Bowyer on Brighton: "To play against a Premier League side and hold your own – I think there are a lot of positives from tonight"

Charlton manager Lee Bowyer was pleased with his side’s improving performance in their 1-1 home draw against Brighton & Hove Albion.

Naby Sarr score a late equaliser at The Valley after Pascal Gross had put the Premier League outfit ahead.

Speaking after the game Bowyer said: “They are a very good Brighton side. I don’t think they were missing much from when they play in the Premier League. I thought we started slowly, looked a bit nervy at times, once we figured out how they played we stopped them playing towards the end of the first half and then especially in the second half. 

“These top teams they move the ball quickly and that’s what we try and get our boys to do and in training they do it a lot. I think first half we didn’t move it how we can when we did win the ball back but the most important thing is that they learnt and second half I think we were a lot better. We won the ball higher up the pitch and we kept the ball better and moved it quicker. Overall we’re happy. The most important thing is a lot of players got 90 minutes under their belt, that was the main aim. 

“They (the Charlton players) should hold their heads up high. To play against a Premier League side and hold your own – I think there are a lot of positives from tonight.”

The Charlton manager once again played a variety of Addicks youngsters including Albie Morgan, George Lapslie, Taylor Maloney, Kenneth Yao and Jamie Mascoll. While he said he didn’t think they were quite ready to play regular first team football he was once again very impressed with the group and pleased with the improvement they’ve been making.

Speaking about Lapslie he said: “I think George did well. He was getting the ball and receiving it on the half turn. These are the small details, for me he wasn’t doing that before pre-season but now he’s doing that. He’s getting it on the half turn, he’s playing it around the corner, he’s getting it on the side. These are all things that are going to make him a better player. He’s improved so much, they all have. All them young lads that have been with us since pre-season, they’ve all improved so much already in a short space of time. It wouldn’t be fair to chuck them in now because they aren’t ready. They’ll play in the cup games for sure.”

The manager was also impressed with Morgan’s determination in chasing down a tackle in the first half. He said: “You can’t knock him for that he wants to put his body on the line, he wants to make a statement ‘I want to fight for you’. I’m not going to knock a kid for that, I was the same. He’s done very well in pre-season Albie, he’s been outstanding.” 

Bowyer's full interview will be available on Valley Pass shortly.

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