Charlton took a major step towards reaching the playoff final after grabbing a vital win at Doncaster Rovers, despite a late scare.

Lyle Taylor, the Addicks’ leading scorer and player of the season, combined with Joe Aribo to hand the visitors a healthy lead early on.

However, Matty Blair’s goal, which was bundled in at the back post, blemished their advantage as Rovers rallied late on.

Charlton will now host the playoff semi-final second leg at The Valley on May 17, with the winner facing either Portsmouth or Sunderland in the final at Wembley Stadium.

Here are five things we learned…

Charlton were near-perfect against Doncaster

Igor Vetokele would have definitely been missed but he was not make-or-break for the Addicks heading up to Yorkshire.

The visitors have shown themselves to be a well-oiled machine that can adapt well to adversity, and this was no different.

While Doncaster did improve in the second half, their chances mainly came from set-pieces and the Blair goal had a touch of fortune.

But Rovers are no slouches – and Charlton must be careful

I’m sure few will, however, the Addicks will be mindful of the fact Doncaster are relishing the prospect of spoiling the party.

Grant McCann has used Rovers' underdogs tag in the playoffs as motivation for his players – and rightly so.

Doncaster have won at The Valley before this season, and they could do so again, so writing this off as a foregone conclusion is naïve at best and ludicrous at worst.

Josh Cullen deserves praise for his standout performance

Undoubtedly there were some star performances in that Charlton team at Doncaster, you could easily name a few.

But Cullen deserves plaudits for how he performed on the day because he was fantastic throughout.

His two key moments came when he helped assist the opening goal and then cleared the ball off the line either side of half time.

Home advantage at The Valley will be key

It sounds cliched but it’s true. Home advantaged does play a role.

It’s understandable why Lee Bowyer would want to downplay where the semi-finals were played first, and he definitely has a point.

But Doncaster coming to southeast London with everything to play for, in a very hostile atmosphere, will have some sort of effect for sure.

Josh Parker still has a lot to give

The striker would perhaps be the first to admit things haven’t gone as well for him as he would’ve liked.

Goals have been very hard to come by and it appears luck isn’t on his side, even on the best of days.

That said, several impressive performances have won him more  and more support and it’s just a matter of time before he repays all that faith.