Championship fans instantly silenced as chant backfires in stoppage time chaos
Charlton fans were given an embarrassing dose of reality in their 2-1 defeat at Portsmouth on Monday night.
The Addicks capped off a disappointing festive period with a second away defeat in three days having lost 1-0 at Norwich on Boxing Day.
It appeared that some seasonal cheer was coming the way of Nathan Jones’ side when substitute Harvey Knibbs levelled for the visitors in the sixth minute of added time to help preserve Charlton’s 20-year unbeaten run at Fratton Park.
That prompted an eruption of joy from the away end at Fratton Park who collectively burst into a song highlighting their club’s hot streak on the South Coast.
Too soon
Charlton fans were heard gleefully singing: “We never lose at Fratton Park.”
But as can often be the case in football, the script writers had other ideas.
As did Pompey who were not ready to settle for a share of the spoils and quickly put an end to the chants when Yang Min-hyeok fired home the winner in the eighth minute of added time to break Charlton hearts.
Clips from the away end at Fratton Park surfaced on social media in the hours that followed the match showing dejected fans with their heads in their hands.
Meanwhile, Portsmouth supporters enjoyed some ribbing of their own with emotions turned on its head in a matter of minutes.
The 90-second uninterrupted clip showing the two goals and both sets of celebrations have since gone viral, outlining the fragilities of celebrating too early.
The result leaves Charlton and Portsmouth 20th and 21st respectively in the Championship table, while Pompey moved out of the bottom three with victory.
Portsmouth manager John Mousinho described his side’s last-gasp heroics as ‘crazy’ as they extended their unbeaten run to four games.
“I can’t remember being involved in a game in 20-odd years of football like it,” Mousinho said. “It was just crazy at the end. We had our heads in the bin when Charlton equalised having just held out for so long, defending so well.
“Then to go up the other end – I didn’t even see the goal, just the ball going in the net – it was a very surreal moment.
“I’d much prefer to have won it 1-0. But, there’s a really ecstatic changing-room in there, and hopefully we can build on that and get a bit of that feeling back. We’ve not really had much of it this year.
“It was important today to try to reel sides in. There shouldn’t be an obsession with league position until the back end of the season, but there should be an obsession with good performances and trying to win games. It was a big win tonight.”
Premature celebrations that backfired
It’s not the first time fans have been left with egg on their faces after overcommitting to an outcome and let’s be honest, we all find a little joy in proving somebody wrong.
On the final day of the 2011/12 Premier League season, Manchester United fans began celebrating, believing their team had won the title after learning that rivals Manchester City were losing at home to QPR.
But two late goals, including Sergio Aguero‘s famous 94th-minute winner, saw City snatch the title away from United in the most dramatic of circumstances.
More recently, Newcastle fans were left embarrassed at the end of the 2023/24 season after securing what they thought was another season of European football.
After a final day 4-2 win at Brentford which secured a seventh-placed finish, Newcastle fans were heard chanting, ‘Europe again, ole ole.’
At that moment, the Magpies had qualified for the UEFA Conference League however that could still be reversed if an out-of-sorts Manchester United could topple champions ManChester City in the FA Cup final the following weekend.
With City the heavy favourites and few backing Erik ten Hag’s men, the football gods worked their magic and United claimed a famous 2-1 win to take the final European spot despite finishing one place below Newcastle in the table.
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