Charlton striker Alfie May admitted he had personal inspiration for scoring twice in his side’s 6-1 FA Cup first-round replay win over Cray Valley at the Artic Stadium.
Now 30, May played in non-league football until he was 23 and demonstrated the hunger that has allowed him to make the transition to the professional game.
May said: “I was so excited to come back here. I’ve been like a big kid all day.
“I looked at the programme and saw Cray’s league table in it with the likes of Hythe Town and Erith & Belvedere, who were teams that I played for. Now I’m playing for Charlton in League One, which is crazy.
“I didn’t get to the first round of the FA Cup when I was in non-league. I was one round away, but you could see tonight how much it means to these type of teams.”
Charlton manager Michael Appleton praised his side’s attitude, but admitted that his team might have been reduced to 10 men just before half-time.
The League One outfit’s keeper Sam Walker brought down Kyrell Lisbie just outside the area, but referee Charles Breakspear awarded a penalty, meaning that under the double jeopardy rule, he could not send off Walker and instead gave him only a yellow card.
Appleton said: “We maybe got a little fortunate that the referee didn’t give them a free-kick because if it’s not a penalty, Sam could have potentially been sent off. But I thought we earned our fortune with the attitude we showed tonight.
“The only thing we lacked in the first half was that killer pass or touch. But we had a great attitude for the whole 95 minutes.
“There was a real focus in the group, we moved the ball really well and once the game opened up in the second half we got our rewards.”
After Lisbie cancelled out May’s opener, Charlton ran riot with Miles Leaburn, May, George Dobson, Tyreece Campbell and Micah Mbick all finding the net.
Cray Valley manager Steve McKimm was far from disappointed with the performance of his part-time players, whose FA Cup run through five qualifying rounds and two televised ties against Charlton has generated around £200,000 for the Isthmian League South East Division club.
McKimm said: “I’m super-proud of my players. They have been beaten by a top League One club.
“My players worked all day today until 4.30 or 5 o’clock, then came here and had to chase shadows at times. Trust me, the Charlton players didn’t have to work today before they came here.
“But the most pleasing thing was that we got a goal for our fans to cheer. The boys have had their moment on the TV twice and done themselves proud because Charlton had to bring out their big guns to come here and win.
“That’s our FA Cup story over and now our focus is on the FA Trophy and the league. The cup run has made the club thousands of pounds. The ground needs a couple of things doing to it to be able to go up if we were to get promoted.”
Giroud leaving Milan to join MLS at end of season
Olivier Giroud announced he will be leaving Milan to join the MLS at the end of the season when his contract expires.
The Frenchman joined the club in July 2021 from Chelsea, winning the Serie A title in his first season.
Giroud has scored 48 goals in 130 games in all competitions for Milan, netting 16 of those this season to help them to a second-place finish.
In an emotional interview with the club’s media channels, Giroud said: "I'm here to tell you that the next two games will be my last for Milan. My career will continue in MLS.
"I'm very proud of everything I've done here at Milan across three seasons. It's the right time to announce it. I'm a bit emotional. My story with Milan ends this season, but Milan will forever remain in my heart."
Though Giroud did not confirm which team he would be joining in the MLS, previous reports suggested he could be moving to LAFC to link up with his France international team-mate, Hugo Lloris.
Giroud leaving Milan at end of season to join MLS
Olivier Giroud announced he will be leaving Milan to join the MLS at the end of the season when his contract expires.
The Frenchman joined the club in July 2021 from Chelsea, winning the Serie A title in his first season.
Giroud has scored 48 goals in 130 games in all competitions for Milan, netting 16 of those this season to help them to a second-place finish.
In an emotional interview with the club’s media channels, Giroud said: "I'm here to tell you that the next two games will be my last for Milan. My career will continue in MLS.
"I'm very proud of everything I've done here at Milan across three seasons. It's the right time to announce it. I'm a bit emotional. My story with Milan ends this season, but Milan will forever remain in my heart."
Though Giroud did not confirm which team he would be joining in the MLS, previous reports suggested he could be moving to LAFC to link up with his France international team-mate, Hugo Lloris.
Beckham: Man Utd's problems have lasted 'too long'
David Beckham believes Manchester United’s issues have lasted "too long" since Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013.
The Red Devils have won just four major trophies since Ferguson’s departure, with their most recent – an EFL Cup win last season – ending a six-year wait for silverware.
United have not won a Premier League title since the Scot’s final season in charge, with six managers failing to reclaim the top-flight crown since then.
This season, Erik ten Hag’s side are at risk of recording their lowest league finish and points tally, as they sit eighth on 54 points with two games remaining.
Beckham, who won 13 trophies, including six Premier League titles and the Champions League, told The Athletic: "I think it has been a difficult time over the last five or ten years, but it was always going to be when the boss left the club.
"It wasn’t just that, we lost players like Ryan Giggs, Roy Keane and Gary Neville, all of these players that had been at United for so long; you lose part of that, and you lose part of the club.
"So it was always going to be a difficult time. But we’d like it to change pretty quickly because I think it’s gone on for too long now."
United have lost 19 games in all competitions this season, their most since 1977-78 (also 19), with nine of those coming at Old Trafford – their joint-most at home in a season and the first time it has happened in the Premier League.
Their 1-0 defeat to Arsenal on Sunday marked the first time they had conceded in 10 successive games in all competitions since October 2021, while the 82 goals they have let in this season is their most since 1970-71 (also 82).
Beckham was speaking at the premiere of 99, the Amazon Prime documentary covering United’s iconic treble-winning season 25 years ago.
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