A night they can never take away from us
For all the chaos and deceit and uncertainties, no one can ever take away from us the three play-off games from last season. A year ago tonight was that game at The Valley. We actually lost on the night, but we won memories and photos and videos and soulmates that will stay with us a lifetime.
It was a truly incredible night. Very Charlton of course, but unbelievable all the same.
I wasn’t there, I watched the game in a pub in Bermuda acting like a demented nutcase staring at the TV screen, blinking only occasionally to get the sweat of my eyebrows. I, like the rest of us, hated every minute of the game, at least from after Bielik scored. The game seemed to last a lifetime and afterwards as videos and photos started to pop up on my phone, slumped on a bar stool I spoke to my brother.
He was in Colombia and had to follow the game via Twitter on the worst internet connection ever. We shouted at each other words making no sense whatsoever, and we cried.
Obviously I wish I was on that pitch after, but I actually don’t feel like I missed out, even though The Valley has never seen spontaneous joy like that in all of the 45 years I’ve been watching them. We all have our memories of that night, and they were mine, and chancers, crooks and charlatans can never take that away from me.
Others thought we celebrated too soon, but those emotions were years of vent up despair and frustration. And we celebrated again didn’t we just over a week later.
I will never ever get bored of watching those incredible Valley scenes after that last penalty. I’ve watched this video about twenty times already since I got up:
They may beat us and bruise us, but they will never keep us Addicks down!
Chicago Addick 
I still have the clapper or whatever they were called that was left on the seats in the North stand.
The truth is Donny played well that night, they stuck to a well rehearsed game plan and critically didn’t panic when they went 3-1 down early doors and did a very good job of frustrating us thereafter. We lacked the firepower, as we did in the first leg, to kill the game off when we were on top. And somehow we came through and created a real I was there memory from nothing. Not that I was on the pitch, I was in the Norf Upper drinking it all in and beginning to wonder whether we had the guile and strength to get past Sunderland. We may never have won the European Cup or the premiership but those scenes at the end were about genuine fans supporting their team and it’s why despite our stunning lack of success I could never follow another team.
Not even an option SP.