Charlton 1 Leyton Orient 0: Nathan Jones leads Addicks back to Championship with huge win over London rivals at Wembley
MACAULAY GILLESPHEY curled home the sweetest of free-kicks to fire Charlton back into the Championship.
It has been five long years for the Addicks in League One but the defender came up trumps with a 30th-minute effort to earn Nathan Jones promotion in his first full season as boss.
Charlton have been out of the Premier League since 2007 and this has been their fifth season in League One and eighth out of the last nine.
But since Nathan Jones took charge in February 2004 things have been on the up at The Valley – steering clear of an unimaginable relegation battle before a third-place finish this season.
The game started at a great pace.
And ref Andrew Kitchen decided to keep the card in his pocket when Lloyd Jones clattered Dan Agyei as the Orient striker looked to break into the Charlton half.
Right-back Ethan Galbraith, who Wellens said is a “future Premier League footballer”, dragged an effort wide.
Ollie O’Neill had a chance to shoot when the O’s caught Charlton on the break but Kayne Ramsay threw himself to block the effort.
Leyton Orient came close to breaking the deadlock when Agyei played a peach of a cross from the right but Jordan Brown just failed to connect.
And Charlton ruthlessly punished them down the other end when Tyrese Campbell was brought down 25 yards from goal.
Up stepped Macaulay Gillesphey to curl a wonderful free-kick past Josh Keeley despite the keeper getting his fingertips to it for his sixth goal of the season.
It was so excellently executed and sent the sold-out Charlton end into a frenzy of jubilation
What had been so frustrating for Orient is that in the first half their top-scoring Charlie Kelman did not get a single kick inside the Charlton box.
Wellens sent his team out early for the second half and Galbraith managed to get behind the Addicks on the right flank but his cross was jumped on by Will Mannion.
And Orient went mighty close to levelling when Jack Currie saw his effort deflected by Tyreece Campbell barely an inch wide of the right post that had Mannion beaten.
The O’s fans, who had gone a little quiet, now found their voice again, having belief that they might be able to claw themselves back into the game.
The bar then came to Charlton’s rescue when Currie drove forward, played a pass into Kelman, who let fly a 20 yard effort that flew over Mannion but rattled back off the woodwork.
Alex Gilbert took out Jamie Donley on the edge of the box before the O’s player dusted himself off but fired his shot into the wall.
Conor Coventry saw an effort tipped over by Josh Keeley after he was played in by Karoy Anderson.
Ref Andrew Kitchen was having issues with his communications kit and there was a long delay while he got kitted with a replacement.
Chuks Aneke saw a snap shot pushed around the post by Keeley.
After 11 minutes of stoppages it was finally all over and the Addicks are back in the Championship.