Newcastle 0 Charlton 0: Duff wayward, Roeder rueful

With Sheffield United the next visitors in the wake of this stalemate, the fixture computer is clearly trying its best to drag Newcastle out of their Premiership malaise, now all Glenn Roeder needs is for his players to get the message.

The hosts remain without a home League win since the opening day of the season, and while they prosper in knockout competitions, this latest disappointment leaves them in the bottom five after just two victories, the most recent six weeks ago.

A little more composure in front of goal would have rewarded their dominance, with Damien Duff the most culpable, firing the clearest opening straight at Scott Carson shortly after half-time.

Before Newcastle's latest sub-50,000 Premiership crowd, it might have been different when, following a now almost obligatory Titus Bramble slip, Darren Bent, who has scored all but one of Charlton's six Premiership goals this season, blazed the 70th-minute chance straight into the Gallowgate End.

Victory would have flattered Charlton, who remain without a Premiership away win for more than a year, but they nevertheless drew level with West Ham at the bottom with a valuable point.

Giuseppe Rossi's determination to impress on his full Newcastle Premiership debut was felt, literally, by Scott Carson, as the keeper spilled a speculative early shot by Scott Parker, the Charlton keeper requiring treatment after being on the receiving end of a shuddering, though entirely legal, challenge for the loose ball from the Manchester United loan player.

Charlton were of no consequence going forward, and an errant Marcus Bent pass allowed Nolberto Solano to release Rossi on the edge of the box, the striker's goalbound shot inadvertently deflected wide by Duff, who came close to making amends with a raking cross from the left that Herman Hreidarsson, attempting to shepherd the ball back to Carson, came close to chesting into his own net.

Duff, employed as a striker, was at the heart of most of Newcastle's better moments, but his appeals for a 28th-minute penalty as he tussled with Souleymane Diawara for Solano's pass were rightly ignored, the Irishman having simply tripped over his own feet.

It appeared only a matter of time before Newcastle broke the deadlock, and Rossi rattled the crossbar from close range seven minutes before the break, reacting first to a Duff cross as Charlton were again stretched, but despite being on the back foot for the most part, the visitors reached the interval somehow still on terms.