Lee Bowyer praises his Charlton side after they fight back to draw with Rochdale - 7M sport

Lee Bowyer praises his Charlton side after they fight back to draw with Rochdale



Posted Wednesday, January 13, 2021 by PA

Lee Bowyer praises his Charlton side after they fight back to draw with Rochdale

Lee Bowyer felt his Charlton side showed great courage in their entertaining 4-4 draw against Rochdale at The Valley.

The south London side were down 4-2 at the interval but pulled themselves level in a contest that saw Jason Pearce sent off late on.

Rochdale took the lead in the 12th minute when Matty Lund struck a shot from outside the box that hit the post and ricocheted into the net.

The visitors doubled their lead in the 23rd minute when Kwadwo Baah struck sweetly past home keeper Ben Amos.

Their two-goal advantage did not last long, though, as Charlton hit back almost immediately, with Chuks Aneke firing low after running into the box.

However, Dale’s cushion was restored in the 31st minute when Baah powered down the left side and drove home from a tight angle.

Charlton pulled one back again in the 37th minute when a Jake Forster-Caskey curler deflected off the head of a Rochdale defender.

Stephen Humphrys netted Rochdale’s fourth with a superb free-kick from 25 yards out three minutes before half-time.

Charlton needed to respond, and they struck twice in two minutes – Aneke headed home his second in the 65th minute before Ronnie Schwartz equalised two minutes later with his first goal for the club.

Pearce saw red for a second booking two minutes before the end but neither side could provide any more drama.

After their loss to Accrington on Friday, Bowyer felt his side responded admirably to going behind.

He said: “It was a crazy game, this was against a team that can concede a lot of goals, and score a lot of goals.

“We gave them a two-goal head start, in the first half they had four shots and they scored four goals.

“I have to say overall, I was disappointed we didn’t win, but to be 4-2 down at half-time I have to praise them.

“It takes a lot of bottle to do what they’ve just done, especially coming off the back of the weekend.

“They could have just crumbled, but they didn’t. They stuck together and should have won it.”

Rochdale manager Brian Barry-Murphy felt his team deserved more from the contest, but praised Baah and Lund.

He said: “I enjoyed the game, but I wanted the lads to get the result that they deserved.

“We weren’t able to find that killer touch that we had in the first half.

“It shows the mentality we’ve got. It’s up to us to find that consistency.

“Lund looks a major threat, his movement is brilliant.

“Baah and his individual skill in the final attacking area of the pitch is something we’ve never had at the club – he has individual brilliance.”

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