POST-MATCH THREAD: Birmingham City v Charlton Athletic: Saturday 13th December 2025: KO 15:00

For this trip to the West Midlands, Nathan Jones once again shuffled the pack in an effort to find a way out of this five-game-losing streak. Karoy Anderson and Tanto Olaofe join Ibrahim Fullah in the starting eleven, with a rest for Tyreece Campbell and again for Captain Greg Docherty, both on the bench. Big-spending Birmingham sit five points ahead of us in the table and have quite the home record, making this another tough fixture.

This one kicked off with pyrotechnics for some bizarre reason. Without a colour clash, Charlton were in their home kit, backed by a decent away following.

The opening shot came from Birmingham, just short of two minutes in; a low blast the Kaminski did well to get down to. The ball was scooped out and cleared, finding its way up to Miles Leaburn. Leaburn’s pass forward threatened to find Tanto Olaofe in acres of space, but it was blocked away and the attack was easily muted.

A series of corners to the home side put pressure on the Addicks, but nothing much came of it. Then, on about ten minutes, Lloyd Jones went down needing treatment for some kind of knock to the head. He received treatment, then went down again only moments later, needing more medical assistance. Thomas Kaminski then went down with a suspect niggle, buying a bit more time for his centre half, and inviting taunts from the home side. Jones was deemed fit to return and the action continued.

On 22 minutes, Birmingham played some tidy passes around the Charlton area, resulting in a twenty yard shot that beat the rooted Thomas Kaminski only to strike the base of the post, with the resulting rebound merely stabbed into Kaminski’s arms. Some five minutes later, the Birmingham goal came. It was a set piece delivery driven into the box to meet the rising head of Christoph Klarer, the Birmingham big man. Kaminski could only watch as the ball looped over him and into the back of the net to put the home side up.

Birmingham were deservedly ahead. Their crisp passing and creative movement was a cut above our more pedestrian play, but they did look vulnerable at times trying to play out from the back and looked to be easily frustrated. That pressure told on 32 minutes when the Birmingham keeper’s out pass was sold short and Tanto Olaofe was able to cut it out and cross it to Miles Leaburn in the centre. The youngster’s shot was skied high above the bar under the pressure of the keeper diving to his feet. On the replay, Leaburn will rue his miss. A simple dink or deft touch would have been enough to equalise but it wasn’t to be and Birmingham were let off the hook.

A little before halftime, a couple of corners to the Addicks put a little pressure on the home side, but they ultimately came to nothing. A little complacency had set in for the home side since their goal, but they were able to see the half out one goal to the good.

The second half started much like the first finished. Charlton had a couple of half chances, the best of which was a Tanto Olaofe off-target header from ten yards, which he should probably done better with. Birmingham were sloppy in possession and the home supporters were audibly frustrated at times. Then came a double booking for Olaofe and the Birmingham keeper, as the result of a scuffle that saw Ryan Allsop drop down theatrically after a reaction from Olaofe over the keeper’s taunts. Birmingham made two changes in an effort to get back on top of the match, but the staccato tempo and scrappy style suited the visitors.

Nathan Jones made his own changes on about 64 minutes, with Joe Rankin-Costello coming on for Conor Coventry and Ibrahim Fullah making way for Tyreece Campbell. And it wasn’t long before the changes made a difference. Tanto Olaofe broke into the box through nutmegging his defender before blasting along the six yard line. The ball deflected off the keeper and into the path of Tyreece Campbell at the far post, who expertly blasted the ball in with his first touches on the ball. With that goal, the Addicks were level and Olaofe got the better of the keeper he had, moments before, had issue with.

The atmosphere in the ground had grown more frustrated, though the visiting supporters could be heard backing their team. But before long, the home side picked up a bit of momentum. On 71 minutes, Demarai Gray had a shot cannon off the crossbar and Birmingham began a period of pressure that threatened the Addick’s comeback. Nathan Jones turned to Greg Docherty to stabilise things, replacing Sonny Carey in the middle. A few more corners piled on the pressure, but nothing much came of it.

In the final five minutes of normal time more than a few of the Addicks were struggling for fitness. Nathan Jones turned to Harvey Knibbs and Josh Laquetabua for Karoy Anderson and Tanto Olaofe. On 89 minutes Knibbs gave away a free kick, at the left edge of the box, some twenty yards out. Demarai Gray swung it in with his right, but it was met with a flying Kaminski save. The resulting corner was dealt with, but the next phase of play, a couple of minutes into the six of added time, saw Birmingham come close with an effort from the right. A bit of back and forth brought this one to a close, honours even.

What looked to be another defeat was salvaged in the second half by a battling performance. Birmingham are a decent side, but somewhat fragile and the character shown by the injury-plagued Charlton side was immense. We limped through this one at times, though we certainly deserved our hard won point. Birmingham supporters won’t be happy. For some reason (I suppose it’s the money), they have high expectations and weren’t shy in voicing their discontent. Whereas, we’re limping along, looking to stop the rot, they’re expecting to kick on. Tyreece Campbell should take comfort in his goal: he was in the right place at the right time and showed the composure we’ve been looking for in front of goal. Conversely, Miles Leaburn won’t be happy with his fluff in front of goal. Hopefully, he’ll channel his anger in the way that Tanto Olaofe did in inspiring our goal and play more of a key role going forward! This one was a solid, needed point at a tough place to play.

Birmingham 1 Charlton 1
Over to you.