Skipper Jason Pearce was the difference in Tuesday’s win over Wycombe Wanderers and the captain himself has been patiently waiting to get back in the squad properly after Naby Sarr’s recent performances so it’s understandable why he has been left out, but when he is called upon to put in a good performance you can always count on him.
Lee Bowyer was once again speaking with the News Shopper about Jason Pearce and here’s what he had to say…
“I knew how they were going to play, I can’t play Jonny, or Reeves here, they’d get run over the top of. No disrespect to them, but they’re good at other stuff.”
“That’s why I say our recruitment was so good in the summer because we can say ‘you step aside, you step in. Everyone came in and did well. We haven’t much opportunity to do that because of injuries, but now we’ve got players back we can do that and we’re showing it with results that when we are all fit, we are good.”
Lee certainly does make some good decisions and the decision to rest Williams and Reeves was a great one as we came out 1-0 winners.
Bowyer continued
“The big fella up front is a handful, you can’t get around him, he’s so strong. Yesterday when I decided to change it, I said to the staff that this was a game made for the likes of him, Pratley and Lapslie.”
“They love battles and they had to beat it for 90-plus minutes. Pearcey defended like a lion and then popped up with the goal as well I brought him in for physicality, but to step up and score I’m over the moon for him because Naby has been outstanding. He’s my leader and captain, but he knows the rules and he knows he needs to be ready when I need him.”
Charlton certainly did need to put out a side that is strong in their physicality and Bowyer did just that and he did it with perfection. It can be hard to foresee how a team is going to play, but then again maybe it’s easy to see how Wycombe are going to play and maybe that’s why they have now lost five on the bounce.
Now we look ahead to Luton maybe they are not so easy to read, maybe that’s why they have been unbeaten since October which is a hell of a long time to go unbeaten for. Now Bowyer and his team have got a huge job on their hands.
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