WE WERE BETTER, BLASTS BOWYER
CHARLTON manager Lee Bowyer made no attempt to hide his disappointment after his side fell to a Matt Smith stoppagetime winner at Millwall.
In a game dominated by set pieces, a sixth-minute header from captain Shaun Hutchinson put Millwall in front, but they were pegged back shortly after half time by Jonathan Leko’s smart finish.
The game looked to be heading for a draw but Smith, brought on with just four minutes remaining, rose at the back post to earn the hosts all three points, leaving Bowyer ruing missed opportunities in what he believes was a dominant display.
“I’d have been disappointed with a point! We can’t afford to not win this game, because I thought we were the better side,” said Bowyer.
“I may be biased, but this is what I’m watching, us playing the way we’re playing. To come away with nothing is so disappointing.
“I thought we were better than them. I thought we dominated large parts of the game. We’ve lost this game on two set pieces. Defending set pieces is easy, you just make sure your man doesn’t score. That’s it.”
In an electric atmosphere at The Den, Millwall almost took the lead after just four minutes, when Charlton keeper Phillips flapped at a deflected cross which dropped for Jed Wallace, only for his powerful strike to be blocked away.
Charlton’s reprieve lasted only two minutes though, as the home side’s early pressure paid off from a free-kick. Shaun Williams crossed from the right, somehow Hutchinson was left unmarked eightyards out, and the centre-back steered his header home.
Millwall then almost doubled their advantage after nine minutes, full-back Mahlon Romeo getting forward and unleashing a powerful drive from the edge of the box.
But the visitors began to get a foothold in the game as the first half wore on.
Josh Cullen tried a shot from the edge of the box, which Bartosz Bialkowski fumbled up and onto the bar, before clawing it away inches before it crossed the line. The Millwall keeper then redeemed himself with a stunning save in firsthalf stoppage time, pushing Macauley Bonne’s volley over the crossbar.
Bialkowski was called into action again soon after half time, this time pushing a Darren Pratley effort over, but from the resulting corner the Millwall keeper was beaten.
After the first ball had been cleared, Charlton worked it back into the box where Leko was able to place his volley into the corner.
The equaliser stung Millwall into action, Ben Thompson forcing Phillips to save following one corner, and Jake Cooper heading wide from another.
As the minutes ticked by it seemed neither side were chasing a winner, until, seconds from the end, Smith bullied his defender out of the way and headed home.
The thrilling end to the game excited Millwall boss Gary Rowett.
He said: “As a manager you want to win 3-0 and have a really easy afternoon, but if you can’t do that there’s no more exciting way to win a local derby than in the last two or three minutes.”