Omar Beckles: Addicks rivalry with Shrewsbury Town is building
Omar Beckles is ready to reignite the rivalry with Charlton as the sides prepare to battle for a Wembley place and a shot at League One promotion.
Shrewsbury Town and Charlton have enjoyed 2-0 wins over one another this season and defender Beckles believes that has installed a rivalry between Paul Hurst and Lee Bowyer’s men.
After a four-game period with little on the line in terms of results for Town, they get the play-offs under way with a trip to The Valley on Thursday before Sunday’s return leg.
And Beckles is ready for the big occasion.
“This is showtime, this is what it’s all about. I’m looking forward to it, I’m excited, I’m sure the boys are excited,” said the powerful defender.
“At the end of the day we want to come away as winners, come away with promotion, because this is life-changing for us.
“I guess recently when we’ve played Charlton there’s been a – I don’t know what you could call it – like a sense of rivalry that is brewing.
“Not like a derby, but something that is really brewing. I guess there’s not a better team to play away at, with a big stadium and a big occasion. We’re looking forward to it.”
Beckles admits that there could be nerves in the Shrewsbury squad throughout a testing 180 minutes against the former Premier League Addicks.
But Beckles, a member of the League One team of the season, believes it is essential that he and his team-mates grasp the opportunity, while also enjoying it.
A crowd of more than 18,000 saw Town impressively sweep beyond Charlton in a League One fixture in February. Bowyer’s side won 2-0 at Montgomery Waters Meadow last month.
“It’s hard to say that you won’t have nerves because sometimes they get the better of you. It happens,” added Beckles.
“But we’re doing our upmost to enjoy the occasion as well. And by enjoying it we mean taking part knowing we did all we could, leaving it all out there with nothing else we could do.
“Hopefully there’ll be more people to step up to the plate as well, to show what they’re capable of doing.
“We’ve seen a lot of boys come through recently and show what they’re capable of. In my opinion one of those boys might end up being the heroes.”
