SOCCER/English FA Cup quarter-final/Charlton - 0 Middlesbro - 0: Steve McClaren had said before this game that he would happily settle for a replay despite the fixture congestion it would provide, and the Middlesbrough manager will have departed reasonably content last night.

After surviving a few close escapes in the first half, his team came through fairly comfortably to take this tie back to the Riverside.

Middlesbrough rarely looked like winning the game after a bright opening, even if Stewart Downing awoke to provide a more regular threat in the second half. But some strong defending, not least by George Boateng and Gareth Southgate, and Charlton's lack of cutting edge, mean both clubs will be in today's semi-final draw.

Charlton will regret their failure to take two chances in a first half they dominated, when Mark Schwarzer also made a strong save. They were unable to sustain their momentum, however, and a Dennis Rommedahl shot, which flew over the bar, was the only meaningful threat to Schwarzer's goal as the game wore on.

This was Middlesbrough's fourth successive away game and they had lost the previous three - at Charlton, Roma and Blackburn - but McClaren chose to deploy two strikers in search of victory. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink partnered Yakubu Aiyegbeni up front and Aiyegbeni ought to have done better than put a free header high over the bar in the third minute.

That proved to be Middlesbrough's only genuine opening before the interval as Charlton seized a growing control. Intelligent defending by the impressive Hermann Hreidarsson helped to cut out the danger more than once.

But if Charlton began slowly, they did not take long to find more of a stride and started to enjoy much the better of proceedings. Matt Holland was dynamic in central midfield, epitomised when he got forward to hammer a shot not far off target, and Darren Bent looked capable of causing problems against Ugo Ehiogu. There were flickers, too, from Jerome Thomas, who was not far from putting Bent through in the 25th minute. For much of the time the class of final pass or delivery was lacking from Charlton, with Bryan Hughes among the worst offenders. But they built up a growing head of steam that might have brought reward in the quarter of an hour before half-time.

Four times in quick succession the home team posed a genuine threat on the goal of Schwarzer, whose only concern in the opening 34 minutes had been to save Hreidarsson's low free-kick.

The Icelander, a real menace to Boro with his power in their penalty area at set plays, was twice involved. From his knock-down Radostin Kishishev made a horrible mess of a volley and the centre-half then forced Australian into a good close-range save. The goalkeeper was glad soon after that Bent could only direct a volley over the bar after Hughes mishit a shot.

Charlton were moving the ball far better than they had done initially and were quicker and sharper than Boro in midfield. It was a sign of their dominance, and the speed with which they were closing down and making tackles, that almost nothing was seen of the visitors as an attacking force after a promising start.

The flow of their game had dipped as they were forced on to the back foot and Downing was enjoying little success down their left, where Luke Young was defending decently, helped by the willingness of Kishishev to come back. Two good bursts and crosses by Downing early in the second half offered hope for Middlesbrough but neither were capitalised on, and in between the left-winger almost cost his team by losing the ball needlessly near his area. A further worry for McClaren came when Ehiogu suffered a cut head.

The manager will, though, have been pleased with the greater verve from his team and Charlton's quieter start. It looked as if Ehiogu was not too badly affected by his wound when he intercepted after Bent beat Southgate, and Curbishley sought to reinvigorate his team by bringing on Rommedahl.

Guardian Service

CHARLTON: Myhre, Young, Perry, Hreidarsson, Powell, Kishishev (Rommedahl 62), Holland, Hughes, Thomas, Darren Bent, Bartlett (Bothroyd 76). Subs not used: Andersen, Euell, Spector.

MIDDLESBROUGH: Schwarzer, Parnaby, Ehiogu, Southgate, Queudrue, Cattermole, Boateng, Mendieta (Morrison 64), Downing, Hasselbaink, Yakubu (Viduka 68). Subs not used: Jones, Rochemback, Pogatetz. Booked: Queudrue.

Referee: M Dean (Wirral).