Charlton Athletic host Doncaster Rovers tonight in the second leg of their League One play-off semi-final, knowing they have a marvellous opportunity of progressing through to the final at Wembley on 27 May.
The Addicks will defend a 2-1 lead after they overcame Rovers at the Keepmoat Stadium on Sunday and head into the crucial match full of confidence.
Speaking ahead of the crucial game to the South London Press, goalkeeper Dillon Phillips was as assured as he has been between the posts for the Addicks since he regained his place in the starting eleven at the turn of the year. Commenting on a potential visit to Wembley He said: ‘It would be massive to get there, but that’s not really what we started out to achieve in the long term.’
‘We started out to achieve promotion. If we did get there (to Wembley) and didn’t go up, then all it would be is an experience – not an achievement.’
The Twenty-three-year-old added: “I suppose just looking short-term we need to make sure we’re there first. When you are there, we need to do what we’ve done all season. If we do that, then we’re more than capable of beating anyone we’d get in the final.’
Phillips also knows the team is set to be backed by fervent support with the crowd expected to be in the region of 24,000, something the goalkeeper, who joined the Addicks at the age of eight, knows is a rare occurrence. ‘It’s really exciting,’ he said
“The Valley is going to be full and the last time I can remember it like that was when the team played on the final day against Hartlepool (May 5 2012). Yann (Kermorgant) scored a volley from a ridiculous angle.’
Rovers will be confident in the knowledge they are the last team to beat Charlton at home, but Phillips believes the experience gained through losing to Shrewsbury at this stage last season will benefit Lee Bowyer’s side. “I think the players who experienced it last season, it will only make them hungrier now to get promoted this time,’ he said.
Our View
Charlton have got to be fancied to go through tonight.
In Lyle Taylor, they have a forward who can win a game on his own, and he bossed proceedings in South Yorkshire.
Doncaster will fancy themselves on the counter-attack, but Phillips will provide a formidable barrier having kept thirteen clean sheets so far, including three in a row at the end of the normal season.
After watching Sunderland go through last night in a dour game, the young goalkeeper has every right to be confident that if the Addicks do make it through, they must be favourites to be back in the Championship next season.
