Charlton continued their unbeaten start to the season at The Valley with a goalless draw against Portsmouth on Saturday afternoon. While manager Nathan Jones was pleased with his side's performance, he felt a little more composure in the final third would have secured all three points.
The Addicks dominated the first half, with Karlan Grant and Millenic Alli both coming close to scoring, and had chances in a more even second half.
Speaking after the game, Jones said: “I’m pleased with a lot of elements of our game. I’m disappointed that we didn’t have a bit more cutting edge and a little but more composure and quality in the final third because I thought we were well on top in the first half.
“When you look at this fixture last year, we lost 3-1, it was a real tough night for us. There were some real poor, inept performances on the night whereas today was the polar opposite.
“We keep another clean sheet. Those defenders have been stretched constantly with the schedule. I just thought we’d had a bit more composure, a bit more control in our games and you can see the evolution of where we are and I’m happy with that. We’ve got one more game before the international break and then we can give them a well-earned rest and then continue that work.
“I felt the endeavour was there, a lot of the quality of the play, a lot of the stuff we work on was there, you could see it, that’s the big thing for me. And then’s it’s just that final bit, Karlan had a glorious chance, Millie had a few, Tyler [Bindon] headed one back which no-one anticipated. On another day could we have scored a few in the first half? Yeah, we probably could have but I’m very happy. These [Portsmouth] had a free week to rest and prepare, I kept the XI pretty much, I made one change, so it shows the energy levels, the fitness levels we displayed to get that result today.”
Charlton had a penalty appeal turned down in the 87th minute after what appeared to be a foul on Miles Leaburn.
“There is no less contact than there was a week ago at Stoke [when a penalty was given against Charlton] but we’re not seeming to get these things at the moment,” lamented Jones. “We’ve had three huge decisions go against us that have probably meant that we’re sitting here with two points instead of a lot more this week. You just have to pray that it evens out and in the coming months we’ll be on the right side of that.”
The result means the Addicks have now kept three consecutive clean sheets. Although Arthur Okonkwo was relatively untested throughout the afternoon, he produced a crucial save early in the second half to deny Abu Kamara.
“I’m delighted with the defence,” said Jones. “If I was a goalkeeper I’d want to come and play behind our defence because the appetite for defending is quite magnificent. It’s not just me instilling that, it’s the players we have here. They’ve demonstrated a wonderful willingness to defend, to work hard, to put their bodies on the line. I love Arthur, he’s shown humility, he’s great to work with, it’s a polar opposite performance to what we had here last year.”
Jones was also full of praise for Leaburn, who worked tirelessly throughout, winning duels, drawing fouls, linking play and tracking back.
“The penny has dropped”, Jones explained. “To be fair and I don’t mean to be disrespectful but I’m not sure a year ago he’d have played today but he had every appetite to. It would have been so easy for him not to play today, not to start but he had a real desire and appetite and he’s maturing into a wonderful, wonderful player. He led the line fantastically, he needs a goal because that’s what we want from him, but everything else it’s proper, the way he works, the way he puts his body on the line, he’s turning into a proper number nine because he’s had to mature. He’s gone a long time not trusting his body and I say that with the greatest respect. I love working with him, he’s got great humility. He’s laid back at times but he’s starting to have that switch when he goes across the white line.”
The Charlton manager also welcomed the return of Charlie Kelman, who made his first appearance of the season after recovering from a shoulder injury sustained in pre-season. Jones also confirmed that long-term absentee Josh Edwards is set to feature for the U21s against Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough on Sunday.
After a demanding run of fixtures, the Addicks now have a full week without a midweek game before travelling to Cardiff City next Saturday.
Jones said: “We’ll rest them up, we’ll train, we’ll work hard. We want to finish strongly and then go into the international break in a good place.”
