Australian striker Mark Viduka scored in NINE seconds this afternoon to send Leeds soaring towards a Champions League place.

Viduka had the ball in the Charlton net in such a blur that he had the statisticians scrambling.

The Press Association's analyst recorded it at nine seconds, others made it 10 and television replays suggested it might have been 11 seconds.

Whatever the split time, however, it brought a smile to the face of watching England head coach Sven-Goran Eriksson, which is more than could be said for some of the English players on show who were hoping to make Eriksson's squad tomorrow for next week's World Cup qualifier against Finland at Anfield.

Leeds goalkeeper Nigel Martyn, in particular, will have nightmares about the first-half blunder which saw him completely misjudge the flight of a free-kick to allow Shaun Bartlett to equalise.

Rio Ferdinand, too, looked uneasy at times in the face of a spirited and combative Charlton fightback and the Leeds defence always looked likely to leak goals. But there is no denying the potency of Leeds when they go forward.

They have not arrived in the European Cup quarter-finals without a cutting edge which is among the sharpest in the Premiership. Their cutting edge in the tackle is just as fierce and brought five bookings for Leeds players to go with three for Charlton in a tempestuous match which was never more than one more flying boot from boiling over.

As it happened referee Clive Wilkes should take much of the blame and so incensed was Leeds manager David O'Leary at some off the decisions that he had to be directed away from the officials by stewards at half-time.

The match itself was brimming with incident and couldn't have begun in more spectacular fashion. Virtually straight from the kick-off Ian Harte floated a long ball forward which was flicked on by Alan Smith. Viduka could hardly believe his luck as he found himself in oceans of space with the goal gaping in front of him.

The Aussie striker, subject of transfer speculation with Roma, opened his stance and calmly steered a right-foot shot past Charlton goalkeeper Sasa Ilic from 16 yards.

It could not have given Leeds a more perfect start. But Charlton, who had not lost in the Premiership in 2001, are no longer a soft touch. They were unbeaten in nine consecutive Premiership matches and they hardly needed the assistance they were given by Martyn to record the equaliser.

The goal came in the 18th minute after Viduka had received the yellow card for an elbow into the face of Scott Parker. Radostin Kishishev floated the free-kick towards the penalty area and appeared to have overhit it as Martyn raced off his line.

But Martyn, hoping to impress before England's squad for the World Cup qualifier against Finland is named tomorrow, hopelessly misjudged the flight of the ball, allowing Charlton's Bartlett to rise unchallenged to head the ball into an empty net.

The simmering undercurrent which ran throughout the match threatened to boil over when Danny Mills and David Batty were booked after a flare-up with little Charlton midfielder Scott Parker. Players from both sides took part in angry altercations with several Leeds players trying to drag Parker to his feet, intimating to the referee that he had dived.

If the first-half had begun spectacularly, however, the action at the beginning of the second was no less dramatic. Within 30 seconds of the restart Scott Parker had a shot blocked in the Leeds area, only for Aussie international Viduka to race away with the ball, going practically the length of the field before feeding Smith who dispatched his shot with impressive aplomb past Charlton goalkeeper Sasa Ilic.

Bowyer should have put the game beyond doubt in the final moments when he was clean through but hit his shot against goalkeeper Ilic.

And in the last seconds Johansson was pulled down in the area but his furious penalty claims were brushed aside. Before the game Chris Powell, Charlton's first England international for 36 years, was presented with the shirt he wore against Spain last month.

The jersey had been auctioned for charity for £1500 and then donated back to Charlton to be displayed at The Valley.

Powell didn't put a foot wrong and must be in Eriksson's plans for next week. Smith is one for the future while Martyn might only have furthered the claims of veteran David Seaman.

As for Ferdinand that's a decision for which Eriksson is paid £3million a year.

Teams

Charlton: Ilic, Rufus, Fish (Kinsella 64), Todd, Powell, Kishishev (Salako 81), Parker (Svensson 73), Jensen, Robinson, Johansson, Bartlett.

Subs Not Used: Brown, Caig.

Booked: Johansson, Parker, Todd.

Goals: Bartlett 18.

Leeds Martyn, Mills, Ferdinand, Matteo, Harte, Batty, Dacourt, Bowyer, Kewell (Wilcox 82), Smith, Viduka.

Subs Not Used: Kelly, Keane, Robinson, Burns.

Booked: Viduka, Smith, Kewell, Mills, Batty.

Goals: Viduka 1, Smith 46.

Att: 20,043

Ref: C Wilkes (Gloucester).