Charlton Athletic 2 v Doncaster Rovers 3 - Charlton won on penalties after extra time - EFL League 1 - Play Off Semi Final 2nd Leg

Friday 17th May 2019
SkyBet EFL League 1 Play Off Semi Final Second Leg
at the Valley
Charlton Athletic (1) 1 - ET HT 2 - AET FT 2
Krystian Bielik 2,
Darren Pratley 101
Doncaster Rovers (1) 2 - ET HT 3 - AET FT 3
Tommy Rowe 11,
Andy Butler 88,
Jon Marquis 100
Attendance: 25,428 inc. 1351 away
Charlton won on penalties

Point & hope photo gallery: Click HERE

By rule of thumb, there are two places that everybody should avoid on a Friday afternoon, especially as it heads towards the early evening 'rush hour' period, and they are: the A1 southbound and the East Coast Main Line. So being the masochist that I am, I split my journey between both of them, driving as far as Peterborough and leaving my car parked there, while continuing on to London by train, as a fall back plan, just in case tonight's game went to extra time and even penalties, which would mean making a choice between missing my last train home or leaving before the end of the game.
There are plenty of later trains to Peterborough right into the wee small hours of the morning, so I had all bases covered, just to be on the safe side.

In the event, the Doncaster police who'd travelled to London, liaised with the LNER train operator and got the last train northout of King's Cross rescheduled, so that the Rovers fans would be able to catch it anyway.

This plan was meticulously arranged and widely communicated, and also stayed just inside the parameters of the ticket issuers rules, that state you are entitled to a refund if you train is delayed by thirty minutes or more. 

Though I'm sure that everybody who'd got home due to the train having waited for them, would be very grateful, and as such wouldn't be trying to get their fare back anyway... or would they AW!? ;-)

Although getting home wasn't going to be problematic, reaching Charlton in the first place was a complete nightmare.
Luckily, I'd set off early, planning on a 'shop 'til I drop' tour of my favourite London record shops, so I had a head start on most people. However, the A1 was gridlocked because of a mixture of the volume of Friday traffic and an accident several miles ahead of where I'd reached by 1.40PM, which was approximately 600 yards north of where I had managed to get to by 3.10PM.

Inevitably, I'd missed my train. So I explained my predicament... and that of several other Charlton bound travellers who were arriving at the station around the same time, to a member of LNER staff on the platform.
And FFS! He almost shrieked with glee, while informing us that our advance saver tickets weren't valid on any other trains and directed us to the ticket office where we'd have to pay again. 

I'd swear the guy (who bore an unhealthy resemblance to Leo Sayer) was so aroused, that he even leaked a bit of sex-wee while he was cheerily giving us the bad news.

Hmm... time for a plan B methinks. There was a train departing from Platform 1 in four minutes time that was going to London, so being a honest and upright, law-biding citizen, I boarded that one, with every intention of paying the guard any excess fare that I owed, figuring that if I queued for another ticket, then I would miss this one as well.

Well, blow me down with a feather! There wasn't a guard on board... and this train ran directly to London Bridge, where the train on the adjoining platform when I arrived, was heading to Rainham, via Charlton. And at Charlton, the exit gates at the station were wide open and completely unmanned.

Oh no! I've inadvertently become a fare-dodging criminal. How does my conscience let me sleep at night? Oh, and by the way... f*ck you Leo Sayer!

Alas, a whole lot of other travellers who'd set off later, got snarled up in the traffic congestion on the A1, while others were held up by the train services going awry again, as is the norm on Friday afternoons. Some friends of mine got in ten minutes after kick off... and one coach full of staunch Rovers die-hard supporters, didn't arrive until half time.
The Valley is only a few minutes walk from the station, so I nipped across to the ground, to buy a programme before going in search of some sustenance.
How much!? "Five pounds, it an end of season special".
Err, no thanks! A fiver for a League 1 programme, I don't bleedin' think so. Not even if it's a 92 page bumper edition... in fact, not even if it's leather bound and adorned in gold leaf.

Mind you... the 'Voice of the Valley' fanzine, is a very good informative read, that probably won't be getting invited to be Roland Duchâtelet's in house fan club magazine any time soon.

If you've never heard of Charlton's Belgian millionaire owner before, simply type 'not fit for purpose' or 'dodgy c*nt' into your Google search engine... and I'm sure that you'll soon be on his trail.

The Addicks are up for sale, but Duchâtelet has a clause inserted to the package that is presented to any prospective investors, inasmuch as, he wants a share of any rewards and profits any subsequent owner makes out of the club, as a consequence of their own successes.

So, it looks like he's going to be around for the long haul, because I can't imagine anybody being tempted by his off-putting terms. Which must set alarm bells ringing, given that he's rumoured to be planning a land grab of the Valley stadium (and training facilities), with a scope for property development on both sites. How the effing hell are these sort of people even allowed near football clubs?

Anyway, I've prevaricated and rambled on about all manner of peripheral issues for quite long enough. Shall we have some actual football now instead?

Charlton took a one goal cushion into tonight's game. after winning 1-2 at the Keepmoat Stadium on Sunday, and just one minute and fifty seconds into this second leg tie, they increased their lead when Krystian Bielik met Josh Cullen's free-kick and powered a header past Marko Marosi.

As the ground erupted with noise, a small scuffle broke out to my right, in the middle of the Jimmy Seed Stand, that was half Charlton supporters and half Doncaster tonight, with a token nod towards some kind of segregation in between them. Apparently the seats were freed up, in what is usually the visiting fans end, to meet the demand from home supporters.

I was under the impression that the Addicks fans were boycotting home games this season, but either that must've been resolved, or the local population found the visit of Donny Rovers too much of a temptation to stay away tonight.

There were still massive gaps all over the visitors section, with many of the latecomers still en route.

But just as another couple of coach loadsof stragglers began descending the stairs, looking for a decent vantage point, right on cue, Herbie Kane teed up a chance for Tommy Rowe, who smashed the ball into the back of the Addicks net from the edge of the area... it was nice of Grant McCann's team to wait until the away section had started filling up, before giving the stragglers something to cheer about after being stuck on a bus for as many as seven hours.

This evenly matched game was a great spectacle, swinging from one end to the other, with both sides looking to progress to Sunday's final against Sunderland, who reached Wembley last night, after drawing 0-0 in their semi final second leg at Portsmouth.

Charlton were the favourites to win, but Rovers were matching them every step of the way and putting in a superhuman amount of effort to compete for each and every ball and more than match their hosts for lengthy spells of a most enthralling game.

The play offs this season have certainly thrown up a good few all action games, packed to the brim with twists, turns and drama.

Both goalkeepers were in the thick of the action, as the score remained 1-1 on the night at the interval, but Charlton thought that they should have had a penalty just before the break, when Josh Cullen's shot bounced away after crashing into Andy Butler... it was one of those 'ball to arm' moments when you support the defending team, and 'stonewall penalty appeals' if it's your team that is on the attack. Either way, Cullen shot straight at the Rovers defender, who couldn't get out of the way or amputate his arm quickly enough to avoid any confusion. I've seen them given, but no deliberate offence was committed... so I'll sit on the fence and let the referee run the game as he sees fit.

Lee Bowyer strung five players across midfield in the second half against a Rovers side who were deserving of another goal, as they went toe to toe against the South London side, and, if anything were looking like the more dominant side no,  but time was running out.

Then it happened, with just three minutes remaining the visitors won a corner. I turned to my friend and joked: "Greeny my good man, right now would psychologically, be a very good time for 'Donny' to score". And bugger me... they did!

The score was now level on aggregate and extra time was imminent.

There are God forsaken souls in this world who don't even like football... and subsequently they've never been present on at wholly absorbing game like tonight's, not even as a neutral (like me). What kind of a morbid existence they must lead.

90 minutes: Charlton Athletic 1 v Doncaster Rovers 2 - Agg: 3-3

Never mind how late it was going to be when I eventually get home, who wouldn't want to stay and watch another half hour of this enthralling contest.

Taylor, the overall man of the match in the first leg, went close during the opening exchanges of extra time, but from Rovers next attack, Mallik Wilks broke forward, feigned as if to shoot, then dashed forward to the dead ball line and picked out Marquis who headed into the back of the Charlton net from close range.

But, within a minute, the Doncaster fans celebrations were curtailed, when Darren Pratley bundled the ball over the goal-line at the other end, from Taylor's quality delivery.

Hmm, imagine having both Taylor and Wilks in the same team, battering away at opposition defences as a two pronged battering ram attack.

And that was that, both sides had given everything they'd got, either of them could've nicked the result, but extra time saw the tie finish 4-4 on aggregate... and it was all going to be decided on penalties.

Chris Solly, Josh Cullen, Lyle Taylor and Joe Aribo all found the net with the Addicks first four penalties, while Ben Whiteman, Keiran Sadlier and Ali Crawford, successfully converted the first three of Doncaster's spot kicks, but Dillon Phillips saved the fourth from Jon Marquis.

Which meant that, if Nabby Sarr scored with Charlton's fifth kick, it was game over.

But the drama wasn't over yet, as Marko Marosi pulled off a save, that even had the police officers in the away section celebrating. Tommy Rowe stepped forward, knowing that his strike could level things up and take the contest into an instant death stage, but he blazed his shot wide... and Charlton were heading to Wembley, even though Grant McCann's side could be very proud of the shift they put in tonight. 

FT AET: Charlton Athletic 2 v Doncaster Rovers 3 - Agg 4-4 - Charlton won on pens

Whoops!

Within few minutes of Rowe's stray kick, I was back on Charlton Station, awaiting a train to King's Cross/St. Pancras International... and the second one to arrive went straight there. The A1, north of Peterborough, was virtually deserted by now... and I was home by 2.10AM.