Nathan Jones was delighted with his side’s performance as the Addicks claimed a deserved 2-0 win over Bolton Wanderers at The Valley.
“It was a great win,” he said. “Against one of the best sides, the most fancied side. They’ve been fancied for the last two years, and again they’re among the favourites. Technically very, very good players, big budget. You come up against those and you think ‘Right, we’ve got to be really good today’. I thought we were excellent out of possession, really good defensively, limited them to shots from outside the box, and I thought we had the big chances.
“Two clear cut chances, with Chuks’ and with Godden’s, and then the strike from Docherty.”
The goals themselves both stemmed from the Addicks winning the ball high up the field.
“We know they like to build,” said Jones. “You’ve got to be really aggressive against them, and we were. It’s a great ball from Thierry and then a great strike.
“Second goal was exactly the same. We won the ball high, played, bits of quality. They play really open and expansive at times, but when they turn the ball over like that, they’re exposed. Out of possession, it was absolute perfection.”
The gaffer was particularly pleased with his side’s defensive display, given the fact they conceded three last time the side’s met.
“We scored three away from home against them, but conceded three. They got balls in the box and scored from crosses, they got behind us and scored again from another cross,” he said.
“We were better today – we didn’t allow them to get in behind our backline. Every time they did put a cross in they were man-marked, no free headers. Defensively I thought we were excellent. We could be a bit more fluent in possession, we really can. But look, we’re a work in progress, we’re only effectively eight months into it, they’re four years into they’re evolution. I know we’ll get better, but three games, three wins, three clean sheets – it’s not a bad start.
“Considering we were 19th in February, and hadn’t won in 18, 19 games as a football club. I lost my first game, and then to go 14 unbeaten then we finished the season poorly in terms of the result. But then to build again to be now sat in the top three – that’s a meteoric rise, it really is.
“What we have to do is keep our feet on the ground, keep working hard, keep striving to be better.”
It was an impressive win, and while there is a long way to go, Jones was pleased that his side passed another big test.
“We believe Bolton are up there. If you finish above Bolton you’ve got a real good chance of getting promoted, because they are well-coached and they have fantastic individuals,” said Jones.
“For us, it’s not about looking at anyone else. It’s not about looking at Birmingham and what they’re spending or anything. It’s about saying this is what we are, this is what we want to do, this is what we need to do that, and then being the best version of ourselves. That’s all we concerned with.”
According to Jones, one of the routes to being the team he wants his side to be is through the support of the fans, who were in full voice again today.
“These are moments that you have to enjoy, and these are moments where you can generate momentum and a rapport,” he said.
“They can contribute to seeing a team on the pitch that they can be proud of, they can relate to. There’s honesty, there’s hard work, there’s graft.”
