'Better side' - Nathan Jones praises defensive efforts after Portsmouth draw

Charlton Athletic produced an excellent defensive display to send league leaders Portsmouth home with just one point. The Valley may not have seen the most explosive match to date, with neither team finding the back of the net, but it was a valuable draw that showed Nathan Jones’ side can once again go neck and neck with the league’s very best. 

Daniel Kanu did his best to send the Addicks fans wild but no attempt could get past Portsmouth’s Will Norris with Kanu’s first offer hitting the goal post within the opening ten minutes.

However, it was not to be and despite an increasingly frantic match, which saw end-to-end action, the 90+7 minutes of football ended 0-0. 

Speaking after the match, Nathan Jones was full of praise for his team’s defensive display and said: “(Portsmouth) are top of the league. Scoring at will against most sides so for us to put in that level of performance and keep a clean sheet, I’m especially pleased with the second half performances. It shows we’ve taken a step in the right direction.” 

This is now the third draw in as many games for Jones and he commented: “We’ve come against some big sides now.  We went toe to toe with Bolton, we went toe-to-toe with Pompey today. I saw lots of what I wanted to see from my team and apart from a little bit of quality in the final third, I thought it was an excellent performance.”

Substitute Macaulay Gillesphey managed a phenomenal last minute tackle to deny Portsmouth an opportunity at scoring in what could have been an open goal scenario. Taking place in the dying moments of the game, Jones admitted that while it was a “wonderful tackle. It would have been a travesty if we’d ended up losing in that manner right at the end.”  

“We set standards. We don’t think we’ve cracked it in any way but it’s relaying a foundation where we can defend well, keep clean sheets and we have to make sure that we then score at the other end. It’s a positive point, positive performance, we’ve gone toe-to-toe with the leaders of the league. They’re a good side.

“We’ve come up against two of the best sides of the league. Lincoln are a really good side - we should have won that game, we should have won it comfortably but we didn’t. We’re not demonstrating that quality in the final third but we’ve gone three unbeaten now. We want to win games but there's a foundation getting laid and now it’s just constant work about picking the right team so we 1) get that aggressiveness, 2) get that foundation 3) can open up the team and win games.

“I thought we were the better side in the second half. I thought we had good situations without really showing the quality. Every time we showed an ounce of quality we had a chance. We put a few balls in the box but I want there to be 20 balls going in with quality so we create chances so if we miss one there's one coming up. 

"But we’ve got that defensive stability so we’re building on that. Then, we can start adding quality and creating chances and winning games.”

Centre-back Lloyd Jones, however, received his tenth booking of the season and Jones will now be without his services next time out. However, this has not fazed the ex-Southampton boss who said: “It just gives someone else a chance. We’ve got the cover. He’s been silly because he's picked it up for dissent so we will deal with that. 

“The thing about defenders is when they make a mistake, it costs and that gets highlighted and so on. A centre-forward can mis-control the ball and it does not lead to anything. But when something happens with a goalkeeper or defending then it's alarming. 

“I signed Lloyd from Luton. Provide competition. I know what he can do. It’s just about getting everyone to play to the maximum. There’s other people that have played regularly that maybe haven’t played at the minute that will be. 

“But I have to find the balance 1) athleticism, 2) defensive solidity and also pick a team that can open up teams and that’s taking a little bit of time."

Two characters, however, were full of all Jones has been looking for and the Addicks boss has praised the fervour deep within the squad: “We’ve got so much character (in the squad). You’ve only got to look at the young boys, Karoy Anderson and Kanu and they’re defying their age, and leading by example And that’s brilliant.”