CITY 0 CHARLTON 0

KARL Robinson had been unaware of his wretched record against City.

The newly-installed Charlton boss lost five of their six meetings when he was in charge of MK Dons.

Given that previous form, Saturday’s stalemate in his first league game with his new employers could be seen as a moral victory.

But Robinson reckoned it was a bigger result because of how much the Bantams have improved.

While the Valley Parade faithful headed home with that increasingly familiar frustration at seeing so much good play once again go unrewarded, Robinson was summing up what the rest of the division think.

He reckons City are a far tougher proposition now because they are less predictable.

“It’s a difficult place to come,” he said. “But you always knew when they got it into wide areas that the diagonal ball (to James Hanson) was a natural thing to happen.

“Now they’ve got players who over-lap and under-lap so you’ve got to be so conscious and load the area where the ball is.

“But that means you don’t load it where Hanson is and that makes him a bigger threat. They are more difficult to play against because they are a great team.”

That doesn’t stop the post-match lament about the absence of goals; one that will accompany every single day between now and New Year’s Day and right through January until the window of opportunity shuts again.

McCall joked when asked about his planned window activity – “I need to clean them” was the reply – but for the fans, watching City fire blanks again was no laughing matter.

And yet this was still a good point against a very good team.

Few would argue with McCall’s assertion that Charlton are “definite top six material”.

Robinson’s new team possess a stronger backbone than the occasionally fancy-dan approach offered by Milton Keynes.

And the side that gave City their toughest Valley Parade examination so far were missing five or six through injury and illness that their manager said would all have started.

As goalless draws go, this was a cracker.

Both teams could make a case for winning it; Charlton bossed the first half, City came on stronger after the break.

The stalemate was about right and it’s not hard to see the two of them doing battle in play-off contention as the season wears on.

But that doesn’t lessen the obvious concern in Bantam eyes about that lack of cutting edge.

The margins are getting tighter with those around City all winning at the weekend.

January, after everyone has spent four months stuck with the same personnel, could potentially prove make-or-break in a division where there is little to choose between so many.

But before then, as McCall pointed out, there are four more games – a period whose importance should not be ignored.

Christmas is traditionally the first sorting-out marker of the campaign. This season, more than any, City need a solid haul to ensure the great work up to now is not allowed to weaken.

Clearly Robinson sees no reason for McCall’s men to fall away. But that nagging concern about turning so much that is good into genuine end product will not go away.

Charlton had the best forward on the pitch in Josh Magennis, who justified why McCall had declared an interest in the summer.

Big and strong, he proved a real handful for City’s backline up to half-time. Even the “Rolls Royce” was spluttering as Nathaniel Knight-Percival was subjected to his most uncomfortable 45 minutes of an otherwise serene season.

The centre half was very fortunate with a huge penalty call after Magennis had got goal-side in the box before going down in a tangle of legs.

Then the Northern Ireland international was left holding his head in disbelief after Nicky Ajose set him up for a shot that cannoned across the line off the inside of the post.

And Magennis looked sure to score when Lee Novak pounced on a Knight-Percival error to find him in the box. Taking the ball wide of Colin Doyle, he fired towards the unguarded net – only to see Stephen Darby in the right place at the right time to clear off the line.

Tony McMahon’s midweek return in the Checkatrade Trophy – and his appearance on the bench on Saturday – will highlight the fight for the right-back shirt.

But while Darby may not match McMahon for his eagerness to overlap and get forward, his goal-saving capabilities can never be questioned.

If you want someone defending for your life on the line, it would be the City number two.

City’s goal continued to live a charmed life as Jordan Botaka, the winger on a season-long loan from Leeds, bounced a cross off the bar.

Charlton had come to attack, throwing caution to the wind from the start. There were no holding midfielders sitting back to smother the holes, the Addicks were prepared to stand and trade blows.

It made for an entertaining spectacle with plenty of chances and near-misses at both ends.

City, having faded after a fast start, still could have gone in at half-time in credit had Jordy Hiwula showed more composure when Nicky Law headed him in on goal.

Instead young keeper Dillon Phillips, deputising for first choice Declan Rudd, spread himself to divert the shot wide with his body.

It was the first of several opportunities for Hiwula and he should have taken at least one. But his overall movement and anticipation was a problem for the visitors, especially after the break when he started to drop a bit deeper to find more room to run in.

Hiwula had the best chance in the second half as City took control of a contest that became slightly less frantic.

This time it was Mark Marshall playing him through but again Phillips was equal to the challenge and turned the ball away.

Charlton were belatedly reduced to ten men when defender Patrick Bauer, who was only called in late because of the lurgy around the Valley staff, was shown a second yellow card for blocking off Marc McNulty.

But that came far too late for any impact on an afternoon that both parties should probably look back on as a point gained.