Charlton 0 Queens Park Rangers 0
Charlton were made to share the spoils with Queens Park Rangers in a goalless stalemate at The Valley on Friday evening.
After a dominant first half in which Nathan Jones’ men could not break down a resilient Rangers defence, a more open second period saw the away side come into the game, enjoying a strong finish which the south Londoners were able to fend off to ensure a second consecutive clean sheet - their 10th of the Championship campaign.
The Addicks came closest to opening the scoring with 12 minutes on the clock after Greg Docherty had done superbly well in the centre of the park to wrestle back possession before sending through Lyndon Dykes, who flashed a deflected effort narrowly wide of the post from the edge of the box.
Indeed, the hosts had the better of the opening exchanges with Dykes firing over after latching onto a loose ball just inside the box, while Sonny Carey sent a similar effort just over the bar shortly after, before seeing another effort well blocked in the box.
Charlton were continuing to apply plenty of pressure and, as the clocked ticked over the half-hour mark, Luke Chambers saw a well-struck free-kick from distance arrowing towards the bottom left-hand corner, only for Hoops stopper Joe Walsh to tip it wide.
Shortly after, the relentless Addicks came close again when the ball fell kindly to Conor Coady in the box, but his shot from close range was well saved by the knee of Walsh and the sides headed for the break on level terms.
The home side continued on the front foot after emerging for the restart with Charlie Kelman threatening to haunt is former club with a poked effort towards goal which was tipped over by Walsh.
Meanwhile, at the other end, Richard Kone dragged a shot wide of the post from 18 yards as the west Londoners looked to get a foothold on the game for the first time.
Charlton continued to control the game, however - Luke Chambers stung the palms of Walsh with a low drive, while Dykes came agonisingly close before the hour. The former QPR forward forced Walsh into yet another save, before he beat a defender to the follow-up to poke the rebound inches past the left-hand upright.
On 63 minutes, another opportunity came and went for the hosts as a long throw into the box eventually fell to the feet of Kayne Ramsay in a good position, but the full-back snatched at the chance which cleared the bar.
Ramsay very nearly fell victim of an error at the back moments later when the ball got trapped under his feet, almost allowing Kone a free run at goal, but Thomas Kaminski rushed out to clear the danger in the nick of time.
As the half wore on, tired legs began to show as the game began to stretch somewhat. Rangers saw a pair of shots fired straight at Kaminski, while Carey sent two efforts well over the bar from distance in front of the Covered End.
With eight minutes of injury time added, Steve Cook sent a powerful header just over the bar from a corner as the visitors looked to snatch the three points. And in the fourth minute of added time, Kaminski raced out to make an excellent save from Kolli one-on-one, while Dykes cleared Dunne’s header off the line as the Addicks survived a late scare to earn a hard-fought point.
The Addicks are back in action at The Valley on Wednesday, February 11th, as they host Stoke City. Don't miss out, get your tickets now!
Charlton: Kaminski, Ramsay, Jones, Bell, Clarke, Coady, Carey, Docherty (Berry 90), Chambers (Campbell 75), Kelman (Godden 70), Dykes.
Subs (not used): Mannion, Gillesphey, Coventry, Rankin-Costello, Sichenje, Fevrier.
Booked: Chambers 47 (foul on Smyth), Dykes 90+4 (foul on Kolli)
Queens Park Rangers: Walsh, Dunne, Edwards, Cook, Norrington-Davies, Hayden, Madsen, Saito (Bennie 58), Smyth (Kolli 77), Vale, Kone.
Subs (not used): Hamer, Adamson, Mbengue, Smith, Esquerdinha, Morgan, Alemayehu.
Booked: Vale 4 (foul on Coady)
Referee: Tom Nield
Att: 21,290 (3,300 from QPR)