Charlton deny Newcastle

Jonatan Johansson went close in the first half

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Charlton 1-1 Newcastle

A red card for captain Alan Shearer and a late equaliser from Charlton substitute Charlie MacDonald ensured another miserable trip to the capital for Newcastle.

  Key moments

53 mins: Bellamy hits the post for Newcastle

73 mins: Speed puts Newcastle ahead

83 mins: MacDonald levels for Charlton

87 mins: Shearer sent off

Bobby Robson's side had looked on course for their first win in London for four years when Gary Speed put them ahead in the 73rd minute.

But after dominating the second half it was no surprise when MacDonald levelled just moments after coming on in the 83rd minute.

And with the chance of a vital victory apparently gone, Shearer was sent off in the 87th minute for apparently elbowing Charlton's Jon Fortune.

The frustration of the Newcastle players was clear as they let the chance of a first win in 28 trips to London slip away.

The sending-off was a disgrace and we will appeal

Bobby Robson
Newcastle manager

The match began slowly and the major action in a quiet opening half came on the Charlton substitutes' bench.

With Alan Curbishley's squad already stretched by injuries, he was forced to replace both Shaun Bartlett and Steve Brown in the first half.

Jonatan Johansson had the clearest opportunity of the opening period in the 17th minute, but Shay Given raced off the line to block the Finn's shot when he was through.

After edging a low-key start to the match, Newcastle were under pressure for much of the second half and survived two penalty appeals.

Alan Shearer is shown the red card at the Valley

The Charlton bench was incensed when referee Andy D'Urso waved away calls for a spot-kick after Claus Jensen's free-kick appeared to hit a Newcastle hand soon after the break.

The same player had another case for a penalty soon after when his cross cannoned off Andy O'Brien, but again the appeal was turned down.

Craig Bellamy was Newcastle's biggest threat, going closest in the 53rd minute with a shot that beat Dean Kiely but hit the post.

I have never seen Jon Fortune - either in training or matches - go down, and he told me he was caught across the throat

Alan Curbishley
Charlton boss

It was still very much against the run of play when Speed gave the visitors' the lead, firing past Dean Kiely in the 73rd minute.

With the final whistle approaching it seemed that Newcastle might hang on for that elusive win in London.

But Curbishley's third substitution of the afternoon proved decisive, as MacDonald was on hand to equalise from the edge of the area after a scramble in the Newcastle box.

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Charlton: Kiely, Young, Brown, Fish, Powell, Stuart, Parker, Jensen, Robinson, Bartlett, Johansson. Subs: Ilic, Konchesky, Fortune, Lisbie, MacDonald.

Newcastle: Given, Hughes, O'Brien, Dabizas, Elliott, Solano, Lee, Speed, Robert, Shearer, Bellamy. Subs: Harper, Acuna, Lua-Lua, Ameobi, Distin.

Referee: A D'Urso (Billericay)