Sheffield Wednesday drew 0-0 with fellow promotion contenders Derby County at Pride Park in League One on Saturday.
It was a game limited on chances, with both sides struggling to create opportunities and being wasteful in position in the low-quality encounter, with Fisayo Dele-Bashiru having the best chance for the visitors in the second half when he was denied by former Wednesday goalkeeper Joe Wildsmith.
The Owls had the chance to go top of the table with a win after Plymouth Argyle's defeat to Port Vale and Ipswich Town's draw with Fleetwood Town on Friday night, but could not take full advantage of those results. Wednesday remain third, one point behind the Tractor Boys and closing the gap on leaders Argyle to two points.
It also extends the unbeaten run for Darren Moore's side to eight games in the league.
Defender Reece James believes that it was a good point away from home against the Rams, who sit seventh in the table and says that there is still a long way to go for Wednesday to get into the automatic spots.
"They’re a good team [Derby County] and obviously we know with their new management it was going to be difficult for a lot of teams to come here and get a result," James told Yorkshire Live.
"The main thing was, we stood up to the test and we made it difficult for them.
"Maybe we could have taken one or two chances that came but we’ve just got to look at it like it’s a good point and it’s a point in the right direction.
"I think we all had our eye on that today [potentially going top]. That’s possibly why thing were maybe a bit sloppy. But we’ve got to look at it, re-group and go again at Exeter. Like I say, the chance will come again."
The Verdict
James is absolutely right to be looking at the positives after the draw at Derby.
A point away from home against a promotion rival should not be criticised and particularly given the scrappy nature of the game and the fact Wednesday weren't at their best going forward, it was imperative not to lose the game.
Under Paul Warne, the Rams have been hard to beat and are on a six-game unbeaten league run of their own and as James says, not many teams will go to Pride Park and come out with a result and a clean sheet.
The most pleasing aspect is that it continues Wednesday's impressive defensive form, with three clean sheets in a row and 11 in total for the season, the most in the division.
On a personal level, James has established himself as a key member of the Wednesday defence, with the on-loan Blackpool man proving himself to be equally as reliable at both centre half and left-wing back.
It also shows the strong mentality of the squad at Wednesday that James is keeping his focus on the bigger picture, rather than being too disheartened by missing the chance to go top, concentrating on maintaining their recent form and consistency and knowing that if they do, they will get in the automatic promotion places eventually.