Charlton Athletic win promotion to the Championship after defeating Leyton Orient in the League One play-off final

Charlton Athletic are back in the Championship for the first time since 2020 after the Addicks beat Leyton Orient 1-0 in the League One play-off final.

Macauley Gillesphey's curling free-kick proved the difference in a cagey affair where Charlton's impressive resilience ultimately shone through.

Charlton's successful Wembley outing marks Nathan Jones' second promotion as manager and the Welshman was overwhelmed with emotion at the full-time whistle.

"This isn’t relief, this is euphoria now," Jones told Sky Sports after the match. "We didn’t play well today, we just defended really, really well. So, so happy.

"I’m so proud of this club, great club. I came here, wanted to build something, took a gamble, dropped a division, drop two divisions, my last job was Premier League.

I knew we could build something. It’s the first step, now we kick on.

Charlton were the nervier of the two sides during the opening exchanges and neither side were able to muster sustained spells of possession in a contest that wasn't about the aesthetics in the first half.

There was only one shot on target inside the first 45 minutes and it was fashioned from the left boot of Gillesphey.

The central defender managed to produce a sumptuous effort which curled around the Orient wall and proved too powerful for Josh Keeley to keep out, although the goalkeeper may wish to replay the moment again with the free-kick seemingly a comfortable height for him to deny.

Charlton's record when taking the lead in matches painted an ominous picture for Richie Wellens' men; the Addicks had won 28 of the 29 League One matches in which they had scored the first goal this season.

Despite what the statistics suggested, Orient attempted to seize the initiative early in the second half and came to within inches of restoring parity when Jack Currie's audacious long-range hit deflected off Kayne Ramsey before skimming the frame of the post.

The crossbar then came to Charlton's rescue just after the hour mark as the electrifying Currie marched into a promising position down the left flank before finding Charlie Kelman, whose low drive deflected off Lloyd Jones and onto the woodwork.

Charlton survived relentless waves of Orient's attacks before carving an opportunity of their own when Matty Godden capitalised on an Omar Beckles error to feed Greg Docherty, who saw his first-time effort deflect up and call Keeley into action.

With 83 minutes on the clock, the game was suddenly interrupted by the officials experiencing a communication malfunction and the delay set up a grand finale with 11 minutes of stoppage time added.

Orient began to aerially bombard the Charlton penalty area in a desperate search for an equaliser but whatever they conjured, the imperious Jones was equal to it.

With the full-time whistle looming, Orient were wasteful in their advances and a tame cross from Randell Williams - gratefully grasped by Charlton goalkeeper Will Mannion - typified their wastefulness in the final third.

Charlton's last stint in the Championship was a brief affair, but the Addicks return to the second tier as a far healthier entity compared to the team that finished 22nd and were relegated under Lee Bowyer.

Jaquob Crooke

• Championship
• League One
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