Bowyer credits former team-mate Kewell for improving Charlton’s Grant

Posted Sunday, August 12, 2018 by PA

Charlton manager Lee Bowyer believes late goal hero Karlan Grant improved under the guidance of his old Leeds team-mate Harry Kewell.

Grant scored a dramatic 90th minute winner to secure Charlton all three points in a 2-1 Valley success over Shrewsbury, the side who beat the Addicks in last season’s play-off semi-finals.

The 20-year-old Grant was not involved in those games because he spent the second half of the season on loan at Kewell’s Crawley.

But Grant was perfectly placed to head in a late, late winner after Lyle Taylor’s 62nd minute opener had been cancelled out by Shrews substitute Lenell John-Lewis.

Bowyer said: “This season is a great opportunity for Karlan. He went away with Crawley last year.

“I told Harry Kewell to take him because I knew what potential he has got. Sometimes you have to take a step backwards to take a step forward again.

“To have Harry, who is obviously the best winger I ever played with, to be teaching him and guiding him was probably the best thing that has happened to Karlan in a long time.

“Now his confidence is back and I’m showing belief in him which is making him think, ‘You know what, this is my chance’.

“I tell him all the time how good he is and how good he can be. That’s what you’ve got to do – sometimes you have to tell them.

“If they have a dip they can think negative things about themselves when they shouldn’t.

“Everyone has a dip. There isn’t a player in the world who hasn’t had a dip but you just keep working hard and make it change for yourself.

“That is what Karlan is doing now.”

Shrewsbury boss John Askey admitted Grant’s late intervention was hard to take and felt his side deserved a share of the spoils.

He said: “I thought we played well throughout. Obviously coming here it is not an easy place to come.

“To go a goal down and then come back I thought if any team was going to win at that stage it was going to be ourselves.

“But obviously with the front two Charlton have got they can make the difference and they did today.

“From our point of view it was a disappointing end to the game.

“We had one or two chances as well. If you take your chances early on and go one up then it can be a completely different game.

“We didn’t do that but to get back in the game late on at one each you think you have just got to kill the game off now. A draw would definitely have been a fair result.”