Agony and ecstasy for Irish stars as Charlton earn Championship promotion
MACAULEY GILLESPHEY STRUCK the only goal of the game to beat Leyton Orient in the League One play-off final and send Charlton back into the Championship after a gap of five years to the delight of their 40,000 fans in a crowd of 76,193.
There was agony and ecstasy for Irish players and staff involved on either side, with former Republic of Ireland U21 captain Conor Coventry at the heart of a Charlton side that has ex international Curtis Fleming on the club's coaching staff.
Leyton Orient goalkeeper Josh Keeley, on loan from Tottenham Hotspur and called up for Ireland's friendlies with Senegal and Luxembourg next month, was unable to keep Charlton out while, in attack, Ollie O'Neill could not repeat his semi-final impact.
And no-nonsense defending from both sides led to a scrappy opening period with goal opportunities at a premium.
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It took 31 minutes for the game to spark into life but the wait was worth it with a sublimely executed free-kick by Gillesphey breaking the deadlock.
Tyreece Campbell, always a threat, was fouled outside the penalty box and Gillesphey curled his set-piece delivery from 20 yards past the wall and wide of Keeley who got his fingers to the ball but could not prevent it from nestling into the net.
Charlton enjoyed the better of the possession in the first half whilst nervy Orient struggled to impose themselves on the game and the Addicks looked more comfortable on the ball.
Campbell and skipper Greg Docherty exchanged passes in a potentially threatening move but Campbell's weak cross was comfortably collected by Keeley while Orient provided little concerns for Addicks shot-stopper Will Mannion.
The teams came into the match in a rich vein of form, each having only tasted defeat once in each of their last 10 matches. The Addicks completed the scheduled league season in fourth spot, seven points ahead of the O's whose run of six successive victories at the death earned them the final play-off position.
Orient raised their tempo in the second half, taking the game to their opponents from the restart. Jack Currie sent in a powerful drive that was deflected for a corner and then League One's leading scorer Charlie Kelman saw his goal-bound drive deflected onto the crossbar.
Then Jamie Donley was brought down on the edge of the penalty area but his resultant free-kick was blocked by the resolute Charlton defence.
Keeley kept Orient in the game when he dealt with an effort from Conor Coventry before he tipped a well-struck effort from substitute Chuks Aneke over the bar but Orient kept pushing forward in search of the equaliser.
However, a combination of a lack of quality to their final touch and pass and the well-drilled determined unwavering steely defending of their opponents for whom Lloyd Jones was outstanding proved too much to overcome.
The return to the second tier of English football was a triumph for Charlton boss Nathan Jones. He had twice led Luton to promotions and can now add Charlton to his list of successes having taken over as boss of the club in February 2024.
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