25-05-2025
Addicks Championship bound with victory over Leyton Orient
In the year of the play off underdog, Charlton Athletic bucked the trend in the Sky Bet Division One play-off decider with a hard earned victory against Leyton Orient at Wembley.
Manager Nathan Jones was able to name an unchanged side from the one that took to the field in the second leg of their eliminator matches against Wycombe Wanderers. Luke Berry returned from injury and took a place on the substitute's bench. Leyton Orient's Head Coach, Richie Wellens, was also named the same starting eleven to the team that stunned Stockport County in their eliminator.
Unsurprisingly, it was a cagey start as the occasion and tension seemed to get the better of the two teams. There was only one goal effort in the first fifteen minutes, an optimistic effort from Orient's Ethan Galbraith that went harmlessly wide of the far post.
Both teams continued to huff and puff, each having an effort blocked before the Addicks were given an opportunity which they took with both hands. Tyreece Campbell was brought down twenty-five yards out and Macaulay Gillesphey curled his free kick beyond the despairing dive of goalkeeper Josh Keeley.
Rarmani Edmonds-Green headed wide from an Orient corner then Alex Gilbert shot over for the Addicks before the first half came to a close.
Jack Currie had a shot for the O's early in the second period that Campbell dived to deflect past the far post and Jordan Brown came even closer when the corner was knocked down to him and his shot on the turn went millimetres over.
Charlie Kelman then had a deflected shot that looped over Charlton goalkeeper Will Mannion and back out off bar.
Jones took action to try and quell the Orient pressure by making a double substitution midway through the second half with Tennai Watson and Karoy Anderson coming on for Thierry Small and Alex Gilbert. That move was almost rewarded immediately when Anderson found Docherty and his deflected shot was tipped over brilliantly by Keeley.
Multiple substitutions and a delay while the referee checked out something on the sideline disrupted play and Charlton came close when Keeley was forced to turn a shot out of nothing from Chuks Aneke wide of the near post.
Eleven minutes of stoppage time was signalled, and when Mannion caught Dom Ball's header ten minutes in, the roar from the Charlton faithful was almost as loud as when they scored.
That proved to be the last moment of danger for the Addicks who are promoted to the Championship.
Charlton Athletic: Mannion, Small (Watson 67), Edwards, Ramsay, Jones, Gillesphey, Gilbert (Anderson 67), Coventry, T. Campbell (Mbick 80), Godden (Aneke 80), Docherty. Subs not used: Maynard-Brewer, Mitchell, Berry.
