Aston Villa 0 Charlton 0

WHILE David O’Leary labelled them negative, Charlton drew strength from their fourth clean sheet of the season on Wednesday at Villa Park.

Having leaked 12 goals in their last four Barclays Premier League games, they at last stemmed the flow - and no amount of criticism from the Villa manager would dilute their relief.

Manager Alan Curbishley admitted: "The clean sheet was more important than the point because what’s happened to us in the last four games has been hard to take.

"We’ve let in too many soft goals but thankfully we put a stop to that tonight. We came into the match without any momentum, while Villa had some, so I’m pleased because we’ve never done well at Villa Park.

"I believe we can now go into our remaining games with greater confidence because that’s what we’ve been short of."

O’Leary had earlier taken a swipe at Charlton by declaring: "I think there was only one team that wanted to win. We had all the possession, all the play.

"I was delighted with our make-shift back-four but they were helped by Charlton’s negativity because they didn’t push on to us. At the end Charlton were more pleased with the point than us."

At the final whistle, Charlton supporters stood to salute Talal El Karkouri. The Morroco international central defender was the last to leave the field as he milked their applause.

The ovation was thoroughly deserved after his return from a three-match suspension coincided with a tightening of the Charlton defence which his presence galvanised.

Goalkeeper Dean Kiely, who had previously found himself at the mercy of the West Bromwich Albion, Manchester City, Portsmouth and Bolton attacks, received more than adequate protection from the men immediately in front of him.

This was an altogether more pragmatic Charlton, similar to the one that turned the season around following the 3-2 win at Tottenham on November 6.

Curbishley demanded - and was given - a more rigid 4-5-1 formation that suffocated Villa while creating more than a handful of good chances in the closing stages when the home side laboured in defence.

Going into the game with one win from their last nine games but still targeting the seventh and the final UEFA Cup place, Charlton remained solid at the back and patient in their build-up.

Having conceded early goals in all of their previous four games, Charlton’s tactics in the opening exchanges were strictly safety first. And when Villa midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger tried his luck from distance in the 14th minute, Kiely produced the save of the night in turning the ball over the bar.

Chances were few and far between for both teams. The recalled Jonatan Johansson was inches over with an overhead attempt in the 23rd minute. And when Carlton Cole surged through the Charlton defence three minutes later, Juan Pablo Angel stuck the chance wide.

When Charlton needed a little luck it arrived in the 62nd minute as a shot from the impressive Nolberto Solano beat Kiely only for a combination of the crossbar and Murphy’s head to keep the ball out.

A minute later, Charlton reminded Villa that they were capable of winning the game when Hermann Hreidarsson fought well to create space for himself and send a header narrowly wide from Murphy’s corner.

Villa skipper Garth Barry twice curled wide shots from 25 yards while Francis Jeffers went close at the other end.

Conspicuous by his absence in the dug-out, Curbishley remained in his seat high in the stand throughout, communicating via a mobile phone to assistant manager Keith Peacock and coach Mervyn Day as the team edged closer to the finishing line.

The loss of Hreidarsson through a jarred knee briefly threatened Charlton’s new-found stability at the back.

Chris Perry replaced him and though Villa put together some penetrating moves in the four minutes added for stoppages, Charlton were good enough to hold what they had fought so tenaciously to retain - a point and that all-important clean-sheet.

Charlton: Kiely; Kishishev, Fortune, El Karkouri, Hreidarsson (Perry 86); Holland, Murphy, Hughes, Johansson, Rommedahl (Euell 76); Jeffers Subs Not Used: Andersen, Thomas, Fuller.

Attendance: 31,312.