Birmingham City footage may be the perfect antidote to Charlton Athletic disappointment: View | OneFootball

Chris Davies' side responded perfectly to their first shutout of the season

All eyes were cast on The Valley at approximately 4:45PM on Saturday afternoon, as Birmingham City suffered their first defeat under Chris Davies.

Birmingham's ambition and performances this season have, and will continue to be well-documented after such heavy investment.

But, after recording seven successive victories for the first time since 1946, Charlton Athletic became the first side to fully halt Davies' side's progress.

In what was a low-key affair in South East London, Blues looked a complete shadow of the side that had found different ways to win against the likes of Wrexham, Rotherham United, Peterborough United and Huddersfield Town in the prior quartet of fixtures.

However, after falling to a first shutout and defeat under the guidance of Ange Postecoglou's former assistant, a 4-0 rout in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday night against Shrewsbury Town further showcased the strength in-depth at Davies' disposal, as well as such a quick shift in mentality.

Despite making five changes for the midweek visit to Shropshire, not one of the quintet coming into the side looked to impact the levels of quality in the starting eleven, such as Scott Wright, Marc Leonard and Ayumu Yokoyama in more advanced areas of the pitch.

Referencing the previous defeat at The Valley, Blues dominated the ball against Nathan Jones' side, but failed to assert themselves whatsoever as they failed to record a single shot on target from a total of just six attempts all game.

However, such a mishap was easily remedied at the Croud Meadow as they ran riot against Paul Hurst's men in the first half, with the aforementioned Wright's second goal in particular, the perfect antidote.

Having taken the lead through the Scottish winger on eight minutes, before Tomoki Iwata continued his fine start to life in English football with his third goal for the club, the finish which made it 3-0 to the Second City outfit on 38 minutes exemplified the quality which oozes through the squad.

Wright retrieved possession high up the pitch, and after a neat one-two with Alfie May and receiving a nonchalant backheel from Keshi Anderson, the former Rangers man rounded off an exceptional team move to effectively kill off the encounter, before Emil Hansson added a fourth with his first touch after 71 minutes.

By complete contrast to the weekend's encounter, it was total domination from Blues for the bulk of the game, with 16 shots on target - 12 of which came inside the box, highlighting the numerous creative sparks within the squad - and fifty percent of those hitting the target.

Davies' side also had a completion percentage of 70% when it came to passes in the final third, as well as 72 entries and 30 touches in Shrewsbury's penalty area, in comparison to just 10 for their opponents.

"I thought we had a lot of the ball and used it well. We created chances with the ball and also from our pressing, so I was really pleased with our performance," the 39-year-old stated post-match to official club channels.

Birmingham City's mentality has been showcased multiple times this season

Although we're only two months into the season, the shift in mentality within the walls of St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park and the club's Elite Performance and Innovation Centre has shone through on multiple occasions already.

Currently, sitting top of League One, Birmingham have accumulated 10 of their 22 points from losing positions, which included victories against stern opponents in Wrexham, Peterborough and Wycombe Wanderers, in what was the club's maiden victory back on August 17th.

Club captain Krystian Bielik, who is currently sidelined, has also stated: "We're League One but I don't think there are any players in this team who are League One players. All of them are at a higher level. In six months time we'll be a Championship team and a different animal."

Of course, many outsiders will point to the hefty spending spree and quality throughout the squad, which once again came to the fore on Tuesday despite rotation, but Davies deserves immense credit for not allowing his players to dwell on a frustrating day at the office - instead taking their frustration out on their subsequent opponents.

Such a mindset and belief throughout the club means that Birmingham could be increasingly hard to stop, should they embark on a similar run of form upon their return to action after the international break, which includes tests against Lincoln City, Bolton Wanderers and Mansfield Town.