O'Leary exonerates Fowler | Opta Index
Curbishley happy with a point
Leeds fixtures | Charlton fixtures

Ben Sullivan reports

Leeds are still looking for their first win since New Years day after wasting a string of chances in a 0-0 draw with Charlton at Elland Road. 

The InterToto Cup is looming after Leeds failed to win for the sixth straight Premiership game and nearly £20 million of striking talent drew a miserable blank.

Robbie Fowler and Mark Viduka both wasted golden opportunities to break the deadlock against a well-organised but unambitious Charlton side.

Admittedly Viduka was under pressure when he looped a header over from six yards out from Harry Kewell's cross, but there could be no excuses after Kewell ran at the Charlton defence and a lucky deflection fell for Viduka.

The Australian's initial control was clumsy, but hestitation in the defence gave him time to regain a poise of sorts, only for his shot to curl wide of the goal.

It was a bad miss, but it paled into insignificance beside Fowler's seven minutes into the second half.

Kewell did well to reach the bye-line and cut back into Fowler's path, giving the £11m signing a clear sight of goal.

If anything he had too much time to set himself and the poacher's instinct which has served him so well was replaced by an unnecessary care. Almost inevitably the ball rebounded off the post and the chance was gone.

Charlton will be happier with a point than a home side still claiming Champions League ambitions - increasingly implausibly - but the visitors had their chances to grab all three.

A mistake by Gary Kelly early in the first half gifted Paul Konchesky a close-range chance, but the England under-21 winger sliced his angled shot wide.

Charlton also played some decent football when they ventured out of their defensive shell and a neat one-touch move presented Jason Euell with a chance on the edge of the box, but he spooned his shot over.

In fact Euell did find the net in the closing stages, only to be rightly called for offside when Graham Stuart had fired in the initial attempt.

Olivier Dacourt and Eirik Bakke both tested Dean Kiely from distance as the other Leeds players came to realise that their vaunted strike force were heading for another dry day, but the Irish keeper was equal to the long-range threat.

A set-piece was another piece of wreckage for the increasingly floundering Leeds players to cling to and Ian Harte almost proved their late saviour.

Charlton took the precaution of having almost their entire team on the goal-line and Harte obliged by firing his free-kick inches over. For a player who has a deserved reputation as a free-kick specialist it rated as a miss.

But on a day like this it barely registered. There were far more tarnished reputations further up the field.

Man of the Match: Jorge Costa (Charlton). Decent defensive display on a day when no one stood out.

Leeds: Martyn, Kelly, Ferdinand, Matteo, Harte, Keane, Dacourt (Batty 45), Bakke, Kewell, Fowler, Viduka.
Subs Not Used: Robinson, McPhail, Duberry, Richardson.

Charlton: Kiely, Young, Costa, Fortune, Powell, Stuart, Bart-Williams, Parker (Kinsella 80), Konchesky, Euell, Svensson (Kishishev 85).
Subs Not Used: Ilic, Brown, Johansson.
Booked: Bart-Williams.

Att: 39,374
Ref: M Dean (Cheshire).

Opta Index (Match Stats)

Leeds	Team	Charlton
0	Goals	0
2	Shots On Target (inc Goals)	2
11	Shots Off Target	6
8	Blocked Shots	7
9	Corners	2
12	Fouls	18
5	Offsides	3
0	Yellow Cards	3
0	Red Cards	0