Last-gasp Bauer sends Charlton up
IT was a breathless match bookended by two desperate goals, one for the calamity of its concession, the other for the frenzied nature in which Charlton forced their way back into the Championship with six seconds of the season to spare.
There was no man inside wembley more relieved than Charlton goalkeeper Dillon Phillips at the sight, some 100 yards away, of his captain Patrick Bauer scrambling home the winner in the fourth minute of stoppage time.
Earlier, after just five minutes, Phillips had gifted sunderland the lead with a howler of Loris Karius proportions, exactly one year to the day since the Liverpool man’s Champions League final blunders.
Liverpool lost to Real Madrid and Karius was to blame, that is the fate of a goalkeeper. Phillips, then, needed events at the other end of the pitch to turn in his favour for his error to be forgiven, if not forgotten.
and that they did as Ben Purrington equalised before half- time and Bauer pounced at the death, breathing fresh life into a club whose unpopular owner, Roland Duchatlet, was not here given concerns for his safety.
Rather, the man who has united Charlton is Lee Bowyer, reluctant manager who had retired to a fishing farm in France before a chance call and the offer of a coaching job with watford in 2015.
Bowyer returned to where his playing career began as assistant boss in 2017, changing the course of Charlton’s fractured recent history. Now, he has caught the bug for management. at one stage he thought he would spend the rest of his days catching carp.
‘ when I stepped away from football I accepted I’d had my time,’ said Bowyer.
‘I thought, “I don’t want to be involved”. It was lucky the way I came back into football and I’ve
got the taste for winning again, I love that. To be involved in something like this, I want to stay in the game.’
Charton must now make sure their out- of- contract manager stays at the club. ‘I hope we can come to an agreement,’ added Bowyer. ‘I can’t see why not. I’ve not done much wrong.’ The only place to start in dissecting this contest was Phillips’ early error. Charlton defender Naby sarr was in the left-back position when he pinged a pass back to Phillips inside his penalty area. It was a little pacy and a yard wayward, but nothing that a reshuffle of the feet would not solve. Instead, Phillips stretched to control, already looking downfield as he picked his next pass. what he was soon picking was the ball from the net, having felt it scrape his studs and squirm beneath that lazy leg before rolling over the line. It was the type of goal you are waiting to be disallowed. Even the celebrations from sunderland were cautious. But no, 1-0 it was. Purrington levelled on 35 minutes when he strode on to Lyle Taylor’s low flash across goal and the second half saw both sides tentatively press for a winner. with stoppage time about to expire Charlton committed bodies forward for a free-kick. The ball was worked short and Josh Cullen finally delivered.
Bauer rose at the far post and headed aded against Tom Flanagan naxinside the sixyard area and, , when the ball squirmed free, the grounded German poked in via the leg of Flanagan.
an ugly goal but a beautiful l climax to a season n in which Bowyer, in his own words, has ‘ made people smile again’.
There were no smiling faces among the opposition. so bad were they after being handed that early lead — just as they were in the EFL Trophy final here in March — that you could argue it was part of Charlton’ s game-plan.
Black Cats boss Jack Ross will now find his position under scrutiny and owner stewart Donald was pictured alongside Us businessman Mark Campbell, a potential investor in the club. ‘To lose in that manner was particularly painful,’ said Ross. ‘There is a lot of soreness and emotionemo right now.’ For Bowyer, a different entdifferent kind of emotion. ‘To come back to thm the club that gave me my chance in the game and lead them out at wembley, and win, that was special.’ CHARLTON C (3-5-2): PhPhillips 5; Bielik 7, BAUER 8,8, SSarr 6 (Pearce 46min, 6);6); DijksteelD 6, Aribo 7, CullenCullen 7.5, Pratley 7 ((WilliamsWilliams 71, 6), Purrington 7; TaylorTaylor 7,7, ParParker 6. Subs not used: MaxwellMaxwell, SollySolly, LaLapslie, Forster-Caskey, Reeves. Scorers: Purrington 35, Bauer 90+4. Booked: Sarr. Manager: Lee Bowyer 7. SUNDERLAND (4-4-1-1): McLaughlin 5; O’Nien 6, Flanagan 6, Ozturk 6, Oviedo 6; Power 6 (Morgan 9, 5), Cattermole 6, Leadbitter 6.5, Maguire 6 (Grigg 57, 6); Honeyman 6; Wyke 5 (McGeady 72, 5). Subs not used: Stryjek, Dunne, Matthews, Gooch. Scorer: Sarr 5 (og). Booked: Grigg, O’Nien, Leadbitter, Flanagan. Manager: Jack Ross 5. Referee: Andy Madley. Attendance: 76,155.