Charlton Athletic tell League One rivals how to beat Birmingham City after Nathan Jones masterclass

Charlton Athletic became the first team in League One to beat high-flying Birmingham City at the weekend with a confident 1-0 win at The Valley.

That triumph came days after Blues captain Krystian Bielik claimed his side were 'too good' for League One, a quote which both Nathan Jones and striker Matty Godden admitted had spurred on the Addicks' dominant display.

Speaking after the match, Godden praised the London side and how they executed Nathan Jones' plan against their top-of-the-table opposition.

Charlton Athletic switched to four at the back and a box midfield, which was a bold choice from the Welsh manager, but paid dividends. The Blues were caught out on the ball from the off by a high Charlton press.

League One rivals can learn lesson from Nathan Jones masterclass

Godden reflected on those tactics after the match, which League One rivals may want to take note of ahead of facing Birmingham City - Lincoln City and Bolton Wanderers are next up in the division for Chris Davies' men.

Godden said: "It's been a tough 10 days for the football club, fans, players, everyone. To play how we did today and beat the league leaders in the way we did was really enjoyable.

"We worked really hard. We were on it and the gaffer was drilling into us this is what we need to do. From minute one, we got the press right and limited them to not a lot. I can't really remember a clear-cut chance that they had. We have to put it on us that we were really good out of possession and in possession, we were a lot more controlled than we have been and got our rewards.

"You get teams in every division trying to have a go and do what they're doing, you ignore the noise around it and concentrate on what you need to do. If you look at our squad, we should be up there. We believe in ourselves and what the gaffer wants to do here."

‘Worked really well’ - Charlton Athletic deploy box midfield

Jones deployed Conor Coventry, Greg Docherty, Karoy Anderson and Allan Campbell in the midfield box at the weekend. Godden was partnered by the high-energy Daniel Kanu up front.

Reflecting on that tactical change, Godden added: "It worked really well. That's what I played at Coventry but was up there on my own. It was slightly different playing with it as a two but I enjoyed it because then I've got DK [Kanu] working with me and off me and I can work off him and press together.

"Looking at Birmingham, they can really overrun you in midfield with the pretty patterns they play at times. The gaffer has seen that and we've gone to a box midfield to deal with them and we nicked it high off them a few times, the energy showed was outstanding."