Newcastle squander chances in goalless draw

Newcastle 0 Charlton 0

Newcastle once again squandered a host of chances as Charlton left Tyneside with a point.

Giuseppe Rossi hit the bar before the break and Damien Duff twice saw shots saved by Scott Carson when he might have done better, allowing Iain Dowie's struggling side to claim a morale-boosting draw.

They might even have won it had Darren Bent not wasted the only real chance he had when he blasted wide on 69 minutes after Titus Bramble's slip had left him with just keeper Steve Harper to beat.

That would have been unfair for Glenn Roeder's men who dominated throughout but were unable to make the breakthrough as their finishing and a certain degree of luck once again deserted them in front of a disappointing crowd of 48,642.

Newcastle head for high-flying Palermo and a vital UEFA Cup tie on Thursday night knowing they cannot afford to be as wasteful again if they are to resurrect a disappointing Barclays Premiership campaign.

With £17m (€25m) striker Michael Owen destined to spend the bulk of the season in the treatment room, Roeder knew his pool of frontmen was shallow.

However, that problem became acute as he was forced to rule out £10m (€15m) summer arrival Obafemi Martins and leading scorer Shola Ameobi, as well as utility man Antoine Sibierski, through injury before kick-off.

Rossi's excellent display in the 3-0 Carling Cup win over Portsmouth in midweek earned him a Barclays Premiership debut for the club in partnership with Damien Duff.

Newcastle's failing for much of the season is that they have not taken enough of the chances they have created, and that proved to be the case once again, although just how the scores remained level at the break was a topic for some debate.

With former Charlton midfielder Scott Parker outstanding in the engine room, where he was once again ably supported by Nicky Butt, and Nolberto Solano and Charles N'Zogbia causing havoc on the wings, it seemed only a matter of time before the deadlock was broken.

Parker went close with a dipping 10th-minute volley which beat keeper Scott Carson, but also the far post, but the visitors enjoyed several slices of good fortune.

Rossi saw a goal-bound 15th-minute effort deflected wide by Duff, and returned the favour seven minutes before the break when, with the visitors' defence in disarray, the Irishman sent the ball towards the empty net.

The teenager sensed his chance to claim a second goal in as many games and instinctively steered Duff's effort towards the top corner, but succeeded in hitting the underside of the bar with the ball rebounding safely into the relieved Carson's arms.

Carson got down well to block a driven N'Zogbia effort and Duff was furious not to win a 28th-minute penalty after Souleymane Diawara appeared to clip his heels, although the element of doubt was enough to put off referee Mike Dean.

Newcastle returned as if they meant business and Duff forced an important save from Carson within two minutes of the restart.

But the chances continued to go begging and the former Chelsea winger was guilty of a bad miss seconds later when Rossi played him in, only for him to scuff his right-foot effort harmlessly at the keeper.

He was denied a tap-in at the far post on 51 minutes as Talal El Karkouri got a vital touch to Solano's arrowed cross, but the Magpies were served with a warning within two minutes when Andy Reid forced Harper into a save, albeit a regulation one, with a curling effort.

But it was Carson who had to scurry across his goal on 56 minutes as Parker's rising shot flew just high and wide.

Duff lost out to the Charlton keeper once again a minute later after Solano had played him in one-on-one, and he fired into the side-netting after taking on and beating Diawara on 59 minutes.

To their credit, the visitors started to come into the game as an attacking force, and Darren Bent squandered a glorious opportunity when he shot wide after Bramble's 69th-minute slip had left him with just Harper to beat.

Rossi curled a 79th-minute free-kick inches over with Carson beaten, but substitute Bryan Hughes volleyed just wide at the other end two minutes later.

Darren Bent later flicked across the face of goal, but as hope gave way to desperation for the home side, the game petered out despite N'Zogbia forcing a final minute save from Carson.