Charlton Athletic will meet Sunderland at Wembley in the League One Play-Off Final after a titanic second-leg clash with Doncaster Rovers was decided by a dramatic penalty shoot-out.
With the two legs tied at 4-4 after extra-time at The Valley, Doncaster captain Tommy Rowe blasted his spot-kick wide meaning Lee Bowyer’s side progressed 4-3 on penalties.
In a game that ebbed and flowed throughout and with the Addicks already 2-1 up from the first leg, they quickly extended their aggregate lead as Krystian Bielik nodded in a Josh Cullen free-kick inside the opening two minutes.
However, a Rowe rocket from the edge of the 18 yard box levelled the game nine minutes later to create palpable tension both on and off the pitch.
In a cagey second-half, Doncaster reaped the rewards for their brave approach when Andrew Butler headed in Ali Crawford’s corner at the back post to make it 2-1 on the night and level the scores on aggregate with just two minutes of normal time to play.
Buoyed by the equaliser, the visitors promptly seized the advantage in extra-time, a lightning break-away led by Alfie May saw John Marquis head in Mallik Wilks cross in the 100th minute of play.
But just 60 seconds later substitute Darren Pratley levelled the tie once again by bundling in Lyle Taylor’s cross to take the game to penalties.
And after Rowe’s decisive miss, The Valley erupted as Charlton’s passage to Wembley for the first time in 21 years was confirmed.