Charlton boss full of praise for Dons

Charlton manager Lee Bowyer was very complimentary of MK Dons after losing 1-0 at The Valley on Wednesday night.

Scott Fraser scored the only goal of a thrilling encounter with 15 minutes to go, and it was nothing less than they deserved, having had the better of the game all evening.

Bowyer said: “It was a tough night. Everything we set out to do first half it worked – we knew they were going to play out riskily from the back, we knew we were going to win it and we knew we had to take care of that last little pass.

“First half we kept messing up on that last pass and last cross when we won the ball back in their half.

“The second half could’ve gone either way. Just before they scored we could’ve scored. Everything that we work on – our finishing – none of that happened. When we got the chances, we haven’t done the right thing.

“They looked sharper than us. That’s something we’ll have to discuss and I’ve discussed in there [the dressing room] because they played on Sunday and we played on Saturday. That makes absolutely no sense to me.

“It’s disappointing because we could have gone top two and being at home – everyone would’ve expected us to win. But I said all along that these aren’t a bad side. Yeah, they take risks at times but if they beat the press then they’ve got people who can hurt you up top. The number 10, Fraser, is a very good player. Cameron Jerome is still a very good player. The other striker (Carlton Morris) alongside him, another good player.

“They are no mugs but when they do lose games is when they get caught out with that high press – people win it and then they score. If we’d done it properly first half then we could’ve been a couple up. But we didn’t pass the ball well at all tonight. Frustrating night.”