CHARLTON ATH. 4-4 SUNDERLAND

With millions of pounds of Premiership TV money available to the winners, the First Division Play-Off Final had become one of the most important matches of the English season. In 1998 the match saw Sunderland, relegated from the Premiership the previous season, line up against Charlton Athletic, who had been out of the top division since 1990. Played in front of a near full house at Wembley, the match would turn out to be one of the most dramatic ever played at that famous stadium.

After Sunderland had started the stronger, it was the underdogs Charlton, who had finished one place below Sunderland in the league, who took the lead. Clive Mendonca, a Sunderland fan as a boy, opened the scoring in the 23rd minute with a superb individual goal. Sunderland responded by piling on the pressure for the remainder of the first half but could not break through and the London club held on to their lead until the interval.

Early in the second half it seemed as if Sunderland were taking complete control of the game. Experienced striker Niall Quinn equalised five minutes after the break with a header from a corner, and after Quinn had missed a good chance minutes later Kevin Phillips ran on to a through ball and put the north-east side into the lead after 58 minutes.

Thirteen minutes later Charlton were back on level terms, Mendonca running through the middle to score his second goal of the game, but the scores would remain level for only two minutes. Niall Quinn added his own second goal after controlling a cross from the right and striking it home from a narrow angle. With just 17 minutes remaining Sunderland were close to the Premiership. With time running out for Charlton, Mendonca missed chances to complete his hat-trick and it seemed that it would be Sunderland's day, but with just five minutes to go Richard Rufus pounced on an error from goalkeeper Lionel Perez to score with a free header and take the game to extra-time.

It was Sunderland who edged ahead again in extra-time, after a patient build-up gave Nicky Summerbee the chance to make the score 4-3. Seconds later Sunderland could have led 5-3, but after Quinn missed his chance for a hat-trick Charlton seized their opportunity and it was Mendonca who became the hat-trick hero when he pounced on a right-wing cross to make it 4-4. With both teams tiring, the second half of extra-time saw few chances at either end and penalties became inevitable.

With both sets of players exhausted, it was perhaps reasonable to expect a few of the penalties to be missed, but incredibly both sides scored all five of their allocated penalties to take the tie into sudden death, with in excess of £10 million resting on the outcome. Three more penalties were scored to make the score 7-6 in Charlton's favour, and for the third time Sunderland had to score to remain in the game. Left back Michael Gray stepped up but saw his kick saved by goalkeeper Sasa Ilic. Charlton's celebrations could begin as they won promotion to the top division of English football after eight years absence.