Nathan Jones: Charlton Athletic lacked spark during defeat at Birmingham City
Charlton boss Nathan Jones admitted his side lacked a bit of spark during the 1-0 loss at Birmingham City.
The result meant a first defeat in seven for the South Londoners who drop out of the League One play-off places into seventh.
Blues had the lead midway through the first-period. Conor Coventry looked to see the ball out near halfway but wasn’t alive to the attention of Jay Stansfield – the former Fulham man able to nick the ball and drive towards the area before unleashing an impressive strike into the top corner.
Charlton enjoyed more territory in the second-half but were unable to muster a clearcut opportunity to get level.
Jones said: “It took an error to cost us. There wasn’t much in the game. We lacked a little bit of sharpness today. It’s the third game in a week, they’ve given everything.
“Coming to the league leaders we knew we needed to be at our best and we probably weren’t today. They paid us massive respect because they’re normally a fluid side, but they were very direct today. They went into front to bypass the press.
“A little bit disappointed with our performance but they’ve given me absolutely everything. It’s the third game in a week and we just lacked a little bit of bite. Our midfield wasn’t that it today.
“We lacked a little bit of a spark and then late on we were kind of naive because they ran the last 10, 12 minutes down without really having to do anything. That was a disappointment for us.
“They are good defensively but they’re a good side. They’ve got a top six championship budget. They’re well-coached, they’ve got good players, so they are difficult but we, you know, with the young side went after them.
“We were brave, we were bold. I love watching, you know, what we do and the honesty we showed but the honesty late on we just probably needed a bit more guile, a little bit more cleverness to create that clear-cut chance and so we didn’t. It just showed today that we were probably lacking a little bit of spark because we’ve been excellent but today we just weren’t and we needed to be at our best today.
“We’ve just got to clear that [for the goal]. We’ve got to deal with that first when they run and then he shoots and scores from outside the box. It’s a decent finish.
“A couple could have done better with it but it’s just one of those things. You can’t give quality players, I mean, £20 million so anyone else on the pitch might not have taken the chance but if that’s the margins between us and these then we’re not in a bad place.”
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