 Interior-value criterion for an attained maximum

Let $f$ be continuous on $(a,b]$, bounded above, and suppose its limit superior at $a$ from the right is at most $L$. If some $c\in (a,b]$ has $f(c)>\max \{L,f(a)\}$, then $f$ attains its maximum on $[a,b]$. A sufficiently short initial interval has all values below $f(c)$. On the remaining closed interval, the extreme value theorem supplies a maximum, which is consequently global. This can prove attainment despite an oscillatory discontinuity at one endpoint.