Charlton is a club on the up as Wembley win seals Championship return | OneFootball

Future looks bright as Nathan Jones guides Addicks to victory over Leyton Orient in League One play-off final

Charlton had a big finish in store at the end of a stellar season, Macaulay Gillesphey’s superb free-kick firing them back to the Championship at the expense of Leyton Orient.

Almost 40,000 Charlton fans were at Wembley, many of them bouncing up and down and cheering Nathan Jones’s men on throughout.

Macaulay Gillesphey’s superb free-kick secured Charlton promotion

Ben Whitley/PA Wire

Charlton had stormed into the play-offs as former Luton and Southampton manager Jones got them ticking, before beating Wycombe in the play-off semi-finals to earn their date with destiny and, ultimately, promotion at Wembley.

The 31st-minute winner from free-kick specialist Gillesphey was their clearest chance of the afternoon.

It might have been two when captain Greg Docherty’s deflected strike was tipped over by Orient goalkeeper Josh Keeley, but an assured defensive performance from Charlton kept Orient at arm’s length and carried them to the line.

As for Orient, they will undoubtedly rise again. If they had sealed promotion here, it would have been their second in just three years. Championship status for the first time in 43 years must, it turns out, wait a little while longer yet.

It is no real consolation given the magnitude of what was at stake, but the O’s can only be delighted with their season. They spent almost as many days in the bottom four as they did the top six and were in the bottom three in November. To turn that into play-off form was remarkable.

By their own high standards, having won their last six matches of the season and stunned third-place Stockport to reach this play-off final, their performance was quite flat for long periods, at times error-prone and with decent opportunities only arriving in the second half when they were chasing the game and Charlton inviting pressure.

Jack Currie’s effort deflected off Kayne Ramsay and its wicked curl so nearly took it in. Then, from the resultant corner, Jordan Brown swivelled but volleyed just over.

With his only real involvement in the final, League One top scorer Charlie Kelman saw his strike from distance deflected against the bar. That got the Orient fans behind the goal cheering - they weren’t to know it was to prove their team’s best chance of the afternoon.

When the final whistle blew and Wellens looked at the turf, Jones and his coaching staff tore onto the pitch to join their players.

Then the trophy lift, and Charlton’s crowning moment. The Championship awaits.