Charlton - 0 WBA - 0: There are many who advocate Alan Curbishley as the ideal antidote to Sven-Goran Eriksson as England manager, but few were here last night.
With his side chasing the decisive goal, Curbishley's second-half substitution, which saw the creative Jerome Thomas enter for Darren Ambrose, beggared the belief of the home crowd.
They met the decision with derision, aware that Curbishley, for all his achievements in transforming Charlton, is a safety-first manager in the Eriksson mould. Not that Curbishley cares particularly; he has the rhino hide for international management.
Single-mindedness is an invaluable trait in management, and for Curbishley and Bryan Robson last night, that was surely tested.
Both might have been distracted by the last-minute transfer negotiations being conducted. This match was being played with Albion's attempts to secure Nigel Quashie and offload Robbie Earnshaw to Norwich still under way.
Curbishley may have been considering the possible arrival of Anthony Gardner from Tottenham, the makeweight in Spurs' £2.25 million approach for Danny Murphy.
The corresponding fixture last season sparked the run which saw the West Brom escape relegation and it was perhaps been unrealistic to expect a repeat of that 4-1 away win.
After a scrappy start West Brom's Jonathan Greening decided to liven up proceedings with the game's first moment of note in the 25th minute.
He fired in a low 25-yarder which would have found the net had not home goalkeeper Thomas Myhre, guilty of letting in a soft goal in Saturday's narrow FA Cup win over Lleyton Orient, dived smartly to his right to keep it out.
Though they have played together only once since Marcus Bent's departure from East Anglia in the summer of 2004, the restored former Ipswich strike partnership of Darren Bent and his namesake was instantly empathetic.
Marcus Bent's strength and his colleague's pace caused all manner of problems for the visiting defence.
With Marcus Bent having bulldozed Neil Clement out of the way, the England international sped past two defenders, sending his shot marginally wide of Kuszcak's post.
Marcus Bent had a headed attempt, connecting with the free-kick of another former Ipswich team-mate, Ambrose.
But West Bromwich came closest to scoring in the first half.
Greening sent a teasing ball into the six-yard box that bounced into Geoff Horsfield's path. The striker headed at Myhre's near post but the Norwegian recovered in time to palm against the upright.
As the bitter cold began increasingly to bite, so the player's finishing feet froze. Alexey Smertin might have opened the scoring with a swerving run but ended it with a left-foot drive that fizzed over the bar.
Two efforts from Brian Hughes, one a delicate attempt from 25 yards that Kuszczak tipped wide and a header, just over, from the resultant corner also failed.
Albion survived a penalty appeal when Robinson appeared to have pushed Marcus Bent at the vital moment as he sought to convert Darren Bent's ball across goal but the defender was punished in the 62nd minute with a booking for a foul on Luke Young.
Davies made a point-saving challenge on Darren Bent just as the striker was about to pick his spot and there was to be no late breakthrough despite the late arrival of Jay Bothroyd, who had provided a last-gasp cup winner at the weekend.
With Albion having scored only four goals in 11 away matches, a 0-0 draw was satisfactory.
Charlton have less to be pleased with.
Guardian Service
CHARLTON: Myhre, Young, Fortune, Hreidarsson, Powell, Hughes, Holland (Kishishev 43), Smertin, Ambrose (Thomas 72), Darren Bent, Marcus Bent (Bothroyd 83). Subs not used: Andersen, Spector.
WEST BROM: Kuszczak, Albrechtsen, Curtis Davies, Clement, Robinson, Greening, Inamoto, Johnson, Carter, Campbell (Ellington 55), Horsfield. Subs not used: Kirkland, Chaplow, Kozak, Nicholson. Booked: Robinson, Albrechtsen, Greening.
Referee: P Walton (Northamptonshire).
