Derby County’s ’s first-ever competitive home game with Burton Albion ended in deep frustration as the Brewers did everything in the power to claim a goalless draw at Pride Park Stadium.

The Rams spent large periods of the fixture camped inside the visitors’ half, but were ultimately unable to find a way past Nigel Clough’s dogged outfit.

Darren Bent had Derby’s best chance, scooping an effort over the crossbar from two-yards out, whilst David Nugent lashed at a late opportunity to be the last-gasp hero.

Luke Varney, a one-time Ram, had Burton’s best chance late in the first half, but the evening was all about the visitors’ defending as they held out to claim a clean sheet and a point that benefits them more than it does Steve McClaren’s side.

Lining up in a 4-5-1 formation, Burton made their intentions for the evening clear right from the off. That aim was to frustrate as Derby struggled to engineer any early attacks against the Brewers in a largely subdued start at Pride Park.

The only chance of a quiet opening 20 minutes came through Tom Ince, the Rams’ joint top scorer with 12, who collected a fine diagonal ball from Julien de Sart and flashed an effort over from 18-yards out.

Those sort of chances were rare over an evening when Burton’s defence and midfield got their heads and legs in front of everything that the hosts threw in their direction.

Dominating possession, McClaren’s side asked all of the questions, but were repeatedly met by a yellow brick wall.

As the clock ticked down, though, it was a wall that dropped deeper and deeper towards Jon McLaughlin, the Brewers’ goalkeeper, so much so that with half an hour on the clock 21 of the 22 players starting the game were in the Burton half.

The Rams had no other choice other than to try to play through the Burton lines and persisted to try and pull the visitors one way then the other in order to craft their openings and with three minutes of the first half remaining, they had their clearest sighting of McLaughlin’s goal.

Out on the right, Ince managed to squeeze a shot in on goal despite finding himself quickly surrounded, but, on this occasion, a deflection dropped kindly into the path of Bent, who could only scoop the ball over from two-yards out.

The visitors survived and could have taken the lead themselves just a minute later, but Varney guided his header, from Lloyd Dyer’s left wing cross, into the grateful arms of Scott Carson.

The story of the game was much more of the same over the second 45 minutes as McClaren’s men camped themselves in front of the South Stand, but saw their efforts thwarted by stubborn and mean defending from every man in a yellow shirt.

McLaughlin played his part too, tipping a shot over from the industrious and excellent Jacob Butterfield, 45 seconds into the restart, before he was also the grateful recipient of a tame Ince free kick from 25-yards out.

The frustration that Derby endured throughout continued right to the end. Ince saw an effort blocked inside the area and with three minutes of time added on, David Nugent had the chance to be the last-gasp hero, but snatched at Bent’s cushioned header as the Brewers held on to claim a point.

Derby County: Carson, Christie, Keogh (C), Pearce, Olsson; de Sart, Butterfield, Hughes; Ince, Anya (Camara, 56), Bent

Substitutes not used: Mitchell, Shackell, Johnson, Vydra, Olsson

Burton Albion: McLaughlin, Naylor, Turner, Mousinho (C), Flanagan; Varney (O’Grady, 78), Christensen, Palmer, Irvine (Murphy, 46), Dyer; Woodrow (Sordell, 55)

Substitutes not used: Bywater, Barker, Williamson, Miller

Attendance: 31,081 (2,656 away supporters)