One Charlton Athletic record bodes well for Wycombe Wanderers sealing play-off success | OneFootball

The Addicks will host the Chairboys in the second leg of their League One play-off semi-final on Thursday.

Charlton Athletic will face Wycombe Wanderers at The Valley in the second leg of their League One play-off semi-final on Thursday night.

Both sides played out a closely-contested 0-0 draw in the first leg at Adams Park on Sunday evening, which has set up a winner-takes-all showdown in SE7 on Thursday.

The Valley will no doubt be bouncing at 8pm on Thursday, with Nathan Jones having made it clear that the Charlton supporters will be "vital" if his players are going to progress to the League One play-off final at Wembley.

The Addicks are currently unbeaten in their last 15 home games, so they should have plenty of confidence that they can continue their good run and secure a positive result against the Chairboys. However, Wycombe have the second-best away record in the division, meaning they will have faith that they can make amends for the 2-1 defeat they suffered at The Valley in December.

While many Charlton fans seem confident that their support could be the difference on Thursday night, they have not seen their side be overly convincing in any of their three play-off campaigns since the turn of the century, which could give Wycombe supporters a reason to be optimistic.

Charlton have struggled in the play-offs before

Charlton have been involved in three League One play-off campaigns in the last 15 years, and they have shown vulnerability at The Valley in each of them.

At the end of the 2009/10 season, fourth-placed Charlton took on fifth-placed Swindon Town in a play-off semi-final. The Addicks were beaten 2-1 away from home in the first leg, before they produced the same result in their favour in front of more than 21,000 fans at The Valley.

However, when Nicky Bailey fired his penalty over the bar in the shootout, it meant that Swindon were able to take advantage and progress to the final, where they were beaten by Millwall.

Charlton's next play-off campaign came in 2018, when Lee Bowyer's men took on a Shrewsbury Town side that had been in contention for automatic promotion for much of the season before ultimately finishing third.

The Addicks were beaten 1-0 in both legs of that tie, with a screamer from Shrewsbury midfielder Jon Nolan proving to be the difference at The Valley.

The most recent play-off campaign Charlton embarked on ended in victory over Sunderland at Wembley and promotion to the Championship in 2019, but it was not all plain sailing.

The Londoners beat Doncaster Rovers away from home in the first leg, meaning that they went into the second leg at The Valley, in front of more than 25,000 fans, full of confidence. However, the visitors secured a 3-2 victory after extra time, with it taking a dramatic win on penalties for Charlton to reach the final.

Wycombe should have belief at The Valley

Given that Charlton have not won a play-off semi-final without penalties this century, Wycombe should go into the second leg at The Valley on Thursday night with belief they can come out on top.

The Chairboys won away at Huddersfield Town and Bolton Wanderers last month, so they know what it takes to be successful on the road, and they could put huge pressure on their opponents if they have the same aggression and attitude as they did in the first leg on Sunday.

Having a big crowd in their favour has not always made things easy for Charlton in the play-offs in the past, so Wycombe should have belief at The Valley.