Preston North End had to settle for a point at home to Derby County, despite dominating against Frank Lampard’s side.
Kelle Roos in the visitors goal managed to keep out the Lilywhites, who dominated against the visitors – who didn’t even have a shot on target – with the Rams keeper making a number of fine saves.
It was ‘same again’ for manager Alex Neil for the third game in a row, with Tom Clarke returning to the bench.
And the Lilywhites started brightly and could have been ahead inside two minutes. A Paul Gallagher corner from the right – the first of a number to cause problems for the Rams defence – headed down for Alan Browne to fire goalwards, Jayden Stockley then making a reaction header that flashed inches wide of the left-hand post.
On six minutes another corner that caused all sorts of problems by Gallagher from the right, but this time Jordan Storey was unable to keep his snap shot down from ten yards out, under pressure from Fikayo Tomori.
The first shot of the game from the visitors, by Harry Wilson, was from 30 yards and it hit the left-hand corner of post and bar out of nothing.
But the better chances kept coming for PNE and from yet another right-hand corner from Gallagher; Andrew Hughes headed down and Stockley,on the spin, half-volleyed with power, but over the cross bar from eight yards out.
Just before the half’s mid-point came a fourth Gallagher corner from the right – like the others, an outswinger – and this time Storey got up highest eight yards out, but couldn’t keep his header down and it flashed just over Roos’ cross bar.
With five minutes to go until the interval,Wilson again hit the woodwork, this time the right-hand post from 25 yards out, it came out and was eventually cleared by Darnell Fisher.
In the sixth minute of the second half Fisher was denied his first North End goal on his 59th appearance, collecting a superb ball from Gallagher inside the right corner of the penalty area, driving along and firing low, Roos using his legs to keep out the on-target effort.
The corners were again a threat in the second half and three inswingers in the first 15 minutes all caused problems; Davies getting his head on the last, heading into the six-yard box, but Sean Maguire could not divert the ball into the goal with a glancing effort on his first start of the season at Deepdale.
Gallagher then forced Roos into another smart save on 62 minutes, as the follow up from Potts hit his own man – Browne – and then Fisher was again denied by a last-ditch block by Richard Keogh.
Two great chances came the home side's way into the final ten minutes, as firstly Tom Barkhuizen – on for Gallagher – and then Potts broke away into the Derby half, only for at the final hurdle, as they both looked to shoot, the County defence recovered, and on both occasions, scrambled the ball clear and the game remained goalless.
PNE line-up: Rudd, Fisher, Hughes, Pearson, Storey, Davies, Potts, Gallagher (c) (Barkhuizen, 79), Stockley (Nmecha, 65), Browne, Maguire. Subs not used: Ripley, Earl, Clarke, Johnson, Ledson.
Derby County line-up: Roos, Bryson, Tomori, Keogh (c), Wilson, Waghorn (Bennett, 65), Lawrence, Evans, Holmes, Nugent (Wisdom, 69), Malone. Subs not used: Carson, Jozefzoon, Johnson, MacDonald, Huddlestone.
Attendance: 12,124 (963 Derby County fans)
Referee: Mr D Bond