Charlton 2-2 Bolton: Karel Fraeye and Neil Lennon reaction
Wednesday 16 December 2015 10:15, UK
Karel Fraeye criticised his Charlton team for squandering a two-goal lead in their "useless" 2-2 Sky Bet Championship draw against Bolton.
The promising Ademola Lookman scored the Addicks' first goal after only 25 seconds before adding a second against the division's bottom-placed team in the 26th minute.
Bolton, who have won only once in the league all term, were unable to pay their players in November after falling £172.9million into debt, and face a winding-up petition from HM Revenue and Customs.
But, instead of pushing home their advantage, Fraeye's side let their demoralised opponents off the hook as goals from Emile Heskey and Josh Vela secured a valuable draw for the visitors.
The result saw Charlton slip into the bottom three, leaving their interim head coach "angry" at his side's latest failure to win.
"A point against Bolton at home is useless," said Fraeye, whose struggling team have gone four games without victory. "We played good football up to 32 minutes.
"Maybe (my players) were over-confident and we forgot how we managed to get to 2-0 by playing football. And we got punished. We had 45 minutes to try and play our football at home and we couldn't.
"I am not disappointed - I am angry. When we play Bolton at home, it is up to us to dictate the play. We can't be happy with what we did on the ball."
Heskey's close-range goal, when Charlton had appeared under little threat, proved the catalyst for Bolton's comeback and his manager, Neil Lennon, praised his contribution despite a belief his team should have won.
"I'm disappointed we didn't take all three (points) but I'm very, very pleased with the character and the quality that the team showed," he said.
"At 2-0 you're looking down the barrel of a gun with the situation that we're in, and they played their way out of it, scored two excellent goals, and really were the stronger team as the game went on.
"It's just how long we can keep (Heskey) going. If he keeps playing like that then he's still making a valuable contribution. It's not just his play, it's his influence around the place as well. We asked a big performance of him and we certainly got that.
"He's 38 (in January), and it's difficult for him with the rigours of the Championship at this time of his career but he still has plenty to offer. And he's Emile Heskey, he's a great role model for younger players and players in the dressing room."
