George Lapslie had not played in 17 games before Charlton Athletic faced Luton Town.
Though it was he who Lee Bowyer turned to in the relegation six-pointer, bringing the 22-year-old on for Adedeji Oshilaja after 55 minutes.
It is safe to say that decision paid off for the manager, as the academy graduate went on to make the difference, helping the team towards a 3-1 victory.
George Lapslie
AKA The difference-maker #cafc pic.twitter.com/uE4HrHWcfP
— Charlton Athletic FC (@CAFCofficial) February 22, 2020
The main moment that fans were talking about was his 87th-minute goal, which put the result beyond any reasonable doubt – it was his strike that was handballed to get the penalty that Lyle Taylor converted.
For his goal, Lapslie had initially got the ball off the Montserrat international, before offloading it to Macauley Bonne, who managed to get it back to him, leaving the academy graduate to tap it in from inside the six-yard box.
It was a goal that showed real intelligence from Lapslie and his teammates, with the number 32 being involved from start to finish.
Won us the penalty now scored his first. Legend
— (@lewisbrownlie__) February 22, 2020
His goal made me really happy, good work from bonne
— Michael (@natediazisking) February 22, 2020
Fans were also impressed with his performance outside of those moments, which inspired one fan to claim he has “everything to fill the void left by [Conor] Gallagher”.
Aside from the involvements in the goals, he won both of his attempted tackles, made one clearance and came out on top in three of his four aerial duels.
The performance meant that despite playing 35 minutes, Taylor was the only man on the pitch to get a higher WhoScored rating than his 7.5, with one fan feeling his performance is “proof our youth academy is one of the best in London”.
What a game he’s had!!
— Aaron Roffe (@Aazuk) February 22, 2020
Played geezz proper player
— Paul Williams (@cafcwillo) February 22, 2020
Fantastic performance from Lapsie, proof our youth academy is one of the best in London
— Vurl (@Vurl5) February 22, 2020
Got everything to fill the void left by Gallagher
— Matt Rand (@mattranduk) February 22, 2020
Meanwhile, one Charlton decision has already been justified.