Kinsella comeback as Charlton set sights on Europe - February 12, 2001
Charlton Athletic (7th) joined Ipswich (6th) and Leeds (5th) on 40 points yesterday with a 2-0 win over Newcastle United and, in doing so, put themselves within sight of a place in Europe.
But the big plus for Republic of Ireland manager Mick McCarthy - with a friendly against Denmark and World Cup games against Cyprus and Andorra imminent - was the sight of midfield dynamo Mark Kinsella finally running out on the pitch to complete his comeback from injury.
The Charlton skipper played just two minutes of the game after coming on as a late replacement for Parker - but the news will still come as a relief for McCarthy who has seen Kinsella's comeback worryingly twice postponed.
And McCarthy's injury worries abated elsewhere too as Niall Quinn recovered from his neck injury in time to line out for Sunderland in their 1-1 draw with Liverpool; and Steve Carr made his second appearance since his return, playing half an hour after replacing Darren Anderton in a 1-0 win over Manchester City at Maine Road.