Talking points from Charlton 0 Birmingham 1 – Creativity still needs work as underlined in EFL Cup exit

Charlton Athletic exited the EFL Cup on Tuesday night after a 1-0 loss to fellow League One outfit Birmingham City at The Valley.

Here are Louis Mendez’s talking points from the match.

STRONG OPPOSITION AND A NARROW DEFEAT

Charlton came out of the traps quickly against their big-spending visitors but wasted a glorious opportunity to edge ahead when Tyreece Campbell missed from the spot after being tripped by Tyler Roberts.

The Addicks’ high-energy and encouraging start did fade and was fully extinguished when Brandon Khela broke the deadlock from range to grab his first goal for Birmingham just after the half-hour.

The Addicks were always in the game but struggled to make that step up through the gears to find a leveller.

Dion Sanderson’s dismissal after he earned a second yellow card 12 minutes from time threatened to turn the tide back in the South Londoners’ favour but they couldn’t take advantage – with Greg Docherty off target with their biggest opening in added-time.

MORE CREATIVITY NEEDED

Charlton fans were concerned before the season started that there may not be enough creativity in the side. Those worries are yet to be alleviated.

Despite the bright start, they only forced one shot on target against the Blues and didn’t really build on the penalty and openings that came for Luke Berry early on.

The Addicks look to force opposition into mistakes in their own half with an aggressive high press which, in itself, will help to carve out chances. But when coming forward in possession, we’re yet to see who the architect for the Addicks will be when they’re in the opposition half.

Maybe we will learn more as the team continues to gel, and the likes of Matty Godden are back in the fold, but it’s an area that requires development.

RESTRICTING BIRMINGHAM
One aspect that will encourage boss Nathan Jones is that it took a strike of exceptional quality to score against his backline.

Chris Davies’ Blues are expected to dominate League One this season and still had plenty of attacking talent on show, despite making eight changes from their draw against Reading at the weekend.

They carried a threat but Charlton’s defence put bodies in the way when needed and they didn’t crumble like they sometimes have done in previous years.

QUALITY RUNS DEEPER

One thing that did stand out was that despite Jones making five changes there was nobody in his side that would have looked out of place if they were starting the league game with Leyton Orient tomorrow.

There are some interesting battles for positions in that side. Berry had a lively spell in the opening exchanges. Thierry Small and Josh Edwards are vying for the left wing-back berth with the latter ahead in the race so far.

Rarmani Edmonds-Green slotted into the defence well on Tuesday.

In previous years, any deviation from the first-choice 11 considerably weakened the Addicks. This year, there looks to be a much better spread of ability so that any changes should not affect the quality too significantly.