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Nathan Jones’ Charlton Athletic came away with a 0-0 draw in the first leg of the play-off semi-final away to Wycombe Wanderers.
Just three weeks ago, the Addicks travelled to Wycombe and won 4-0 at Adams Park. However, they played out a much lower-margin game here ahead of a return trip to The Valley on Thursday night.
Wycombe started the brighter early on but it was Charlton who almost won it late on, with Matty Godden almost punishing Wycombe again and other set-pieces causing chaos in the Wycombe box. It means it is all to play for in the reverse fixture, but Charlton also claimed victory in December with a 2-1 win.
A place in the League One play-off final at Wembley awaits the winner against either Stockport County or Leyton Orient, which is also in the balance after a controversial 2-2 draw that included an offside incident which Mark Clattenburg has reacted to.
Nathan Jones reacts to Wycombe 0-0 Charlton Athletic
Nathan Jones is a divisive figure, particularly for fans of Southampton and Stoke City. However, Charlton’s resurgence under his tutelage has been nothing short of remarkable.
Wycombe are aiming to return to the second tier after four seasons away, while Charlton have been without Championship football since 2020.
They remain well-placed to do so, given that only Birmingham City (57) have taken more points since the turn of the year than Charlton (52), albeit both Stockport and Leyton Orient are in the top four in that time, too.
Nathan Jones has reacted to the drab draw, but his reaction wasn’t at all negative after a battling display. Speaking to Sky Sports post-match, he said: “Cagey affair, you know. Tight first game — no one wanted to give too much away.
“They came out with a front three of pace and power and tried to play into them at every opportunity.
“Everything that’d drop, they tried to play in behind and to get them in. So, it was difficult to get any rhythm.
“But, look, really pleased and really proud of how we stood up to everything they did.
“We’ve come away from home. We’ve kept a clean sheet. And we’ve finished really, really strongly.
“And that’s the real positive for us.”
He added: “Look, defensively we were excellent today because we had to be. As I said, they’ve got the front three with pace and power — but we handled that.
“And, probably, we made their ‘keeper save. Their ‘keeper probably made more saves than ours. So, we’re relatively happy. Look, we’d have liked to have scored to go along with the clean sheet.
“But you come away from home in the play-off when there’s very little between the two sides in the season in terms of the points — in terms of everything.
“It’s a good result. We didn’t want to come here and lose and go back and have to chase a deficit. What we have to do now is go back to The Valley and we’re gonna have to win a home game.
“We’ve come here today and done a job. You’re not going to come here and roll Wycombe over. You’re not gonna come here and just win 4-0 again.
“It’s a different game. They’re a different mindset today in terms of how they’ve played. You’re not just going to come here and just roll them over. That’s disrespectful to even think that of anyone.
“We’ve come here and we’ve had to battle, had to graft, and keep a clean sheet.”
The key stats in Wycombe 0-0 Charlton Athletic
Had League One started since Mike Dodds’ appointment, Wycombe would be ninth in the table, which highlights the dip they have suffered since Matt Bloomfield’s departure to Luton Town.
However, Wycombe fans saw promising signs against Charlton; they will hope to build on those in the second leg against a Charlton team with just two home league defeats all season.
| Team | Shots | Shots on target | xG | Big chances | Corners | Possession % |
| Wycombe Wanderers | 7 | 2 | 0.58 | 1 | 4 | 48 |
| Charlton Athletic | 7 | 3 | 0.56 | 1 | 2 | 52 |
The first leg wasn’t pretty or one for the neutral to particularly enjoy, but a one-off game could spark into life from either team. That said, Dodds and the Wycombe fans will hope they have turned a corner somewhat after Sunday’s showing.