Charlton Athletic’s hopes of promotion to the Championship were ended on Sunday.
Having lost 1-0 in the first leg of their League One play-off semi-final at home to Shrewsbury Town last week, Carlton Morris scored the only goal of the game on Sunday, sending Charlton to a 2-0 aggregate defeat.
Charlton’s hopes of a comeback were as good as over as the game entered stoppage time, but that didn’t deny Ben Amos from pulling off a genuine save of the season contender.
A Shrewsbury break saw the ball squared for Stefan Payne who, having nudged the ball away from the last defender, looked certain to score. Anticipating a shot, Amos had already dived to his right at this stage, seemingly making Payne’s task a more straightforward one.
Instead Amos, facing his own goal, was able to throw himself into the path of Payne’s shot. With the ball deflecting towards his own post, the former Manchester United goalkeeper was able to react quickly enough to get back and deny the striker again.
Ben Amos has just made the save of the season. Nothing is beating this. Incredible. pic.twitter.com/Js6hDMr0Eq
— David Preece (@davidpreece12) May 13, 2018
A save good enough to win any game, but sadly not enough to help Charlton on this occasion.
Having started his professional career with United, Amos was one of David De Gea’s understudies. After a series of loan moves, his final one, to Bolton Wanderers, paved the way for a permanent deal in the summer of 2015. Having signed a four-year deal, he was later loaned to Cardiff in the 2016/17 season, later agreeing a season-long loan to Charlton last summer.
Shrewsbury finished the League One season in third, with their hopes of automatic promotion fading during the final weeks of the season. They will now face either Rotherham or Scunthorpe at Wembley on May 27 for a place in the Championship – a wonderful achievement for a side tipped for relegation by many at the start of the season.
