There was plenty of effort and endeavour from the home side, but there was no spark to Leeds' performance.

Charlton could have been a goal up after just 80 seconds as Olivier Dacourt found himself in trouble just outside his own area, playing a suicidal ball across the edge of the box to Gary Kelly.

Paul Konchesky took advantage of Kelly's failure to control the ball, but sliced his shot wide with only Nigel Martyn to beat.

Martyn was nothing more than a spectator during the initial period as Charlton's other chances saw Chris Bart-Williams strike a sweet 25-yard free-kick inches wide, and Ian Harte diverted a Graham Stuart curler into the side-netting.

It was Dean Kiely who found himself the busier of the two keepers as Leeds finally came alive in the 13th minute when Robbie Fowler and Dacourt combined to set Eirik Bakke free for an angled drive which was tipped away.

Kiely's fingers were stung again in the 37th minute after Dacourt struck a 30-yard drive.

Leeds lost Dacourt for the second half after he landed on the right shoulder he dislocated two and half months ago.

That brought David Batty into the fray, and he continued United's drive forward.

Fowler was not having a good afternoon, and Mark Viduka and Harry Kewell combined down the left wing with the latter pulling the ball back for Robbie.

He took one touch to set himself up, but, with the goal at his mercy, struck the right-hand post.

His head was in his hands again in the 70th minute as he latched on to a through ball from Batty, and beat Kiely with an angled half-volley before flashing his shot across the face of the goal.

The urgency was apparent as Leeds camped themselves in the Charlton half for the closing 10 minutes after Jason Euell had found the net, only to be ruled offside.

Viduka struck the legs of Jorge Costa, Kewell rifled a half-volley onto the roof of the net, while Harte curled a 22-yard free-kick narrowly over in injury time.

The boos at the final whistle said it all, with Leeds staring at the prospect of Intertoto Cup football as their passport to Europe next season.