Aston Villa and Charlton played out a limp goalless draw which does nothing to lift the European hopes of either.

In an otherwise tedious game, Thomas Hitzlsperger sent two trademark piledrivers wide in either half.

The hosts came even closer on the hour when Danny Murphy headed Nolberto Solano’s attempted cross off the line.

Charlton struggled to create chances but might have stolen a goal when Hermann Hreidarsson put a free header wide from a second-half corner.

But it would have been harsh on injury-hit Villa, who were the more creative side throughout.

Their injury problems were immediately evident from their substitutes bench, which included Darius Vassell and Eric Djemba-Djemba, neither of whom are fully fit.

Vassell’s injury also meant Carlton Cole started up front, despite criticising manager David O’Leary earlier in the day.

But it was Cole’s strike partner Juan Pablo Angel who engineered a chance after just 32 seconds, but despite a deft first touch, the out-of-form Colombian badly scuffed his shot.

It was a rare moment of interest in a drab first-half.

A sparse Villa crowd were lifted every time long-range specialist Hitzlsperger got the ball and after 16 minutes, Dean Kiely did well to punch away the German’s vicious swerving shot.

Charlton barely created a chance, although Talal El Karkouri entertained the fans with a woeful free-kick that almost hit the corner flag.

If the fans expected more urgency at the start of the second half, they were to be disappointed.

It took almost 15 minutes for the first effort on goal when Villa’s Gareth Barry curled his shot just wide but it was the spark for the hosts to play some more imaginative football.

A well-worked corner led to Solano bending his attempted cross over Kiely, only for Murphy to head the ball onto the crossbar and to safety.

While Charlton’s second-half threat was limited to Hreidarsson’s header, Hitzlsperger spurned another chance to give Villa the lead when he smashed Ulises de la Cruz’s cross wide.

But such a spectacular goal would have been out of place on an uninspiring evening at Villa Park.

*Aston Villa boss David O’Leary:*

“It’s hard when one team wants to play and the other doesn’t. We had all the play but I don’t think we created enough to win it.

“But I’m delighted. We had three full-backs and a midfielder in defence so we’re pleased with a clean sheet.

“I have to applaud these players, the way they have filled in with all the injuries we’ve had.”