Jones tells of sleepless nights

From today's Times:

Tightly fought contests are often decided by individual moments of brilliance, and this game demanded exactly that after a cagey opening 30 minutes. The centre half, Macaulay Gillesphey, delivered Charlton Athletic’s season-defining moment when he broke the deadlock with an excellently whipped free kick over the Leyton Orient wall to send his side back to the Sky Bet Championship.

Charlton’s quest to return to the second tier after five years in League One has, for the most part, felt like a slog. Before Nathan Jones’s arrival as manager in February 2024, relegation to League Two looked more likely than promotion.

So for Jones, this result is one of huge personal significance. Despite being a key figure in much of Luton Town’s rise from League Two to the Premier League, his departures to first Stoke City and then Southampton in his two spells meant that, before now, he had not tasted promotion since taking Luton up from the fourth tier in 2019.

“Today was just a culmination of probably 16 months’ work, a lot of belief, a lot of sacrifice,” Jones said. “You can’t quantify the amount of work that’s gone into it because of every single sleepless night, every single phone call, every single time I’ve slept at the training ground, every single time my family’s had to sacrifice not seeing me.”

Promotion to the Championship proved to be a step too far, for now, for Richie Wellens and Leyton Orient, having led the east London side from the bottom half of League Two to the League One play-off final in three years.

This campaign has been unforgettable, having gone toe-to-toe with Manchester City at Brisbane Road in the FA Cup and ended the regular season with a six-game winning streak to secure their place in the top six. However, the campaign was not to receive the fairytale ending many thought it deserved.

“It’s disappointing but we have to recognise where we’ve come [from],” Wellens, the Orient manager said.

The contest was a scrappy affair at the start, with shots a rarity in the opening stages. Charlton looked the better of the sides early on but had very little to show for it in terms of clear-cut chances.

It was the midfield battle that dictated the flow of the game. Being first to the frequent loose balls in the midfield was crucial to taking a foothold in the game, and Jones’s side started to do just that. Each challenge and clearance was full-blooded, with every defensive header won with conviction.

The well-placed free kick from Gillesphey was the first shot on target of the game. The free kick was won by Tyreece Campbell, the pacey Charlton winger, who was often stopped in his tracks by a much more physical Orient defender. This time, the foul was drawn in a dangerous position.

Gillesphey whipped his effort over the wall and it dipped with pace, bending out towards the corner. It was hardly out of reach for the goalkeeper, Josh Keeley, but the ball was struck with such power that he was unable to keep it out of the net, despite diving at full stretch.

That opened up the game heading into the second half, as Orient looked to stretch their opponents using their wide players, with Ethan Galbraith bombing on down the right throughout.

Wellens’s side tried alternative methods to equalise. Two of those came from Jack Currie and Charlie Kelman, whose deflected strikes came close.

Currie’s shot was directed wide of the far post by the desperately outstretched boot of Kayne Ramsay. Then shortly after, the studs of Lloyd Jones sent Kelman’s attempt bouncing wildly towards goal and off the top of the crossbar.

A lengthy break in play because of a fault in the communication between the referee and VAR was criticised by Wellens post-match, as he felt it broke up their momentum late in the match.

They attacked with increasing fluidity but ultimately could not find the final ball necessary to level up the scoreline. They will spend next season in League One, while Charlton get to experience a higher level.

Charlton Athletic (4-2-3-1): W Mannion 6 — K Ramsay 7, M Gillesphey 8, L Jones 7, J Edwards 6 — G Docherty 6, C Coventry 6 — T Small 6 (T Watson 68min, 6), A Gilbert 6 (K Anderson 68, 6), T Campbell 7 (M Mbick 81) — M Godden 7 (C Aneke 81). Booked Jones.