Charles: "Unbelievable" Saints fans deserve this moment

So often the man of the moment this season, Charles followed up his late winners against Leicester and Arsenal with the decisive strike four minutes from the end of extra time against Middlesbrough at St Mary’s.

The home fans were urged to bring the noise and did not disappoint, lining the streets to welcome the players on the team coach before roaring them to victory in a deafening atmosphere up there with the very best the stadium has produced in its 25-year history, drawing parallels with the club’s last play-off semi-final triumph over West Brom two seasons ago.

“Just like last time, it was unbelievable,” Charles said of the pre-match scenes. “I don’t even know how the coach driver could see! It was insane.

“Massive credit to them, they were unbelievable. Every decision that didn’t go our way they were screaming, shouting, and even after we conceded early on they geed us up. They deserve this so much.”

Saints had to come from behind after Riley McGree swept home Boro’s fifth-minute opener.

Ross Stewart levelled the scores with a close-range header in first-half stoppage time, before a tense affair was decided by Charles’ 116th-minute cross-shot.

“It’s a test, but we’ve come so far as a team that a setback like that doesn’t really bother us too much,” Charles said of the early goal. “We know that we don’t panic, stick to the game plan, stay as a team and we can do anything in this league.”

It will be a second trip to Wembley in a month for Saints following the recent Emirates FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City, a gallant 2-1 defeat, and a second play-off final in three seasons.

Charles is one of nine current players who was involved in 2024 when Saints triumphed over Leeds to reach the Premier League, but was an unused substitute that day.

“I’m well excited. I can’t wait to get back there. It didn’t go the way we wanted it to last time [against City], but we’ve been given another opportunity and hopefully this time we can take it,” he added.

“Every game is different. I feel like I’ve come a long way since back then (2024), and it’s definitely got a different feeling about it. I feel like as a team we just need to go there, do our job and we should do well.”

Along with his three vital late winners, Charles also has an EFL Goal of the Season nomination to his name this season for his outrageous 35-yard curling effort against Oxford at St Mary’s, but would not be drawn on picking a favourite after adding another iconic moment to his back catalogue.

“I think it’s impossible, I’ll be honest,” he smiled. “They’re all really good goals for different reasons – it’s impossible to rank them.”