John Brewin’s report is in so I’ll call it quits. Charlton have their glory, Leyton Orient’s long wait for a second-tier return continues.
“He’s got a wand of a left foot,” says Matty Godden of Macaulay Gillesphey’s winner. “No one expects a centre half to come up and take the free-kicks from 20 yards out but we know with his quality he’s fully capable of that.”
Greg Docherty lifts the trophy for Charlton, their five-year run in League One over. After the players have a go, it’s Jones’ turn. Now to making sure they surpass their last stint in the Championship, when they lasted just one season.
To say Nathan Jones is buzzing would be quite the understatement. He’s ready to explode with joy.
This isn’t relief, this is euphoria now. We didn’t play well today, we just defended really, really well. So, so happy.
I’m so proud of this club, great club. I came here, wanted to build something, took a gamble, drop a division, drop two divisions, my last job was Premier League. I knew we could build something. It’s the first step, now we kick on.
Leyton Orient had their moments but their execution was all off in the final third – crosses causing little bother, shots failing to test Mannion. They had 16 shots and just one on target.
FULL-TIME: Charlton 1-0 Leyton Orient – Charlton are going up!
Williams crosses for Orient from the right … but it finds the hands of Mannion. That’ll be that. The whistle comes and Charlton are back in the Championship!
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90+10 min Williams sends in a long Orient throw from the right but Gillesphey heads away. A cross comes in and so does a header towards goal from Happe … but the ball drops easily for Mannion.
90+9 min It’s poor, too high and easily held by Mannion, who has commanded his area well all day.
90+8 min Orient have a free-kick out on the left – Donley stands over it, knowing he needs to whip in something decent.
90+6 min Docherty get a blow to the head as he blocks a cross. In comes a long Orient throw but Charlton are unperturbed; Jones has been solid at the heart of their defence.
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90+5 min Orient really need to get moving – they funnel the ball down to the right wing and pick up a throw.
90+2 min Williams has the ball on the right, cuts inside and shapes to shoot … but slips and his wayward strike finds the safe hands of Mannion.
90+1 min We’ll have a cool 11 minutes of added time.
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89 min Aneke tries out the outrageous, the ball bouncing out on the left wing, his right foot thumping it towards goal. He wins a corner, having tried to emulate Papiss Cissé against Chelsea in 2012.
88 min And we’re back, walkie-talkies working again. Charlton have a throw out on the left.
86 min The players are having a stretch and drink while we sort this tech nonsense out.
84 min Andrew Kitchen, the ref, has gone inside to sort out his technical issue … though he’s back out not long after.
83 min There’s a break in play – the refs have a comms problem apparently.
82 min The stoppages from all these subs have hurt Orient’s momentum. They decide to make some more, though; Beckles, O’Neill, Agyei are off for Williams, Happe and Abdulai.
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80 min More changes as Godden makes way for Aneke, with Campbell off for Mbick.
78 min O’Neil has space inside the area but he doesn’t go first-time with the shot; there’s time for Charlton shirts to surround him and clean up.
76 min Orient work it patiently around the edges of the Charlton area but the cross into the mix is easily cleared away.
74 min Orient have shifted things up in midfield, with James and Ball replacing Clare and Brown.
73 min Agyei has space to go one-on-one against Edwards on the Orient right but his cross/shot misses everyone.
70 min Godden gets to his feet before Anderson, the sub, plays to Docherty who releases from just outside the area. His deflected effort is tipped over by Keeley for a Charlton corner.
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69 min Orient have a corner … they go short and make nothing of it. Godden clashes with Keeley at the other end and is down on the ground.
67 min It’s Orient attack v Charlton defence at the moment. Jones recognises the need for a change and decides to make two: Gilbert and Small are off for Anderson and Watson.
66 min Donley and Kelman are over it. It’ll be Donley … and he finds the wall. There’s a half-appeal for handball.
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64 min Donley and Clare exchange passes in midfield as Orient pile the numbers forward … and Donley wins a free-kick inside the D. Gilbert slid in with the challenge and Orient have a serious chance.
62 min The electric Currie gets Orient playing with a drive down the left before Kelman shoots from outside the box – his shot is deflected off Jones, with the ball hitting the turf before bouncing high to rattle the crossbar. They’re getting closer.
58 min Orient come close – twice. Currie tries another long-range hit, the shot deflected off Ramsay and nearly finding the bottom corner. The resulting corner leads to a shot from Brown, the ball blasted high from inside the area.
57 min Orient eventually get the ball away from their half, with Kelman holding it up to win a corner.
56 min Campbell, working hard on Charlton’s left, wins a throw – another one to be sent long by Edwards.
55 min Curries tries his luck from range but has his shot blocked before Godden wins a free-kick in the Charlton half.
54 min Gilbert crosses from the left but Beckles heads away.
53 min Edwards launches another long throw, this time from the left, but Orient get it away. Campbell then wins a free-kick on the wing, his feet too quick for the onrushing Beckles.
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51 min Galbraith drives on the overlap, receiving from Donley, but instead of cutting back for someone in the middle, sends a low ball straight into the hands of Mannion.
50 min A rogue ball on the pitch stops play.
49 min Galbraith is lively again jinking down the right but Orient continue to be wasteful in the final third.
47 min Edwards sends in a long throw from the Charlton right but Beckles’s forehead returns to the spotlight.
46 min And we’re back. Donley kicks off for Orient but Charlton quickly win a free-kick in their own half. Mannion’s thump down the ground is met by the head of Beckles.
The Wembley action doesn’t stop here – the League Two playoff final takes place tomorrow, with Walsall meeting AFC Wimbledon.
Our very own Stuart Goodwin writes in:
A quick wave to my O’s-supporting dad-in-law Ian Simpson, whose plans to be at Wembley today were scuppered by a dramatically malfunctioning pancreas, alongside an impressive bedside clipboard of other ailments. He has, I’m assured, been sorted out with a login and device to watch the game from his bed on the ward of Norwich General.
If there’s a turnaround in the current score, he’ll be able to recuperate next season with straightforward trundles from his North Norfolk retirement fungalow to aways at Roads Carrow and Portman.
He’d have enjoyed the sight of a couple of early-at-it fellow fans getting completely flummoxed by and entertainingly furious at a window in King’s Cross station circa 10.15am today, loudly bollocking it for not being an automatic sliding door. They were doing it for a lot longer than anyone might think possible, too.
HALF-TIME: Charlton 1-0 Leyton Orient
It’s not been pretty but this game isn’t about aesthetics; Charlton are a clean 45 away from the Championship.
45+2 min We have two minutes added on … Small does brilliantly to dance down the right wing and cut in. He plays a heavy reverse pass but Godden keeps it in to cut back a ball into the middle … but there’s no Charlton shirt present to get on the end of it.
45 min Campbell shows his strength to hold off Beckles before Gilbert finishes the Charlton move with a shot from the edge of the box … it curls high and over the bar.
44 min Orient are starting to pile the pressure going forward, with Currie advancing down the left while Galbraith does his playmaking on the right.
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41 min Donley heads down a long ball before Agyei, cutting in from the right, has his shot blocked out for a corner … Edmonds-Green gets a head on it but can’t generate any power at the far post.
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39 min Campbell tricks his way down the left and tries a cute dinked cross with his right boot but the ball finds the keeper, not Godden in the middle.
38 min Charlton’s supporters are in good voice now.
37 min Agyei tries to cross from the right but is crowded out and forced to recycle the ball. He does eventually get the cross in … but it’s far too deep.
36 min Godden skips down the right and lofts a heavy cross but it’s miles away from Campbell, the only red shirt in the box.
33 min The replays keep on coming and it’ll be tough to watch back for Keeley. There wasn’t any serious height on the free-kick, Gillesphey doing a fine job of finding the curl.
GOAL! Charlton 1-0 Leyton Orient (Gillesphey 31)
Gilbert, on loan from Middlesborough, and Gillesphey stand over it. It’s the latter who shoots … and scores! It’s a bit of left-footed magic, curled around the wall – it seems like the goalkeeper got the setup of it wrong. One half of Wembley erupts and Charlton, who have been the nervier of the two sides, have the lead.
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29 min Campbell comes alive to win a free-kick just outside the D. Here’s a proper chance for Charlton …
28 min Galbraith does really well to loft the ball over a Charlton shirt and get Orient moving down the right but Agyei overhits a cross.
26 min Orient look the more composed team but neither side has created any real chances.
25 min Currie does well again to track the run of Small on Charlton’s right as Gilbert tries to play in his teammate.
24 min Charlton have a free-kick out on the left but it’s wasted as Gillesphey tries to sneak a low pass into the left channel – it’s overhit and sent out for a goalkick.
22 min Galbraith is getting on the ball and doing the dirty work, too; he does well to stop Campbell driving forward.
21 min Galbraith has space to drift inside the right channel with Charlton vacating a lot of room in midfield.
19 min Ramsay pulls off a fine block inside the Charlton area as O’Neill – who has been lively – launches.
18 min Charlton have a free-kick from way out; Gilbert launches it into the box but Orient clear away for a throw. Beckles has been rock-solid so far at the back.
17 min Beckles brings down Campbell by the edge of the area but the ref waves play on.
16 min Gilbert tries to play in Small on the Charlton right wing, but Currie tracks the run to halt the danger.
15 min It’s all a bit hectic in midfield at the moment, no one willing to just keep the ball on the carpet for a bit.
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13 min O’Neill has space down the left and the ball is shifted to the other wing as Galbraith attacks … his cross doesn’t find anyone though.
12 min Docherty thinks he’s earned a corner for Charlton but Clare is the winner of the battle by the corner flag, the result an Orient goalkick.
11 min An Orient long throw produces a corner … but Mannion has control of the mixer, collecting cleanly to get Charlton moving on the counter.
9 min O’Neill sees the pitch open up in front of him after he picks up in midfield, driving towards the edge of the area before Jones gets in the way.
8 min Edwards crosses from the left, looking for Godden, but the loopy ball is knocked away. It’s Charlton who are seeing more of the ball at present.
6 min Beckles clears away in his area and Charlton have a throw from the left that they’ll send long … it’s worked around the area before Coventry whips in a cross from the right that is eventually dealt with.
5 min Donley whips the ball in to the box but can’t get it deep enough to cause bother.
4 min Jones takes down Agyei near the halfway line, the Orient No 7 showing quick feet to win the free-kick.
3 min Galbraith launches a long throw down the right wing, the Orient man who began his career at Manchester United.
1 min The ball gets hoofed around before Keeley goes long with an Orient goalkick.
Peeeeeep!
The anthems and handshakes are done. Charlton are in red, Orient in grey. Let’s play!
A very important note before kick-off, sent in by my close friend and Charlton supporter Ella Burrows. Tyreece Campbell’s full name is Tyreece Anthony Tupac Shakur Campbell. Amazing.
Worth a quick watch before we get going. Wembley is painted red.
This game’s been billed a bit as a contest between two strikers. In one corner, there’s Charlton’s Matty Godden, 33, with 22 goals this season. In the other, Charlie Kelman, 10 years younger, on loan from QPR and with 27 goals this campaign.
Kelman was here as a boy to watch West Ham win the Championship playoff against Blackpool in 2012. Kudos if you can name the goalscorers that day.
This is a lovely interview with Martin Ling, Orient’s director of football.
Charlton were victors in both league encounters with Orient; two injury-time goals secured a comeback win when the Addicks were visitors in March. Both goals came from corners, with Macaulay Gillesphey and Kayne Ramsay heading in, so it’ll be worth keeping an eye on Charlton’s set-pieces today.
What Orient can take confidence from is their shootout record this season; in addition to their playoff win over Stockport County, they won on penalties in the FA Cup twice to reach the fourth round.
The teams
Both sides are unchanged from their playoff semi second-leg wins.
Charlton: Mannion, Ramsay, Jones, Gillesphey, Small, Coventry, Gilbert, Docherty, Edwards, Godden, Campbell
Subs: Maynard-Brewer, Mitchell, Watson, Anderson, Berry, Aneke, Mbick
Leyton Orient: Keeley, Galbraith, Beckles, Edmonds-Green, Currie, Agyei, Brown, Donley, Clare, O’Neill, Kelman
Subs: Phillips, James, Happe, Williams, Ball, Markanday, Abdulai
“That was the music I was brought up on. My dad loved Eric Clapton, Queen, Michael Jackson, so I was educated from there. I grew up in the 80s, probably the best era for bands and I caught the tail end of the Haçienda and indie era, which led into the 90s. I used to do a bit of DJing when I was a kid, when I was [a player] at Brighton, house music. I wasn’t any good but I had my decks and I love my music.”
Ben Fisher and Nathan Jones talked football, too.
Preamble
Wembley makes sense for this one. It’s an hour-long trip across town for Leyton Orient and Charlton, both sides hoping for the Championship to be their final destination.
For the Addicks, promotion would end a five-year absence from the second tier, too long for a club that was once part of the Premier League establishment. Half a decade is nothing for the O’s; they’ve been absent from the division for 43 years, tasting the National League experience as recently as 2019.
Nathan Jones is the man leading Charlton, fresh off his Shawshank impression in the semi-final win over Wycombe, responsible for revitalising a side that were three points above the relegation zone when he took over last February. Richie Wellens, three years into the job at Orient, is gunning for a second promotion after they won League Two in 2023.
Charlton finished fourth this season, Orient sixth but with six wins on the bounce. In other words, it’s going to be a tight one. Kick-off’s at 1.01pm BST.
