Igor Vetokele's sixth goal of the season has given Charlton Athletic a hard-fought lead against Birmingham City at The Valley.
The Addicks, looking to build on their 1-0 victory against Championship leaders Norwich City in midweek, started brightly and went close to an early goal when Vetokele's effort drifted wide.
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Despite needing Stephen Henderson to keep out a Paul Caddis strike, Charlton made their breakthrough on 11 minutes when their top scorer made amends for his earlier miss by heading Frederic Bulot's cross beyond the reach of Darren Randolph.
City were sparked into life after falling behind as Clayton Donaldson tried his luck but failed to hit the target, before David Davis had a goal disallowed for offside.
Midway through the half, the hosts almost doubled their advantage when the ever-threatening Vetokele supplied Johnnie Jackson only for the club captain to be denied by Randolph.
The visitors tried manfully to find a leveller and were almost rewarded when Caddis found Koby Arthur six yards out, but his effort was crucially blocked.
On the stroke of half time, Andre Bikey nearly added a second goal for Athletic when he met another Bulot set piece, but the veteran defender was unable to keep his header down.
Chris O'Keefe
