1997–98 Charlton Athletic F.C. season

During the 1997–98 English football season, Charlton Athletic F.C. competed in the Football League First Division.

Charlton Athletic
1997–98 season
ChairmanRichard Murray
ManagerAlan Curbishley
StadiumThe Valley
First Division4th (promoted)
FA CupFourth round
League CupFirst round
Top goalscorerLeague: Mendonca (23)
All: Mendonca (28)
Average home league attendance13,275

Season summary

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The 1997–98 season was Charlton's best campaign for years. They reached the division One play-off final and battled against Sunderland in a thrilling game which ended with a 4–4 draw after extra time. Charlton won 7–6 on penalties,[1] with the match described as "arguably the most dramatic game of football in Wembley's history".[2] With five minutes of normal time remaining, Charlton were losing 3-2 before Richard Rufus scored his first ever senior goal from a corner, forcing the game into extra-time. After the resulting 4–4 draw, the Addicks went on to win the game 7–6 on penalties, thus gaining promotion into the Premier League.[3]

Final league table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
2 Middlesbrough (P) 46 27 10 9 77 41 +36 91 Promotion to the Premier League
3 Sunderland 46 26 12 8 86 50 +36 90 Qualification for the First Division play-offs
4 Charlton Athletic (O, P) 46 26 10 10 80 49 +31 88
5 Ipswich Town 46 23 14 9 77 43 +34 83
6 Sheffield United 46 19 17 10 69 54 +15 74
Source: Statto.com
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goals scored; 3) Goal difference
(O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted

Results

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Charlton Athletic's score comes first[4]

Legend

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Win Draw Loss

Football League First Division

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Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
9 August 1997 Middlesbrough A 1–2 29,414 S Jones
16 August 1997 Oxford United H 3–2 10,230 S Jones, Mendonca, Lisbie
23 August 1997 Bury A 0–0 4,657
30 August 1997 Manchester City H 2–1 14,009 van Blerk (own goal), K Jones
13 September 1997 Wolverhampton Wanderers A 1–3 22,683 Chapple
17 September 1997 Norwich City A 4–0 10,157 Mendonca (3), Chapple
21 September 1997 Bradford City H 4–1 11,583 Mendonca (2), Mortimer, Brown
27 September 1997 Stockport County H 1–3 12,083 Mortimer
4 October 1997 Queens Park Rangers A 4–2 14,825 Robinson (2), S Jones, Chapple
14 October 1997 Huddersfield Town A 3–0 9,596 Mendonca, Brown, Robinson
19 October 1997 Stoke City H 1–1 12,345 Kinsella
22 October 1997 Birmingham City H 1–1 10,072 Mendonca
25 October 1997 Tranmere Rovers A 2–2 5,911 Kinsella, Leaburn
1 November 1997 Ipswich Town H 3–0 12,627 Mendonca, Chapple, Leaburn
4 November 1997 Sunderland A 0–0 25,455
8 November 1997 West Bromwich Albion A 0–1 16,124
15 November 1997 Crewe Alexandra H 3–2 14,091 K Jones, Allen, Holmes
22 November 1997 Nottingham Forest A 2–5 18,532 Allen, Woan (own goal)
28 November 1997 Swindon Town H 3–0 13,769 K Jones, Mendonca (2, 1 pen)
6 December 1997 Reading A 0–2 8,076
9 December 1997 Sheffield United H 2–1 9,868 Mendonca (2, 1 pen)
13 December 1997 Port Vale H 1–0 11,077 Newton
20 December 1997 Portsmouth A 2–0 8,581 Robinson, Leaburn
26 December 1997 Norwich City H 2–1 14,472 Kinsella, Robinson
28 December 1997 Sheffield United A 1–4 18,677 Bright
10 January 1998 Middlesbrough H 3–0 15,742 Newton (2), Bright
17 January 1998 Oxford United A 2–1 7,234 Mendonca, Robinson
28 January 1998 Manchester City A 2–2 24,058 S Jones (2)
31 January 1998 Bury H 0–0 15,312
7 February 1998 Bradford City A 0–1 14,851
17 February 1998 Queens Park Rangers H 1–1 15,555 Robinson
21 February 1998 Stockport County A 0–3 7,705
25 February 1998 Stoke City A 2–1 10,027 Robinson, Barness
28 February 1998 Huddersfield Town H 1–0 12,908 Bright
3 March 1998 West Bromwich Albion H 5–0 10,893 Bright, Newton, Mendonca (2, 1 pen), Kinsella
7 March 1998 Ipswich Town A 1–3 19,831 Mendonca
15 March 1998 Sunderland H 1–1 15,355 Bright
21 March 1998 Crewe Alexandra A 3–0 5,252 Mills, Newton, Kinsella
28 March 1998 Nottingham Forest H 4–2 15,815 Bright, Mortimer, Mendonca (pen), Kinsella
4 April 1998 Swindon Town A 1–0 7,845 S Jones
7 April 1998 Wolverhampton Wanderers H 1–0 13,743 Mendonca
10 April 1998 Reading H 3–0 14,220 Mendonca, Mortimer, Bright
13 April 1998 Port Vale A 1–0 9,973 Mendonca (pen)
18 April 1998 Portsmouth H 1–0 14,082 S Jones
25 April 1998 Tranmere Rovers H 2–0 15,393 Mendonca (2 pens)
3 May 1998 Birmingham City A 0–0 25,877

First Division play-offs

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Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
SF 1st Leg 10 May 1998 Ipswich Town A 1–0 21,681 Clapham (own goal)
SF 2nd Leg 13 May 1998 Ipswich Town H 1–0 (won 2–0 on agg) 15,585 Newton
F 25 May 1998 Sunderland N 4–4 (won 7–6 on pens) 77,739 Mendonca (3), Rufus

FA Cup

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Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R3 3 January 1998 Nottingham Forest H 4–1 13,827 Robinson, Brown, Leaburn, Mendonca
R4 24 January 1998 Wolverhampton Wanderers H 1–1 15,540 K Jones
R4R 3 February 1998 Wolverhampton Wanderers A 0–3 20,429

League Cup

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Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R1 First Leg 13 August 1997 Ipswich Town H 0–1 6,598
R1 Second Leg 26 August 1997 Ipswich Town A 1–3 (lost 1–4 on agg) 10,989 Mendonca

First-team squad

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Squad at end of season[5]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
GK   AUS Andy Petterson
GK   SCG Saša Ilić[notes 1]
GK   ENG Mike Salmon
DF   ENG Richard Rufus
DF   WAL Mark Bowen
DF   ENG Phil Chapple
DF   ENG Steve Brown
DF   ENG Anthony Barness
DF   SCO Stuart Balmer
DF   ENG Danny Mills
DF   ENG Eddie Youds
DF   ENG Paul Konchesky
DF   ENG Jamie Stuart
DF   ENG David Kerslake (on loan from Tottenham Hotspur)
DF   ENG Jason Tindall
DF   ENG Anthony Allman
No. Pos. Nation Player
MF   IRL Mark Kinsella
MF   ENG Keith Jones
MF   WAL John Robinson[notes 2]
MF   ENG Shaun Newton
MF   ENG Matty Holmes
MF   ENG Paul Mortimer
MF   ENG Kevin Nicholls
MF   ENG Paul Emblen
MF   ENG Scott Parker
FW   ENG Clive Mendonca
FW   ENG Steve Jones
FW   ENG Mark Bright
FW   ENG Carl Leaburn
FW   ENG Bradley Allen
FW   ENG Neil Heaney (on loan from Manchester City)
FW   ENG Kevin Lisbie[notes 3]

References

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  1. ^ "Charlton 4 – 4 Sunderland". Charlton Athletic FC. Archived from the original on 1 December 2005. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
  2. ^ Wembley's Greatest Events (1923–2010) Archived 8 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine Wembley Stadium
  3. ^ Stevens, Rob (24 May 2019). "Charlton v Sunderland 1998: The greatest play-off final ever?". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  4. ^ "Charlton Athletic results for the 1997-1998 season - Statto.com". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  5. ^ "All Charlton Athletic players: 1998".

Notes

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  1. ^ Ilić was born in Melbourne, Australia, but also qualified to represent Serbia and Montenegro internationally and would make his international debut for Serbia and Montenegro in December 1998.
  2. ^ Robinson was born in Bulawayo, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), but also qualified to represent Wales internationally and represented them at U-21 level before making his international debut for Wales in 1995.
  3. ^ Lisbie was born in Hackney, England, but also qualified to represent Jamaica internationally and would make his international debut for Jamaica in 2002.