Charlton Athletic vs Birmingham City. Sky Bet Championship.
The ValleyAttendance18,752.
Report and highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash at The Valley
Saturday 14 September 2019 18:27, UK
Charlton missed the opportunity to go top of the Sky Bet Championship as they were defeated 1-0 by Birmingham at The Valley.
A goal by 16-year-old full old debutant Jude Bellingham in the second half was enough to derail the south London side, who lost for the first time this season.
Charlton were already weakened before kick-off, with talisman Lyle Taylor missing after picking up a knock in the week while playing for Monserrat.
Although neither side created much in the way of chances in the opening period, the first half-chance fell to the hosts when Chris Solly fired over from just inside the box after 23 minutes.
A diving header on the half-hour mark by Tomer Hemed went wide of the post, while Jonathan Leko found space after 34 minutes but fired his effort off-target.
Birmingham started to press, and after 39 minutes Lukas Jutkiewicz forced goalkeeper Dillon Phillips to tip over the crossbar.
The visitors took the lead seven minutes after the restart when Maxime Colin squared to Kerim Mrabti, who slid the ball into the centre of the area for Bellingham to fire home.
Charlton made a change just before the hour mark when Jonny Williams replaced Erhun Oztumer.
The hosts started to press, but Birmingham still looked dangerous on the break. Colin engineered a solo run after 65 minutes and found Jutkiewicz, who once again saw Phillips nudge his shot over the woodwork.
Charlton made a second change after 71 minutes, with Sam Field making way for Chuks Aneke.
Lee Camp made his first real save a minute later when he did well to block a fierce drive by Solly.
A minute later, the Birmingham keeper was again called into action when he turned away a low drive by Conor Gallagher.
The home team made their third and final change of the afternoon after 78 minutes when Leko was replaced by Beram Kayal.
With two minutes of regulation time remaining, Hemed put the ball over the bar from five yards out after he was fed through by Aneke.
Referee Matthew Donohue allowed six minutes of injury time but caused controversy when he dismissed Charlton manager Lee Bowyer from the touchline.
Despite Phillips going up front in the dying seconds of the game, the solitary strike by Bellingham was enough for Birmingham to claim the win.
Lee Bowyer: "Someone from their staff threw a ball onto the pitch to try and waste time, which I've never seen before. The ball then ended up next to me. I don't know how, so I pick it up and start walking towards their bench shouting if it was their ball.
"I threw it back, and because the referee said I left my technical area and throwing the ball that was a red card. I've never heard of that rule in my life. I think it's disappointing because me and the players don't like losing games, especially ones where I don't think we deserved to lose."
Pep Clotet: "It was just something that was a coincidence. If Mr Bowyer took it in the wrong way then I'm sorry. I have a lot of respect for him, firstly what he means for Birmingham and secondly what he's doing with the team this season.
"It's a massive step forward for us, because for the result and a second away win against an in-form side it makes it more special. We knew we would have to do everything right, all the attitude from my players had to be right. We managed to be very strong defensively, we were able to stamp our football on the pitch.
"Jude is proof that we trust what we do with the academy, in that you cannot buy in football the feeling our fans have. The feeling we have for Jude to come in now, that's something we're very proud of. I want to remind him of the importance of this chance. It's not only me giving the chance but the team."
