Sheffield Wednesday and Derby County both failed to find the back of the net as they played out a goalless draw in their Championship match at Hillsborough this afternoon.
Both sides looked to break the deadlock in the early stages of the match, with Andreas Weimann making a run forward for the visitors, before Liam Palmer attempted to create something down the other end for Lucas Joao, but it remained goalless.
Ross Wallace had the first real sight of goal almost 20 minutes into the match when the midfielder hammered a 25-yard strike towards the Derby goal, but Lee Grant made the save.
The Owls continued to see the majority of the possession in the first half, but a Barry Bannan strike failed to test the keeper, while Kieran Lee made a couple of runs in behind, before being unable to connect with a teammate.
The visitors, who saw little of the ball in Wednesday's half in the opening 45 minutes, came close to opening the scoring at the start of the second half when the home side failed to clear a free kick, but Bradley Johnson's header was just over the crossbar.
The Owls responded, making their way down the other end a few minutes later, but Joao's curling effort was blocked before Daniel Pudil rifled the rebound just wide.
Kieran Westwood almost had to wait until the 70th minute to make his first save of the afternoon as Derby got the ball back, but Johnson's long-range drive made for a straight-forward save for the keeper.
The shots continued to come from long range as Wallace tried his luck with a dipping effort with 10 minutes remaining, but the swerving ball was a fraction high.
The game opened up as both sides pushed for a late winner, resulting in a mistake from Glenn Loovens when he made a back pass to Westwood, which the keeper handled, giving the visitors a free kick inside the penalty area.
Johnson lined it up, hammering the ball towards the target, but the 15-yard strike came off the crossbar before rebounding clear.
The Rams were soon having to defend again as the hosts forced a free kick near the corner flag, but Loovens' header was wide after he beat Jason Shackell to the ball inside the six-yard box.
The result leaves Derby third in the table, four points behind league leaders Brighton & Hove Albion, while Sheffield Wednesday move up to seventh, only sitting outside the playoff places on goal difference.
Sian Cowper
