Set-piece goals cost us against Millwall, says Lee Bowyer

Having come on five minutes earlier, the striker rose above Naby Sarr to head home Jed Wallace’s cross at the back post in the first minute of injury time.

Charlton had equaliser six minutes into the second half through Jonathan Leko, after Shaun Hutchinson handed Millwall a dream start, but ended up coming away from The Den empty handed.

Bowyer said: “I don't know how we went in at half-time behind. Once we equalised I thought, 'Here we go, we're going to go on and win the game,' because we were better than them.

“When we were moving the ball we were creating a lot of problems for them. But we then stopped passing the ball once we equalised and it became a bit more of an even game.

“I still felt we'd go on and win the game and, in the end, we end up losing and get nothing. I'd have been disappointed with a point. I was saying to Jacko [Johnnie Jackson, Charlton's assistant manager] we can't afford to not win this game.

“For me, I thought we were the better side. Maybe I'm biased, but this is what I'm watching. I'm watching us playing the way we're playing, but to come away with nothing is so disappointing.

“I can't express how disappointed I am.”

Asked about whether Sarr was potentially fouled during the late winner, Bowyer dismissed the suggestion and expressed further frustration with the result.

He added: “He [Smith] wanted to win the ball more. Someone asked me [if I thought it was a foul on Sarr, I said] no. I think he was just more hungry to win the ball.

“Again, we've lost this game on two set-pieces. Defending set-pieces is easy, I think, because you just make sure your man doesn't score. That's it. It's simple, no?

“But, for some reason, their man wanted to score more than our man wanted to defend. That's what's cost us today, two set-pieces, and obviously their goalie [Bartosz Bialkowski] played really well.

“But to come away with nothing is ridiculous.”