CHARLTON Athletic boss Lee Bowyer felt his side’s 1-1 draw against Southend United was ‘tough to take’ at the Valley.

Blues played more than an hour with 10 men following Dru Yearwood’s dismissal midway through the first half.

But Charlton were unable to make their extra man count and were ultimately forced to settle for a share of the spoils, much to the frustration of Bowyer.

“It’s tough to take,” said a dejected Bowyer, whose side have now gone three games without a win.

“We got into the final third so many times but our balls into the box were not good enough.

“The two wide men, their end product wasn’t good enough.

“Their keeper made two or three very good saves but we have to do better.

“It’s so frustrating.

“We’re close but we can’t keep dropping points like that.

“It’s two games on the spin now and it’s two points dropped.

“We were miles better than them.”

However, Bowyer also felt Blues going down to 10 men made it tougher for the promotion pushing Addicks who found it hard to create clear cut chances.

“If anything them getting a man sent-off probably made it harder for us,” said Bowyer.

“In the first 10 to 15 minutes we were very good.

“But they got a goal from nowhere against the run of play with a deflection.

“We got back into it with an equaliser but weren’t able to get a winner after that.”

The draw leaves Charlton sitting fifth in the League One standings, seven points below the automatic promotion places.