Sheffield Wednesday posted what could prove a valuable point in their fight against the drop with a goalless draw against Derby on Saturday.

In a game of few chances, the home side shaded possession but couldn't find a way through the Rams defence. Tommy Miller had the best chance of the whole game inside the first minute but failed to take advantage and that pretty much summed up what was an overall tepid affair at Hillsborough.

Alan Irvine resumed the Owls' relegation battle with the same side that finished the game at Preston on Tuesday, when Wednesday recovered from a two-goal deficit to take a draw into the Rams contest.



With Luke Varney ineligible to face his parent club, Leon Clarke returned to the starting line-up alongside Marcus Tudgay up front.

And it was Tudgay that had a hand in the build-up as Wednesday almost burst into that early lead. The striker got a vital flick onto Clarke's feed and the ball fell kindly to Miller, whose low drive was beaten away by Stephen Bywater.

Derby responded immediately with Chris Porter forcing a reflex save from Lee Grant before a nervous ten minutes for both sides that spawned little of note.

But on the 15-minute mark the Owls broke free - with Tom Soares at the hub - and again came close to taking the lead.

The loanee midfielder snatched possession in the engine room and sprayed a delightful pass to Miller on the right flank. Miller sent over a teasing cross into the heart of the danger zone and Tudgay was inches away from a crucial connection.

Soares was causing problems for Derby and brought another fine save out of Bywater on 28 minutes before the Rams had their best chance of the half five minutes before the break.



James McEveley swung over a dipping free kick that found Rob Hulse and the big hitman got excellent purchase on a header that Grant athletically tipped over the bar.

Wednesday needed to show more in the second half but the early exchanges saw a continuation of the first, with the Owls edging possession without piling significant pressure on the visitors' defence.

And with a scant amount of threat at one end, they suffered a blow at the other when Darren Purse went off just before the hour - Richard Hinds replaced the Wednesday captain.

Francis Jeffers was introduced in place of Clarke to add a new dimension to the attack but the breakthrough nearly came from an unlikely source.

Darren Potter's accurate free kick was met at the far post by Mark Beevers and the defender's header was goalbound until Michael Tonge's desperate clearance right under the bar.

Miller then set up Jeffers with a looped header but the former Everton man just failed to get something on the ball six yards from goal.

Derby began to sit back but soaked up the late pressure from Wednesday to hang on for a share of the spoils.

Owls: Grant, Nolan, Beevers, Purse (Hinds 58), Spurr, Soares, O'Connor (Esajas 83), Potter, Miller, Clarke (Jeffers 64), Tudgay

Unused substitutes: O'Donnell, Simek, Palmer, Gray

Derby: Bywater, McEvevely, Green, Hulse (Davies 86), Porter, Barker, Pearson, Tonge, Hunt (Leacock 81) Anderson, Sunu (Savage 78)

Unused substitutes: Martin, Buxton, Moxey, Martin

Referee: James Linington

Attendance: 21,827