29th April 1975. Charlton Athletic 3 (0) (Goldthorpe 52, Hales 66, 75) Preston North End 1 (1) (Coleman 10) Att: 24,659.
Charlton: Tutt, Curtis, Warman, Cripps (Hunt 42), Goldthorpe, Young, Powell, Hales, Horsefield, Bowman, Flanagan.
Preston: Tunks, Lawrenson, Williams, Doyle, Bird, S. Baxter, Coleman, Burns, Elwiss, Holden, Morley. Unused sub: Thomson.
Referee: A Grey (Great Yarmouth)
Penalty: Curtis, who was ordered to take the next penalty following Bowmans miss against Bury, saw his weak shot easily saved by Tunks after Hales had been fouled by Williams in the 19th minute.
Promoted: Charlton made sure of promotion following their victory over Preston. Had they lost they could have been overtaken by Palace and Peterborough.
Derek Hales top scored with 21 goals. Arthur Horsefield was next best with 12.
Highs and lows: Charltons top gate was 26,104 for the visit of Palace. The lowest was a mere 4,527 for the 3-3 home draw against Swindon Town.
Leeds United lost the European Cup final 2-0 to Bayern Munich in Paris and Westham won the F.A. Cup beating Fulham 2-0.
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Comments
old 3rd division and everybody coming out of the woodwork as we went on a run...
As regards the game, this was one hell of a nervy occasion until the final twenty minutes or so when we had the game sown up. As a typically pessimistic fan, the going one nil down and the missing of the penalty kept the misery where I expected it to be.
The breakthrough was the Goldthorpe goal which was from a goal-bound header, that was blocked on the line, only for the linesman (God bless him) to rule that the ball had gone over. The mighty Killer then struck twice and it was game over.
I was sixteen at the time but looked eighteen (so I thought). I ended up getting hammered at the Youngs pub up from Burnt Ash hill on the way to Grove Park (can't remember it's name). Great night. Back into Div 2 (old old) at the third attempt.
Most of the crowd must have been on the pitch at the end.
Brilliant night.
My abiding memory (other than what I posted earlier) was the emotion of the night. Going one nil down, missing a penalty, the controversial goal from Goldthorpe and then the relief when the third goal went in. Memories fade but those linked to emotions remain strong.
Killer is my all time favourite player and this night was made for him. He had a belligerence about him which made you feel that he would somehow prevail. The main worry was whether or not he'd stay on the pitch long enough though. ;-)
That would be The Crown !
Ah yes, another of my favourite games. I was about 13 & still a nice kid. I was standing at the front of The Covered End & towards the end all of the older lads were working their way forward for a pitch invasion. I asked a cop standing in front if it was ok to run on and he said no.
I was gutted, but as the final whistle blew & people started to invade, I hopped over, just avoiding his grasp. It was exhilirating & brilliant dancing on the pitch to celebrate.
NB Killer was/is and always will be my hero. Like your 1st love, there's something special there, that will never be replaced.
Super Clive probably comes 2nd, but it's not quite the same when you are all grown up.
I remember being terrified we were going to blow it and I recall the relief when Goldthorpe scored the equaliser.
Killer then did his thing and the celebrations began.
Malcolm Allison lost his cocksure TV bet that Palace would go up and we wouldn't.
As for the crowds - well there always seemed to be a feeling that we could pull a crowd whenever we looked like we were going somewhere or when we drew a "big" club.
But the big crowds of yesteryear had been eroded by Gliksteins lack of ambition; selling our best young talent and allowing the Valley to become decaying folly.
Remember that feeling days in advance that you couldnt wait until match day came around? Willing the final hours away before setting off?
I miss that.
The promotions under Mike Bailey and Lennie happened a long way from the Valley and I was unable to attend them. I recall the game against Wimbledon at Sellout Park after we had been promoted which was a bit of a jamboree although tinged with regret and anger that we had been deprived experiencing it at the Valley.
The play off final first leg against Leeds was such an unpleasant occasion despite the win. As for the St Andrews replay I just couldn't go, but I remember the emotion of the result (it was also my birthday).
Nothing though can ever replace/top the 1998 play off final. The only game I have ever finished in tears!
As for the crowd against Preston, it was amazing to see so many there. The Palace game was kind of understandable, they had good support in those days and brought a big away contingent. Against Preston it was all Charlton. It gave us all a glimpse of the potential of our club. Sad then as I recall above, that the success, when it finally came, was down the road at that sh*thole.
Killer seemed to be everyone's favourite at the time and I was no exception. He had that "couldn't give a damn about anyone" (particularly goalkeepers) sort of attitute, which meant he was completely unphased by such a big occasion. When his two chances came along in the second half, he put them away with aplomb to bring great relief to the anxious croud. The players and fans celebrated on the pitch and I remember Ritchie Bowman (who had a great game) being carried aloft above people's heads. A fantastic night that I'll never forget.
Notts County/Swansea/Southampton/Notts Forest/Chelsea/West Ham all spring to mind from the seventies
Agree with all the comments on here about Killer - my no. 1 hero
I was 10 years old and can still remember the tension and excitement of that evening. Never worried too much about going behind in those days, as we had serious firepower up front. How different from today.
I was there with my Dad (we were only talking about this game last week). Also there with me was my grandad and uncle, now no longer with us, but as a kid I remember them going mental, then at the final whistle telling me and my brother to get on the pitch.
Great memories.
I worked on the turnstiles that season, and was allocated the Bartram gates that evening. It meant staggering through the crowd about 30 mins into the match, down the East terrace (though i never called it that - 'big side', we said) with the (heavy) takings, complete with police escort. I missed the Preston goal but was free of all duties to see the comeback & eventual relief.
Brilliant headed lay-off by Arthur for Hales' first, and a classic burst through & bullet in the corner for his second. The equaliser was only given by the lino I think, their player trying head Goldthorpe's header off the line - it was that close...
Just thinking, who was the last player we had called "Bob".
Apart from Norwich Boxing Day in our play-off season, when as a proud dad I took my two sons to their first ever game at The Valley, that Preston game is probably my fondest memory at Charlton in all the years I've supported our great club. I also remember looking across from the West Stand when we played Ipswich and were then presented with the Championship Trophy by Sir Bobby, to that far corner of the East and remembering the feelings I experienced a quarter of a century earlier.
A truly memorable night.
He retired as a player about a month earlier . Had he featured that night he would have both began and ended his career against his namesake club.That would have been the ultimate trivia question .