Charlton youngster Anfernee Dijksteel has had a taste of Wembley before – and he’s desperate to return in the play-offs

BY LOUIS MENDEZ

Charlton youngster Anfernee Dijksteel has had a taste of playing at Wembley before – and the defender is desperate to get back there for the League One play-off final.

The 22-year-old Dutchman ran out at the national stadium for the Nike Academy as they faced a Barcelona U19 outfit in November 2015.And Dijksteel wants the Addicks to use last season’s play-off semi-final defeat against Shrewsbury Town as motivation to make sure he can ply his trade under the famous arch once more.

“With the Nike Academy I played at Wembley against Barcelona U19s, so that was nice,” he revealed.
“We won 2-1. [Last year’s experience in the play-offs] could help and it should help. We don’t want that again. We want to go to Wembley and go up.”

Charlton’s faint automatic promotion hopes were ended by Good Friday’s loss at Oxford United.
The Addicks are the only side locked and loaded for the play-offs. Two from Sunderland, Barnsley and Portsmouth will fill spots. It looks a straight fight between Doncaster and Peterborough for the sixth-placed berth.
Dijksteel reckons nobody will want to face Charlton.
He said: “They should be fearing us.  If we just do our thing, I think we should get promoted. It’s not about them.”

The defensive-midfielder turned right-back grabbed his first goal in senior football in his 53rd appearance as he opened the scoring during Easter Monday’s emphatic
4-0 win over struggling Scunthorpe.
“It feels amazing, the best feeling ever,” he explained.

“[Lyle Taylor] said before he passed the ball ‘go, go, go!’. I just ran on to it, took a touch and shot. Even in training I don’t really score a lot of goals.
“Even I was surprised when it went in. I didn’t know what to do with the celebration.”

Dijksteel has been in and out of the side recently as boss Lee Bowyer rotates between him and club stalwart Chris Solly. The latter still has three matches to go on a four-game ban after picking up his second red card of the season at Oxford.
It’s a chance for Dijksteel to make the right-back berth his own.

“I just have to work hard and play hard,” he said.  “Give everything and see what happens. [Solly] really helps me. I feel comfortable [at right-back].

“I’m happy with the position. I just try to do the right things in training and keep doing extra.
“Lee Bowyer helps me a lot, especially with my end product because that’s not always the best that it should be.”