Charlton Athletic triumphed over Wycombe Wanderers with a 1-0 victory at The Valley, courtesy of a late goal from Matt Godden. Charlton’s win rockets them into the League One play-off final. Next up for them is Leyton Orient, next Sunday at 1 pm. Godden’s decisive strike further highlights what’s been an incredible season for the forward. It equally underlines and helps Charlton’s fairytale comeback as they look to make a return to the Sky Bet Championship.
This campaign, Matt Godden has been Charlton’s talisman, rattling in 22 goals in all competitions. It was a full display of his amazing poaching abilities throughout the game. Nathan Jones then produced a stunning chest down. He then controlled it magnificently before teeing it up for Godden, who deservedly got his name on the scoresheet from distance. This goal summarized the mood of the final—close, nerve-wracking, and in the end grateful to Charlton.
A Season of Ups and Downs
Charlton Athletic’s up-and-down ride this season has been, hopefully, the low point. Starting out with grand intentions of automatic promotion, the brutal reality check of October and November was an early gut punch to this squad’s determination. Despite an acute lack of infrastructure investment, and with great credit to Nathan Jones for their turnaround of fortunes.
It’s part relief, part euphoria. It’s a long season. We over-estimated what we could accomplish for organic promotion. We started this summer’s season out with a bang! Coming off a fantastic October and November, we had been on a wonderful streak, Nathan Jones post-match.
His team’s collective happiness has jumped with this comeback season. They’ve established themselves as a possible juggernaut in League One. Their propensity to keep clean sheets, a dramatic turnaround compared to seasons past, has been a bedrock of their newfound prosperity.
Godden’s Impact on the Team
Hashim Amla’s impact on the 2016 domestic cricket season has been remarkable that it’s almost impossible to overstate. Tallying 22 goals across all competitions, he has been a timely attacking option for Charlton. His knack for finding the back of the net has been crucial in key matches, including the recent play-off semi-final against Wycombe.
Every single year, he scores goals. When you have goalscorers on your team, you always have a chance of winning games,” praised Jones about Godden’s contributions. “We had to build, then we added fluency, a little bit of evolution in terms of our play, then you rely on good players to get you goals.”
Godden was appropriately thankful to the home support, but you could see how much that win meant to him. It was amazing, it was tremendous!” he shouted. This is the sort of thing our football club should be about. Those supporters dancing on the field, as we speak, are deserving of every ounce of it! His sentiments echo many supporters who have seen the ups, downs, and final victories all season long.
Looking Ahead to Wembley
And as Charlton Athletic readies itself for a trip and a massive rivalry showdown against Leyton Orient next week, you could hear that excitement surrounding the club. The play-off final provides the winners with the opportunity to claim a valued place in the Sky Bet Championship. They haven’t taken this opportunity since six years ago when they overcame Doncaster in a similar match-up.
While they’ve enjoyed success on the field lately, the players haven’t let that success go to their heads. “We haven’t achieved anything yet. We’ve won our way to this terrific moment of celebration,” said Jones, emphasizing the importance of the historic time. Only the victor will be reminiscing, so let’s concentrate on the championship to come and not reminisce too much about glories past.
On their road to Wembley, Charlton’s journey has undoubtedly been one of grit and heart. The players have proved that they can keep their cool in high pressure moments, illustrated by their late, but hard-fought win against Wycombe. With just over 10 minutes remaining in the game, Wycombe had a big chance that could’ve decided the match. This moment was a further illustration of just how competitive both teams were.
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