Double act stop rot for Bristol City
Not one but two Bristol City goalkeepers denied Derby County victory in this tussle at the top of the Championship.
First Frank Fielding then Luke Steele stood firm against sustained pressure from Gary Rowett’s side.
Lee Johnson was forced to switch his goalkeepers at half-time owing to injury and it was tough to pick which of the pair performed better.
Both pulled off a string of saves to ensure a clean sheet — although it still needed a controversial late refereeing decision when Cameron Jerome was booked for diving but replays showed he had been fouled by Aden Flint and Derby should have been awarded a penalty.
The draw was greeted more warmly by City, who ended their losing sequence at five games in all competitions and can look forward to the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final against Manchester City on Tuesday with renewed confidence.
Derby extended their unbeaten Championship run to nine games, closing the gap on leaders Wolves to nine points, but were dissatisfied this was not the win to really get nerves jangling on the one side above them. Johnson’s team moved above Aston Villa and into fourth thanks to their first point since Boxing Day.
Derby started tentatively but when they clicked into gear the opportunities began to mount. Matej Vydra drew a fine save from Fielding with a low free-kick that bounced awkwardly and from the resulting corner Derby went even closer. Johnny Russell helped the ball back into the danger zone and Curtis Davies leapt high to head past Fielding, but Flint had gone to guard the line and was in position to clear.
A swift Derby break led to Russell thundering a free-kick against the bar and Fielding saved from Richard Keogh and Davies in a goalmouth scramble.
Steele picked up where Fielding had left off, stopping Vydra’s goalbound effort.
The visitors had much the better of the second period until Tom Lawrence unleashed an almighty shot from a close angle that Steele did superbly to palm over. Steele then made an even more startling intervention, getting low to deny Vydra. In a rare attack the other way, Joe Bryan volleyed narrowly wide.