The Addicks’ unbeaten run suffered a major blow as they lost 2-1 against Birmingham City, as Kwame Kufuor reports.
Jason Euell experienced his first defeat in charge of the Charlton U21s since his return, as they lost 2-1 to Birmingham City in their Professional Development League 2 South at the Valley.
Despite taking the lead through Joe Aribo, goals from Jack Storer and Wes Harding put an end to the home side’s fine run.
The Addicks were first to come out of their blocks, putting Birmingham City defence under tremendous pressure.
Lead
It paid off in the fourth minute, when Josh Umerah’s pass found Brandan Hanlan inside the Blues penalty area.
He took a quick touch and squared it to Aribo, who unleashed a shot and gave the Addicks a well-deserved lead.
Euell’s side nearly doubled their advantage straight after. Once again Hanlan had his hand in it when he managed to find a space inside the Blues defence after picking up a pass from Aaron Barnes, only to see Emmanuel Mbende recover to clear his lines.
Birmingham City rallied, showing glimpses of their good run of form. They were unbeaten in their last four matches, winning three and losing one in February.
The Blues started to put a string of passes together, and Charles Cooper spread the ball wide towards the overlapping Harding.
Denied
He used his strength and pace to out muscle Archie Edwards before picking out Storer with a beautiful cross. Storer outjumped Ayo Obileye to head in the Blues equalizer.
Charlton soon responded and came close to taking the lead again only to see Karlan Ahearne-Grant denied by a Jake Weaver save just before the break.
The Addicks’ continued from where they left off in the second half, with Edwards laying a beautiful pass at the feet of Zak Ansah who used Umerah as a decoy to get his shot away but only into the hands of Weaver.
The home team came close again when Hanlan, was put through by Aribo, but he froze, mistakenly thinking he was offside as the linesman’s flag stayed down.
With the game entering into it closing stages, it was the visitors who looked more like a team that wanted to win, judging by their determination to get the ball back every time they lost it.
Their hard work paid off when Cooper’s long ball caused problems for the Addicks defence. Cooper forced a save from Beeney, who parried the ball back into the path of Cooper who in turn sent a long ball back into the Charlton penalty area.
The Addicks’ defence failed to deal with the long ball, which luckily fell at the feet of Harding. He forced it in from close range to put Birmingham City ahead, bringing Charlton U21s’ unbeaten’s 23-game streak to an end.