Fowler is denied a final spot of glory

Head bowed after one of the most frustrating of his 369 appearances for his home club, Fowler, nicknamed God' by Liverpool fans, paused only to acknowledge the ovation from all corners of the ground as he made way for 88thminute substitute Peter Crouch, with his side trailing 2-1.

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Within 90 seconds of taking his seat behind manager Rafa Benitez, he could only look on in dismay as referee Dermot Gallagher saw a flailing hand make contact with Steven Gerrard's corner and pointed to the spot.

The decision was greeted with a chorus of "Send on Fowler" from Kop patrons behind Charlton's debutant keeper Darren Randolph's goal, but to no avail.

With Fowler gone, it was left to the forgotten Harry Kewell to spare Liverpool blushes as he squeezed the penalty past Randolph's right hand to salvage a point Liverpool scarcely deserved. As the cameras panned around to the Liverpool bench, Fowler contented himself with a rueful smile, reflecting no doubt on how his expertise from the spot could so easily have brought his glittering Anfield career to a fairytale finish.

Any sense of despair soon lifted, though, as Liverpool's players went on a lap of honour before leaving the stage clear for Fowler to take one final, emotional bow in front of a rapturous Kop.

Benitez made no attempt to try and talk his way out of a strategic blunder over Fowler's withdrawal as he said: "I'm afraid my timing was not the best. I could have waited a bit longer and wish I had, but I just wanted to be sure he had an ovation all to himself before the game ended. If only I had waited a moment or two, Robbie would have scored in front of the Kop and it would have been perfect. It was good luck for us that we got the penalty but bad luck for Robbie that he wasn't still out there."

Benitez was scathing about a lacklustre performance that came within seconds of sending Liverpool into the Champions League Final on the back of their worst sequence of Premiership results this season.

Already defeated at Fulham and Portsmouth, they would have lost three in a row for the first time but for Madjid Bougherra inexplicably raising an arm at Gerrard's corner and giving the rejuvenated Kewell the chance to end impressive youngster Randolph's defiance.

"I was surprised by my team more than I was by Charlton," he said. "We made a lot of mistakes and whether our minds were on the final or not, a lot of big names were not on their game. At least we saw the fantastic side of Harry Kewell and he could be an option on the bench against AC Milan."

In contrast to Randolph, Italy Under-21 keeper Daniele Padelli suffered a torrid time on his Liverpool debut but was hardly helped by a slipshod approach that was apparent as early as the second minute, when Javier Mascherano rolled a careless pass into the path of Darren Bent.

Zheng Zhi was quickly released down the right and when Liverpool's defence failed to deal with the forward's low cross, Matt Holland sent a mishit shot spinning past the wrong-footed Padelli.

It was supposed to be Fowler's day, but relegated Charlton would have been the ones bidding a triumphant farewell had they made more of some gilt-edged chances.

Darren Ambrose miskicked with the goal at his mercy in the 15th minute and, as Charlton increasingly sensed an upset, Bent was thwarted by a goalline clearance from Steve Finnan on the half-hour.

Kewell's 57th-minute introduction at least brought some urgency to a Liverpool side otherwise bereft of ideas and his deep cross led to a 62nd-minute equaliser as Dirk Kuyt headed back for Xabi Alonso to force home.

Padelli's discomfort was more apparent than ever in the 72nd minute as he misjudged a Ben Thatcher drive and was left helpless as it rebounded off his ankle for the lurking Bent to restore Charlton's advantage.

Kewell crashed a first-time shot against the bar and then brought the best out of the agile Randolph. Liverpool's fit-again Aussie finally found a way past the 20-year old stand-in keeper from the spot.

Alan Pardew had cause for optimism after the game. "We are going to be a big scalp in the Championship, but we have shown our fans that we have every reason for approaching next season with plenty of hope," he said.

Before the match, around 100 Liverpool fans staged a demonstration voicing their anger at the club's allocation of 17,000 tickets for Athens.