CHARLTON boss Chris Powell admitted he was close to despair after the Addicks’ poor Valley form continued with defeat to Millwall this lunchtime.

Second half goals from Jermaine Easter and Shane Lowry mean it is now nine Championship losses in SE7 so far this season and the manager was clearly annoyed afterwards.

Powell said: “I’m mystified by it to be honest.

“I’m baffled, a bit embarrassed for my players and for my supporters because we’ve tried everything with regards to performing at home.

“You saw today and we’re in the game, a good first half, we stood toe-to-toe and then we have a chance where it possibly could have been a penalty claim with Yann Kermorgant.

“We missed it and within a minute we are a goal down.

“You just feel that things go against you because of course goals change games and we are then chasing it.

“It was an outstanding goal by Shane Lowry and then we end up losing when you think we are totally in the game, we are creating the better chances and it has just turned on us again.

“But of course you’ve got to take the chances that come your way and it didn’t happen through good defending or goalkeeping or us not hitting the target.

“We’ve just got to soldier on.

“I kind of look at our away form and feel I’d take two or three of those away wins and just put them at home because it would just make it look easier on the eye as such because it has been outstanding away.

“Can I take any positives from today? Well, up until the first goal I can but then after that it is a tough nut to crack when they are defending deep and then you are chasing it, it just doesn’t fall our way again.”

Powell was then asked by a reporter if he was disappointed by the lack of urgency from his side after Lowry struck Millwall’s second goal from a long range free-kick with 26 minutes plus stoppage time still to play.

The Valley manager responded: “When you are 2-0 down it is very easy to say urgency or whatever because if you are the team that’s in front you slow it down, you take your time on goal-kicks, on throw ins and it is out of your hands.

“Unless you’ve got control of the game, control of the ball, it is out of your hands so you are talking about lack of urgency, I don’t think so.

“I think it is just you are 2-0 down and maybe mentally thinking ‘here we go again’.

“That’s the way it has been for us at home and we’ve got to do our best to turn it around and get something from our home form.

“It still won’t change much with regards to the defeats because they’ve happened, but we have eight to go, we have four here and we’ve just got to do our best to get as many points as we can.

“I would love them to be here but if it doesn’t happen, like we’ve done recently we will have to get them away.”

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