It's a strange atmosphere generated at the Riverside Stadium. Part silence, part murmur, it's the sort of place to make you feel very foolish if you bring along a visitor to witness the thrills and spills of the Premiership.
The attention to detail is there though, as evidenced by the line of stewards sitting next to the dedicated travelling supporters, lest they tried to make a break from their seats and start trouble with the two empty blocks of seats next to them. Given that Boro's fans scarcely seemed to have any interest in the game, let alone any potential for disorder, it was as superfluous a piece of stewarding as you could ever hope to see.
Sitting there in one neatly contained block, in the middle of an empty stand, a few hundred of SE7's most dedicated spent the opening portions of the game sending out a choral tribute to the recently retired Clive Mendonca.
You couldn't really blame them, as there was scarcely an exchange of note on the pitch to act as a distraction. Referee Mike Riley predictably made the most of his television appearance, revelling in the spotlight he looked to create for himself. An early telling-off for Jason Euell was delivered in a duly fussy fashion, while Jorge Costa's booking for a seemingly innocuous block on Dean Windass was just an example of a referee with no sympathy for the flow of the game.
With just eight minutes played, the first chance of the afternoon almost fell to Jonatan Johansson, but as the ball pinballed around, the Finn was unable to dispatch a clean strike. Boro spent the opening half an hour similarly struggling to create a decent opening, with Noel Whelan's diving header past the far post after 25 minutes, their first chance of any real merit.
Mark Fish was the first to have to leave the contest, hobbling to the bench ten minutes before the break with what appeared to be a sore knee. Paul Konchesky replaced Fish, recreating Tuesday night's back three, as a dreary game trudged slowly to the break. The home crowd showed signs of growing bored with their side's hesitancy, while the visitors continued to develop what was starting to look like a useful foothold in the game.
In the minutes leading up to half time, Graham Stuart's lofty drive and Konchesky's neat, low free kick to Johansson provided the Addicks with possibly their best two opportunities of the half. Neither troubled Mark Crossley in the Boro goal however, and as Boro enjoyed a last throw of the dice before the break, it took Dean Kiely's leap to deny Franck Queudrue's 30-yard free kick.
Having refused to allow the game to spring into life, the overly officious official finally did everyone a favour, offering 15 minutes of respite from the dull fare offered up in the first 45 minutes. Things could most certainly only get better.
Steve McClaren's decision to replace Robbie Stockdale with Andy Campbell threatened to keep the visiting defence just a little bit busier in the second half, but the mood was certainly still far from electric as the game recommenced. The sides were managing to cancel each other out with almost clinical precision, and the feeling grew that a moment of the unexpected, rather than a continuation of what had been tried so far, would be needed to break the deadlock.
With the massed ranks of Sky staff ensuring the game was beamed back to SE7 and beyond, you were left wondering that for the first team, 'playercam' might be more interesting if it focused on someone sitting on the bench. The less of the game it featured, the more interesting it was bound to be.
McClaren watched proceedings through to the hour mark, before bringing on Carlos Marinelli in place of Dean Windass. The drudgery was almost broken in extraordinary style, as Chris Powell found himself free in the Boro box, but the cover appeared, the chance was lost and normal service was resumed. Exciting it wasn't, but considering all the pleas for four points in the two games after Walsall, the Addicks were only 20 minutes away from their prize.
Minutes later, just to confirm to itself that it hadn't all been a bad dream, Powell managed to do it again. Much as we all celebrated his England call-up earlier in the year, Powell's ability to match a clear head in his own area with displays of sheer panic in the opposition's is a source of continuing frustration.
Fifteen minutes from time, the home side came within fractions of making Powell and his side regret the miss, only for Euell's touch on the far post to cause Gareth Southgate to nod the ball tamely into the side netting. The Addicks had enjoyed the best of the second half, but as the game entered its final stages, Boro launched a last, determined bid to snatch all three points.
Marinelli's introduction was posing a new set of questions for the Charlton defence, and as they searched for answers, Boro sensed an opening might be about to arrive. In a bid to pose problems of his own, Alan Curbishley replaced Euell with Matt Svensson, hoping the big Swede might either claim a late winner, or create the chaos that allowed someone else to snatch it.
Kevin Lisbie, who had replaced Johansson, was unlucky to be deemed to have fouled Southgate when deep into Boro territory, but with the award of the free kick seemed to go Charlton's last hope of a win.
The point takes the Addicks up to eighth in the Premiership, and sees them complete their post-Walsall mission of recovery. It was far from fascinating stuff, but as the points total ticks ever closer to the magical figure of 40, it'll do quite nicely for now.