Charlton Athletic 1-0 Birmingham City: FLW report as Matty Godden helps Addicks to statement win v League One leaders | OneFootball

FLW report live from The Valley

Matty Godden's second-half strike helped Charlton Athletic end a three-match winless run by beating League One leaders Birmingham City 1-0 at The Valley as they snapped Blues' seven-game winning streak in the league.

Godden was brought in as a replacement for Alfie May, who joined Birmingham in the summer, and his smart finish ensured that the striker's return to SE7 ended in disappointment as the Addicks outplayed the heavy title favourites to lay down a marker about their promotion ambitions.

Nathan Jones has come in for some criticism during Charlton's recent barren run but he outthought highly-rated Blues boss Chris Davies with a shift to a back four and midfield diamond helping the hosts boss proceedings in South East London.

They've moved to eighth as a result, only outside the play-offs on goal difference, while Birmingham have seen their lead at the top of the League One table cut to two points by Wrexham.

Charlton Athletic 1-0 Birmingham City

Much of the focus ahead of kick-off was on May's return to The Valley but it was one of his replacements, Godden that came closest to finding the net in the opening exchanges.

Another former Addick, Krystian Bielik, lost a foot race to Daniel Kanu as the young striker burst in behind to collect fellow academy product Karoy Anderson's through ball. Kanu's first cross was blocked but his second found Godden, who couldn't keep his twisting effort down.

The hosts troubled the League One leaders early on – looking more like promotion rivals than a side that had lost three on the bounce – though Blues were not without opportunities of their own. A string of corners and a well-worked training ground move saw Alex Cochrane's edge-of-the-box strike deflected just wide, much to the relief of a motionless Will Mannion.

Jones' shift to a back four and a midfield diamond looked like a masterstroke as the half-hour mark came and went. The Addicks limited the visitors to almost nothing and looked bright themselves.

Against a team as strong as Birmingham and with the firepower on their bench, capitalising on dominant periods is vital and Charlton let chances go begging before the break.

Allan Campbell recovered possession high up and then pushed a long-range shot just wide of a diving Ryan Allsop and the upright but it was Kanu that should've really found the net in the final stages of the half.

The 19-year-old stretched to connect with Conor Coventry's curling cross and put his close-range volley off target before latching onto a loose defensive pass and rounding the keeper, only to slide an effort along the goalline from a tight angle when teeing up a wide-open Karoy Anderson would have surely guaranteed an opener.

Kanu was gifted a chance for redemption deep into the four minutes of stoppage time when Allsop passed the ball right to him but the Charlton striker's loose first touch allowed the keeper to recover and Blues were let off the hook again.

Changes were needed and Davies willingly obliged – with Ben Davies, Scott Wright, and Emil Hansson replacing Bielik, Keshi Anderson, and May. The latter cheered off by the home fans after an underwhelming performance on his return to South East London.

Birmingham looked much sharper as a result and began to build momentum, only for their hosts to finally land their key punch nine minutes into the second half.

A throw-in that Kanu had battled hard to win was launched into the box by Josh Edwards. Birmingham indecision allowed it to bounce through to Godden, who found the bottom corner with a brilliant swiveled finish.

Blues have shown resilience in the face of setbacks this term, coming from behind against a number of the third tier's top teams, but Davies' side struggled to rally and it was Charlton that continued to enjoy more of the possession and territory after the opener.

But while Hansson's 25-yarder, which flew high into the Jimmy Seed Stand, was all Birmingham had mustered in terms of a response as we entered the final 10 minutes, the nervy atmosphere inside The Valley was a reminder that the visitors did have the quality in their ranks to turn the tables quickly and the home fans knew it.

Blues cranked up the pressure as the final whistle approached, Wright creating space for a shot only to find a red shirt in the way, and were given a boost by five minutes added on but their equaliser never came.

A statement victory for Charlton, who have shown that the heavy favourites for promotion are indeed mortal and that they have Championship ambitions of their own.

Charlton Athletic player ratings

Will Mannion - 6

Kayne Ramsey - 8

Alex Mitchell - 8

Lloyd Jones - 8

Josh Edwards - 7 (Thierry Small (86) - 6)

Greg Docherty - 7

Conor Coventry - 8

Karoy Edwards - 6

Allan Campbell - 6

Daniel Kanu - 7 (Tyreece Campbell (63) - 7)

Matty Godden - 8 (Chuks Aneke (73) - 6)

Unused subs: Ashley Maynard-Brewer, Luke Berry, Miles Leaburn, Rarmani Edmonds-Green,

Birmingham City player ratings

Ryan Allsop - 5

Christoph Klarer - 7

Krystian Bielik - 6 (Ben Davies (46) - 6)

Alex Cochrane - 6

Taylor Gardner-Hickman - 6 (Alfons Samsted (75) - 6)

Paik Seung-Ho - 5

Tomoki Iwata - 5

Willum Willumsson - 5 (60) - Lyndon Dykes (61) - 5)

Jay Stansfield - 5

Keshi Anderson - 6 (Scott Wright (46) - 6)

Alfie May - 5 (Emil Hansson (46) - 6)

Unused subs: Bailey Peacock-Farrell, Marc Leonard,

Attendance

The attendance at The Valley for Charlton Athletic v Birmingham City was 16,250.

That includes 3,155 travelling Blues fans.

Nathan Jones' post-match reaction

Speaking to the press after the game, Jones said: "They're a wonderful side, well coached, well managed. Yep, they spent a hell of a lot of money but you still have to coach it, you still have to put it in a shape and they're a very good side.

"Today, I thought we were outstanding from start to finish. To nullify all the threats that they have, to be as aggressive as we were, and to be fair we had all the best chances. We should've been at least one up at halftime and it was tighter than it needed to be because of that."

He added: "There's been a lot of noise this week. I got abused by my own fans the other day, absolutely abused by my own fans. Questioned things about our selection, he should be playing, they should be playing.

"What we had to do is go down and make big, bold and sane decisions, and we did so I'm really proud of the group today. I'm really proud of the coaching staff because we didn't panic. We made bold decisions because no one has gone after Birmingham like we did there. And we got our just results.

"I'm experienced enough to know that you can't panic, you can't listen to noise. A message to the fans, if you want to get behind something then get behind something, we're going to have some bad performances now and again but we've given them more good than bad at the moment so we've got credit in the bank."

Chris Davies' post-match reaction

"I thought we weren't at our normal level," Davies told the press after the game. "We lacked a bit of our normal level, zip, and fluency throughout.

"The three games in eight days caught up with us and we suffered a bit but Charlton also had that so it's not an excuse. From our point of view, we had an element of control in terms of possession but could never convert that into meaningful chances or dangerous situations and in the end, you leave yourself open to a sucker punch with a setpiece or a moment."

He added: "This is a very difficult league and if you think you're better than League One, or anyone does, then it can be a real challenge."

"There's no doubt in my mind that there are multiple teams in this league that are well-equipped to be successful. It's not Birmingham City and the rest, it's League One."