kiely moved to charlton athletic for a fee of £1 million on 26 may 1999 and made his debut on 7 august against barnsley. he was charlton's regular keeper from 1999 to 2005, and was popular with the club's fans as well as having a majestic "shut out" rate. having been signed from a lower-division club he was seen as an example of alan curbishley's ability to spot talent in unheralded players. kiely made a point-blank save from birmingham city player christophe dugarry in a game at st andrew's on 3 november 2003; charlton went on to win the game 2–1 and kiely later named the save as the favourite one of his career. he also saved a penalty from crystal palace's andy johnson to help secure a 1-0 win in december 2004.