BY KEVIN McCARRA ( The Times )

FOR all the glamorous extravagance of their reputation, Manchester United have grown attached to minimalism. In the past week, they have pared away superfluity, emblazoning themselves only across the last sliver of time. Two late goals eliminated Liverpool from the FA Cup and, yesterday, United reached the top of the FA Carling Premiership with Dwight Yorke's winner in the last minute.

Sycophants might explain it as the consequence of inexorable force, but, as they amassed only corner kicks in the second half, Alex Ferguson's team looked plodding rather than irresistible. There had been just a single noteworthy save from Simon Royce, the Charlton Athletic goalkeeper, when he turned a volley from Ryan Giggs behind in the 38th minute. Nonetheless, United, however it is to be explained, were victorious.

The goal had its merits, with Paul Scholes, a substitute, curling a deep cross and Yorke showing the resolve to win a header, which bounced into the net off the inside of the post. Charlton, rightly, will think of it as the kind of situation with which they had coped efficiently all afternoon. By then, it appeared that the vulnerability that is supposed to accompany them had been given the slip.

Instead of making a point, Alan Curbishley's team could only remind everyone that there is no such thing in football as a minor ambition. Charlton's aspiration to drag themselves out of the relegation zone before collapsing with exhaustion at the season's end might seem trivial when compared with United's desire to hit the heights, yet still it inspired them. It almost kept the visitors equal in the score and even, for spells, on the field itself.

There are days when calculations about the relative merits of each side are only scribblings at the margins of the truth. Poor Horse, a Charlton fanzine, has published an acute parody of the type of account that is given whenever the club achieves an enviable result. The outcome is ascribed to the opposition's fecklessness before the ritual prediction is made that The Valley will soon return to being a Nationwide League first division venue once more.

The Charlton supporters would have appreciated the opportunity to gnash their teeth over that sort of reporting once again, but there was to be no surprise in the result. Worse still, they have played three successive matches at home in the Premiership and taken one draw from them. The past 13 games have yielded a paltry three points. Ferguson put those failures down to Charlton's inexperience and sheer bad luck, but claimed that this victory was deserved.

Although the assertion possessed logic, in view of United's domination, the manager also said: "I couldn't see us scoring. Their three centre backs handled our twin strikers as well as anyone has this season." With two regular defenders, Danny Mills and Eddie Youds, absent, through suspension and injury respectively, the resistance that Charlton mounted was one of the unwelcome surprises for United.

Ferguson's side has generally been on more colourful journeys, but the manager will never be satisfied with the sort of jet-lagged form shown here. Naturally, he preferred (in public at least) to talk of the consequences of the result rather than the manner in which it was obtained. "In the context of the championship, you have to dig it out sometimes," he said.

For the first time this season, a weekend programme has ended with United heading the Premiership. Ferguson spoke of clubs with the "tradition" of winning coming through and, one might deduce, he is already preparing himself for a duel with Arsenal.

The future will be a more engrossing topic for him than this contest, in which United's opportunities were separated by long stretches of inconsequence.

With so much attention paid to Yorke and Andy Cole, the midfield had scope. After 36 minutes, Roy Keane worked his way inside before rolling the ball into the path of Nicky Butt, who, with room to settle himself, drilled wide. After 76 minutes, it was also Butt who slipped into space, exchanged a one-two with Yorke and, attempting a difficult finish, jabbed the ball past the post.

Charlton's threats had been more muddled in nature, with Peter Schmeichel, the United goalkeeper, fending the ball away from the feet of Mark Kinsella in the 45th minute as the crowd demanded a penalty and Neil Redfearn, under pressure, firing off-target from the subsequent corner.

Given a glimpse of a chance in the 57th minute, after Redfearn flicked the ball into the penalty area, Andy Hunt squeezed in a shot that was struck straight at the goalkeeper.

It had never appeared likely that United could lose and this was a disconcerting match for the visitors rather than an alarming one. Eventually, the superiority of their midfield squeezed Charlton enough to wring a goal from them. After hitting the net on a dozen occasions in their previous three fixtures, there were diminishing returns for Ferguson's side here, yet still they were entirely sufficient.

Tormented though he was, Curbishley recognised this particular kind of pain. "When I used to go to Anfield as a player, Liverpool would pat you on the back afterwards, but you had still lost," he said. The Charlton manager will also see similarities in the strength in depth that United, the Liverpool of the present area, possess.

CHARLTON ATHLETIC (3-5-2): S Royce - R Rufus, S Brown, C Tiler - J Robinson, M Kinsella, N Redfearn, K Jones, C Powell - A Hunt (sub: M Bright, 77min), M Pringle (sub: S Parker, 82).

MANCHESTER UNITED (4-4-2): P Schmeichel - G Neville, J Stam, H Berg, D Irwin - D Beckham (sub: O G Solskjaer, 71), R Keane, N Butt (sub: P Scholes, 81), R Giggs - A Cole, D Yorke.

Referee: G Willard.