25th May 1998. Division One Play-Off Final. Charlton Athletic 4 (1) (Mendonca 23, 71, 103, Rufus 85) Sunderland 4 (0) (Quinn 50, 73, Phillips 58, Summerbee 99)* Wembley Stadium. Att 77,739.
Charlton: Ilic, Mills, (Robinson 76), Bowen, K. Jones, Rufus, Youds, Newton, Kinsella, Bright (Brown 93), Mendonca, Heaney (S. Jones 65).
Sunderland: Perez, Holloway (Makin 46), Gray, Clark (Rae 100), Craddock, Williams, Summerbee, Ball, Quinn, Phillips (Dichio 73), Johnston.
Referee: Edward K Wolstenholme (Blackburn).
*After Extra time. 90 mins 3-3. Charlton won 7-6 on penalties
Penalty takers:
Mendonca
Brown
K Jones
Kinsella
Bowen
Robinson
Newton
Steve Jones was due to take the eighth kick if required.
The crowd of 77,739 was the highest for a Play-Off Final and the 4th highest to ever watch a match involving Charlton.
Ilic’s penalty save was the first by a Charlton keeper since Bob Bolders stop against Leicester City at Upton Park in 1992.
Charlton wore shirts with the new sponsors name for the first time. The club had arranged a one-off deal with MESH for the Wembley match and received a £25,000 payment.
Charlton stayed at The Excelsior Hotel, Heathrow on the eve of the match. After the game, players and their guests held a banquet there.
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Got some great photos of the players at the banquet, will have to dig them out and put them on here.
I'm struggling to think what two strikers might excel in such a way this coming season
Everything else i knew but that stat above?! Thats amazing.
Can't really say anything else about the game, i'm at work and dont want to start crying at my desk!
Go on West Side.
Watch it- you know it makes sense!
And for afters!
I took my lad to the toilet at half time and said "that's it for the goals, we've won, they won't score, look at all the clean sheets we've kept, they can't....... 1-0, we're up son!"
He reminded me on the way home in a 'what the fook do you know about football' kind of way.
An amazing day, every one of them hero's. Brownies tackle, Steve Jones run and cross for the 4th, Keith Jones ball for the 2nd, Kinsella's clenched fist urging them on.
WONDERFULL, BLOODY WONDERFULL.
We thought we had got there ridiculously early, but we're suprised to see other groups on the platform. When the train pulled in there were flags hanging out the window and on boarding it was as busy as a rush-hour commuter train.
On pulling in to Charing Cross, the driver wished all the Charlton fans a good day and hoped we win, and as we got off the train we got hit halfway through a massive Valley Floyd Road coming from the main concourse. It was packed already, everyone had a carrier bag full of cans and it was only about 9.45.
I don't think i've ever been as excited before as i was at that point. I think it probably helped that in our hearts, most of us thought Sunderland were going to win. We'd been on a great run, but they seemed to have a stronger, better unit than us.
What a day
After the game went back to the Newbridge where at about 10pm they put the whole game on again on the big screen and we watched the entire thing until it finished !!
never have i ever come out of a game so drained of energy and how our 7 penalty spot kicks went in i'll never know, we didn't have the greatest strikers of a ball but those players had huge heart and nerve to put them away
9 years !!
what a day, never to be topped, if we do top that, i will eat a car!
quite a strange sentenance when its a toss up between the 1966 World Cup Final, and Charlton winning a play off !
Have posted long and often on this game. Fantastic almost surreal day that I never thought I would ever encounter as a Charlton fan of many years.
The stadium - Addickfull
The hat trick - incredible
The final score - unbelievable
The shoot out - unbearable
The celebration - tearful
The walk back - reverential
The memories - unforgetable
kin kin kin kinsella.
legends all of them
Dad and I went up by coach we'd hired and got a few other CAFC fans to join us from our Golf Club.........The day started with one of my Mum's legendary massive fry ups and a few cans of lager to wash it down.
We bedecked the coach with CAFC flags and we're so surprised that all the way up through London we were given thumbs ups by people at the side of the road. Even up through Bermondsey, we'll I think it was thumbs, but as I said I had been on it from early doors so cant be too sure.
The rest of the day and game seem to be a blur, even though the at the time the match clock itself seemed to be on go slow.
The feeling I had when Mickey Gray missed his pen can honestly on be compared to when my daughter was born, but yet was so much more intense as I knew she was going to be born, I didn't know we were going to win.
However if I can choose one memory to stay with me forever it would be the humble feeling I had when we waiting to get on our coach home, having a few beers in the Car Park at Wembley, all of us chatting excitedly, hugging each other etc and were approached by a bunch of drained and tear filled eyed Mackems, who had the grace to come over to us and shake all of our hands and wish us the best of luck.....I was gob smacked (those who know me will know that doesn't happen often) and mumbled a few "Cheers Mate"s.
I'm not too sure I'd have been able or willing to do the same had I just been through the mill and lost like they had.
I never expect a season as good as that one having finished 15th the season before, and the way that 97/98 season ended was a fitting for one which was so great.
That team and that game will always have a place in my heart and the memories it left me with will never be forgotten.
Steve Brown's Challenge to set up the forth goal.
Rufus's 1st goal.
The teams fighting spirit and togetherness that made you feel even at 3-2 Sunderland it wasn't over (I will admit I was starting to doubt at 4-3 but I'm glad I was wrong).
Mendonca's hat trick.
Choking my brother as he was in the row in front every time we scored and him pleading with me to try not to do it for every penalty.
Ilic's penalty save and everything going mad and hugging people I'd never met and would probably never meet again.
And that's just to recall a few just wish I'd been a bit older so I could have celebrated it after like I would have done now.
A great day.
Everyone was so drained
Being in a pub up Bexleyheath after the coach had dropped us off and my brother saying to me we should sign Neil Redfern he would do a job for us next season.
My brother and his strange ideas.
I went with my Dad, my Wife, amd my Dads best mate, who we picked up on the way to Orpington Station. Caught a train to Charing Cross (with a few other Addicks). Then got the Jubilee Line to Wembley. The driver of the train, who was clearly a Palarse fan gave us some good natured stick over the tannoy and we arrived by about 12.30pm.
I remember the friendly atmosphere as we mingled with the Mackems and eventually decided to take our seats and watch all the pre-match stuff.
I was feeling Ok but not unduly nervous as the game kicked off. That changed when Sir Clive scored the first. That "we're most dangerous when we're winning feeling" settled into my brain and the pit of my stomach. I don't remember saying much at half-time, just feeling uneasy.
I knew somehow that we would concede fairly quickly after the break, (although not that quickly) as Quinn equalises. Then Philips goal - I was expecting it. Typical Charlton. Hope came with Sir Clives second but then I didn't expect us to keep them out. Quinn again! The games over I thought. I really had given it up when, almost in slow motion, Rooofus, rises and the ball seems to take ages before nestling in the net. Five minutes of normal time. Dare I believe?
Extra time starts and then the inevitable happens thanks to Mr Summerbee. 4-3 bloody hell. We've got to a Wembley final, scored 3 and we're still on the losing side. Then the unbelievable goal that was Sir Clives 3rd. That goal seemed to sum up our season. A great challenge by Brownie, the ball goes to Jones and his cross, like much of his shooting that season was slightly off course. he pulls it back behind Sir Clive. Suddenly he somehow controls it, swivels and the balls in the net. I'm out of my seat hugging friends family and strangers alike. This wasn't in my pessimistic script, This was not at all what I imagined would be the outcome.
The rest of extra time was spent in unfamiliar territory, I stared to believe we might win this. Newtons powerful run and shot into the side netting had me out of my seat again, rubbing my eyes and cleaning my glasses. The final whistle went - Penalties
I watched the first 12 taken. Sasa nearly saved the one from Makin, other than that they all seemed unsaveable. Up steps Newts. I could see he was nervous, I just had to look away. The roar around me told me all I needed to know. Michael Gray. I daren't look - a thought, flashed up in my brain, it's 7-6 ,how significant is that scoreline to all Addicks? I did look, Sasa saves it. Cue screaming, cue dancing, cue hugging, cue kissing, cue crying!! A grown man, not easily stirred to emotion crying like a baby. The noise of the crowd around me was awesome. The players lying in a huge heap on top of one Keeper.
Then Kins lifts the trophy, the fireworks explode, the music plays. Finally the celebration is over and we troop out. As we leave the perimeter of the stadium there is an eerie silence. As if we'd witnessed something shocking. It was shocking. The brutality of the penalty shoot out, the agony of the losers, the thought that it could have been us walking down Wembley way with our hearts on the floor. As Charlton Dan has said, I remember the sportmanship of Mackem fans, they clapped us from their coaches as they passed us. They were magnificent in defeat.
We continued to walk in virual silence towards the underground station keeping our thoughts private as to what we had wtinessed
And so onwards back to my Dads. We watched the highlights on ITV just in case it was all a dream, then headed north for Norwich. It had been a surreal, unbelieveable, but totally unforgetable day. I can still feel the emotion now and the tears start to well. Thank you Curbs, thank you Richard, that you Addicks. My life changed on that day.
What I remember most was trying to kill time for a few hours in the morning, the day just dragged so I called my friend and we decided to go early, met at Orpington station train to Charing Cross, a couple of beers in Covent Garden in All Bar One then on the tube to Wembley. On the way we got talking to some Sunderland fans, nice people and we walked up Wembley Way together. At the top we shook hands, wished each other luck and I warned them about the Sunderland supporting Mendonca...
Can't really remember much about the first 90 minutes at all, apart from the combination of utter relief and elation when the equaliser went in to make it 3-3, and trying to work out who the hell had scored as it was down the far end. Was gutted when Sunderland got their 4th, as wasn't sure that we could come back yet again. And then that crunching tackle came in from Steve Brown (you could practically hear it from where we were), Steve Jones crossed, and Mendonca somehow turned and thumped the ball in the back of the net. I jumped up so quickly at that point I actually felt a bit dizzy.
At the end of extra time it was decided that my sister's boyfriend would come and sit with us, as every time something exciting happened she'd grab hold of my arm and squeeze it half to death, and I didn't think I'd survive the penalties in one piece. The penalties were taken down the other end, so it was a bit surreal as there was always a slight delay between the ball going in and the cheers reaching us. Ilic got a hand to one of their penalties (Makin?) but then the cheer from the Mackems meant we knew it had gone in. It was too much to hope for that Rae would miss his, so then we were down to sudden death.
If I'd known that Robbo had never scored from a competitive penalty before, and had only taken about 3 or 4 ever in his career, I think I'd have been more worried, but with Shaun Newton I felt physically ill. There was something about the way he walked / jogged up to the area, combined with the short run up, that just screamed "he's gonna miss this". And then Gray scuffed his penalty, Sasha held on to it, and I completely missed the bundle of players on the pitch as I was too busy jumping up and down and hugging my sister, her boyfriend and her random mate.
As others have said, after all that we were knackered, and it was a very quiet journey home. In fact one of our neighbours assumed we must've lost from the way we looked when we got back. Then having got our second wind, and it being a lovely evening, we took a few bottles, cans and nibbles and had a mini celebration on the heath outside the Princess of Wales. The pub was absolutely chock full of Charlton fans, and I think they were showing the game on the screen again, and every now and then a car would go past with a red flag or scarf fluttering from the window, and a cheer would go up from those gathered outside. It was a great night, and I wouldn't have missed it for the world.
Yep, I passed out seconds after Rufus equalised (was it 3-3 at the end of ET?) when we were jumping up and down celebrating the goal. After several people standing near us tipped their bottles of water over me, I came around again, only to be told the game was going into ET. Anxiety wasnt the word for it. The highs and lows of that first 90mins was probably the most exhausting 90mins of watching football I've ever watched.
Absolutely fantastic game to watch and was amazing to share the atmosphere. Will never forget the Mackems on the coaches crying their eyes out but still clapping every Charlton fan that they passed. Puts sport into perspective.
Ranks up their with one of the best games I've ever seen at Wembley, alongside our FA Cup Semi-Final win against the Ars*nal in 1991.
The best memory though will be when we got back to the Camden in Bexleyheath with AFKA when Rich (our Palace fan friend) paid up a rather large bet that Charlton wouldnt win the game.
LOL, turned into another 10 !!
Others have described the emotion of the day as well if not better than me. My brother and his wife were with us and I remember hugging my family members and complete strangers who were behind and in front of us. It was a surreal experience as was the eerie silence, shock whateever you want to call it as we finally left.
I just want to salute the Supporters Club, Wendy Perfect in particular, for coordinating things and Kevin Banks for his efforts in making the coach trip from Gas Hill Rochester an enjoyable one.
There have been well documented political differences over the years regarding the supporters club, branches, independent this, independent that, blah, blah BUT this was a day the whole Charlton Community pulled together, a reward after the tribulations of the previous decade and more.
I don't think we will ever surpass that day in terms of supporter unity but it sounds like AFKA and his team had a damned good shot at it on Tuesday.
I was operating the VFR Fanzine at the time and was juggling with the prospect of selling an edition on the day or just leaving it and concentrating on the match. I decided on the former and prepared a 'Lottery Style' front cover, with the caption, 'It could be us'. Printed a few thousand and my tiny band of sellers, plus the whole family headed to Wembley, so I passed on the pre match drinkies.
For some reason early on, it seemed like Wembley Way was full of only Mackems, so sales were sluggish and by the time the armies of Addicks started to filter through, I thought sod this I want to get into the stadium and soak up the atmosphere, so I just started giving them away right outside the ground. Was met by a few of Wembley Security's finest, who said I wasn't allowed to hand stuff out without permission, so I just dropped them all on the floor and invited fans to take them. The perplexed look on their faces was a picture and by the time they radio'd in for advise, they'd all gone, and so was I.
I didn't wear colours, the last time I'd been to Wembley to watch the Addicks, I was festooned in Red and White and we lost, so superstition took over and I went plain. The rest of my family and friends, 12 of us in all, more than made up for my retisence.
No point in recollecting the game as many have done so far more eloquently than me, I just remember thinking, shit me if Rufus can score, then anything is possible today. But the level of nervousness I had been feeling all day was higher than I had ever felt at any time in my life before and when we went into extra time and then penalties, I wasn't sure how I could cope with any more, let alone the players.
My most vivid memory, was looking at my kids just as the penalties began. Now as a parent you're not sure if your kids come along to Charlton because they want to, or because you want them to. But as we anxiously awaited the start of the spot kicks I glanced to my left and saw that the occasion had got to them already and they were crying their eyes out. I can't begin to tell you how proud that made me feel!
The celebrations that erupted when Sasa made that save were quite phenomenal and I just kept screaming, 'we've done it, we've f**king done it'. I knocked some guys glasses in front of me whilst hugging him and they flew about twenty rows away, don't know if he ever got them back.
Like so many, I felt I'd been emotionally raped and was so drained I just stayed around the stadium steps when we finally left our seats, for what seemed like an eternity, we'd planned to go to Charlton or Bexleyheath to celebrate in the evening, but I just couldn't, I was just too knackered, so we went home and I flaked out with a beer.
I too ran into some friendly gracious Mackems afterwards, only one barbed a comment to me, saying that we would back down next season, to which I replied, maybe, but you'd swap places right about now eh? He succumbed, agreed and we shook hands and wished each other good luck as he left the train.
Went up on a coach from Joydens Wood organised by a mate i seem to remember, and the rest as they say is a blur.
Can't really believe that it is now 9 effing years ago Christ I feel old BUT have we considered what a great p*ss up may be had this time next year not only promotion at the new Wembley but ten years almost to the day since the last time? I would give good money to bet that it won't be such a superb match though.