Blackburn v Charlton | Sat 03 Aug 2019 | POST-MATCH VIEWS

Watched on a stream.

Bowyer is right once again.
The players give 100% and they are winners.
Nobody showed it as much as Pearce today, a captains and a leaders performance. He was totally total.
Blackburn were all over us to begin with (like the first 70 minutes with a five minute Charlton interlude!), but we would not throw in the towel whatever any individual performance was like, our players, and especially our travelling support, were simply not prepared to surrender.
I have no idea of the stats, but Blackburn had not that many actual attempts on goal, indeed we obligingly scored one for them, when we attacked I think they underestimated what we could squeeze out of ourselves. 
We were away from home, newly promoted playing a team with ability, certainly better adjusted to the Championship, but we got three lovely points. 
I actually don't see it as smash and grab so much as deployment of scant resources to do the best we can, and we have some players who can do a little bit. We got carded, and wasted time when we could, but what team in our situation wouldn't? The best team might not have won it, but the team who won it deserved to win if you follow my logic.
Any player who we might be critical of, won't deserve any criticism because of attitude whatever else anybody might say.
Phillips was good, had a wonderful presence, and it is sometimes as if we fans suck the nervousness out of him to leave him with a zen like calm during matches.
Djiksteel was tested and tested by their wide guy, who eventually switched to have a go at Purrington before being substituted. The attacking defender was also a threat down Djiksteels side, but eventually he prevailed. he was well backed up by Lockyer, now Lockyer is not hot on distribution as we saw, but he knows a bit about actually defending and stopping things and he did that well.
Sarr was not on it today, his mistake led eventually to Blackburn scoring, when he had a chance to left foot it forward to Purrington he was often too cautious which the Blackburn players sniffed out and caused him to be too uncertain. Purrington was of course a seven, with extra for the goal. Our guy now and he gives it all he can.
This brings me on to Pearce. At times he was stopping Blackburn on his own, colossal defending, fantastic and inspirational example to the others, experience aplenty, simply wonderful, a proper proper captains showing.
In midfield we essentially huffed and puffed. However each midfielder made valuable contributions from time to time, and unforced errors early in the game became less and less. For all the fragility of the midfield I believe Bowyer set them up to not become ruined, but to make the most of what they had. Williams helped with Purringtons goal, Lapslie worked like a Trojan, as did Pratley, and JFC was able to show a little bit of footballing class on occasion.
As a lone front man Taylor did all he could, and flicked in a great header won by Pearce from a corner, absolutely no criticism due to Lyle, still proved to be talismanic today.
Conor showed a bit of promise, we shall see eh?
I never in a million years saw that coming today, but it wasn't luck, it was harvesting what remains of the positives from last season and putting it to good use.