Charlton Athletic 2-3 Doncaster Rovers
Sky Bet League One Play-Offs
Friday 17th May 2019
Simply put, it was a belting tie filled with tension, trauma and (some) tears and it's easily one of the most captivating play-off semi-final clashes in modern times; as good a contest as I've seen anywhere in any season in any play-off game and Doncaster Rovers can still count themselves as being bloody unlucky not to have made it all the way to Wembley.
With just a few minutes played it almost seemed inevitable that Charlton, already well-poised after their 2-1 first leg win in South Yorkshire, would enjoy a routine passage to the final (where Sunderland were awaiting) as Krystian Bielek restored their two-goal lead on aggregate. Nevertheless, it was also from that point onward where you could have ripped up any pre-planned script and tossed it away into the nearby River Thames because, after that early goal, Rovers' players, each and every one of them, were absolutely magnificent and gave everything in their own fight for success.
Those who were at The Valley on the night know the story; Rovers fought back and quickly equalised through Tommy Rowe before Andy Butler's dramatic late header levelled things up and forced 30 extra minutes - thus causing dozens of folk to start worrying about whether they'd be able to make the last connecting back from London to Doncaster at 23:33! John Marquis then struck to put DRFC 'on the verge' of a day under the Wembley Arch, but Darren Pratley immediately pounced on a Marko Marosi error to make it 4-4 and leave penalties as the most likely outcome as the tense exchanges of extra-time - which, bizarrely, seemed to go really, really quickly, drew to its conclusion.
Then, despite being a 20-goals-per-season striker for three straight years, John Marquis saw his attempt saved by Dillon Phillips in the shoot-out in what turned out to be his final kick of a football in a competitive match in Rovers colours, before Naby Sarr couldn't convert for the hosts. By the final penalty, Rowe had to score for Rovers to force 'sudden death' though his wayward effort didn't find the target and Charlton's fans invaded the pitch to celebrate - probably feeling mightily relieved that they'd made it to Wembley and knowing they'd done it the bloody hard way!
Marquis memorably copped for some stick off Charlton's fans, as he lay on the turf (something which was as much to do with the fact he'd previously played for Millwall than anything else), but anyone watching the game could only applaud the efforts of the Donny players who'd been absolutely magnificent. It was a performance on a par with England's effort at Euro 96 against Germany, complete with the heartbreak afterwards, but moreover there was an overwhelming sense of pride. There was some disappointment, not much, yet in the context of the performance and the season as a whole (including a hugely fulfilling final day win which stopped gob-a-lot Peterborough United from reaching the play-offs) any feelings of negativity didn't last for very long.
Amidst the pulsating, cut and thrust, unpredictable nail-biting roller-coaster pendulum which swung back and forth all night long, some good opportunities were missed - none more so than when Marquis couldn't make a sliding connection to a telling opening (in Gascoigne-esque fashion at Euro 96) but such was the effort on show from every player, it was forgotten. Several Donny fans on the train back into Central London afterwards even stated they 'weren't bothered' because the feeling of pride at the team had eclipsed everything else.
Then, despite being a 20-goals-per-season striker for three straight years, John Marquis saw his attempt saved by Dillon Phillips in the shoot-out in what turned out to be his final kick of a football in a competitive match in Rovers colours, before Naby Sarr couldn't convert for the hosts. By the final penalty, Rowe had to score for Rovers to force 'sudden death' though his wayward effort didn't find the target and Charlton's fans invaded the pitch to celebrate - probably feeling mightily relieved that they'd made it to Wembley and knowing they'd done it the bloody hard way!
Marquis memorably copped for some stick off Charlton's fans, as he lay on the turf (something which was as much to do with the fact he'd previously played for Millwall than anything else), but anyone watching the game could only applaud the efforts of the Donny players who'd been absolutely magnificent. It was a performance on a par with England's effort at Euro 96 against Germany, complete with the heartbreak afterwards, but moreover there was an overwhelming sense of pride. There was some disappointment, not much, yet in the context of the performance and the season as a whole (including a hugely fulfilling final day win which stopped gob-a-lot Peterborough United from reaching the play-offs) any feelings of negativity didn't last for very long.
Amidst the pulsating, cut and thrust, unpredictable nail-biting roller-coaster pendulum which swung back and forth all night long, some good opportunities were missed - none more so than when Marquis couldn't make a sliding connection to a telling opening (in Gascoigne-esque fashion at Euro 96) but such was the effort on show from every player, it was forgotten. Several Donny fans on the train back into Central London afterwards even stated they 'weren't bothered' because the feeling of pride at the team had eclipsed everything else.
There's no doubt that the media wanted Charlton to reach the final - something which was fuelled partly thanks to Sunderland's success over Portsmouth the previous night and brought memories of the classic 'Charlton vs Sunderland' play-off final in 1998. So they wanted a repeat; in fairness it turned out to be a cracking one, but again it was one of those things which irked some Donny fans who perceived Sky Sports to be showing a 'big club' mentality towards the Londoners.
The crying shame for Rovers is that, inevitably, players left in the aftermath including Marosi who'd already agreed to join Coventry City on a pre-contract agreement anyway, Rowe, Butler and Danny Andrew who 'cashed in' by signing a more lucrative contract at Fleetwood Town (which, despite some criticism, he was perfectly entitled to do so). A long and protracted summer of speculation eventually saw Marquis move to Portsmouth and with loanees Paul Downing, Herbie Kane and Malik Wilks all returning to their parent clubs, the squad was quickly broken apart - something which was just a price of success that often happens to clubs in these circumstances.
Grant McCann notoriously 'jumped ship' to become Hull City's new manager only a few weeks later - and ironically that was just a few days after 'preaching loyalty' to his players who, he felt, were looking for better deals elsewhere. Like Andrew, you can't fault for him for choosing to go (even though Hull still remain as something of a basket case of a club) but the timing couldn't have been much worse, nor could the way he shut out one or two players who'd served him so well.
Even Charlton weren't without their issues following promotion - highlighted best when Lee Bowyer resigned in protest and was then re-instated amidst boardroom difficulties which, even though the ownership has changed, is still causing them problems now. Joe Aribo had his head turned and soon signed for Rangers though they were able to retain the services of Lyle Taylor.
A year is a hell of a long time in football and given what's happened in recent months, it's probably more noticeable now than ever before. However, this epic encounter will still be looked back upon with fond memories for many years to come.
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