Lee Bowyer was the last man standing in the Charlton technical area as his backroom staff and substitutes bench emptied on to the pitch, fleeing down the touchline to join the pile-on after Patrick Bauer snatched victory to seal promotion deep into four minutes of second-half stoppage time. They had recovered from an early dreadful mistake by Dillon Phillips, their goalkeeper, to return to the Championship.For Sunderland, whose players crashed to the floor at the final whistle, this proved another heart-breaking and haunting trip to the national stadium, having not won on any of their past seven visits here. Jack Ross, the Sunderland manager, made it clear that the outcome of this game would define their season. The chilling words “the league just turned into a cup” greeted thousands of supporters above the underpass on Wembley Way, a message that both sets of players felt to full effect at full time. Related: Charlton Athletic 2-1 Sunderland: League One play-off final – live reaction! Continue readingreadfullarticle
