and tried their hardest and they didn’t disgrace themselves in anyway. I just said to the ‘well done’, I couldn’t have asked for anymore from them.”
The Charlton manager was also delighted to see Jonny Williams and Tomer Hemed back involved. The pair haven’t played since suffering injuries in the Addicks 3-0 win at home to Derby County in October.
Bowyer was also pleased with the debut of Andre Green, who joined the club on loan from Aston Villa on Thursday.
He said: “It was good to get 20 minutes into Jonny Williams, 30 minutes into Tomer [Hemed]. I thought Andre Green did some good things when we got him the ball. In the first half he got to the byline a couple of times and put some good balls in. Obviously he’s a little bit behind on fitness but we’ll get him up to speed.”
Bowyer's full post-game press conference will be on Valley Pass later this evening. Click here to purchase Valley Pass.
