Promotion rivals Norwich City and Derby County played out a 1-1 draw at Carrow Road this afternoon to ensure that the race for a top-two spot in the Championship remains wide open.
Cameron Jerome tucked the ball home from close range at the end of a fine team move to give the hosts a first-half lead, although debutant Jamie Hanson levelled things up on the 66-minute mark direct from a corner kick.
That goal came about after Canaries stopper John Ruddy allowed the ball to slip through his grasp, meaning that the spoils were shared at the end of a well-contested clash in East Anglia.
Relive how the 90 minutes of action unfolded with Sports Mole's live text coverage below.
Hello and welcome to Sports Mole's live text coverage of the Championship encounter between Norwich City and Derby County at Carrow Road.
The Rams are still backed by many as favourites to go up automatically this season, despite a shaky run of form which has seen them take one point from their last three games. Alex Neil has helped Norwich to push on towards the much-coveted top-two spots, meanwhile, with a win here enough to take the Canaries above their opponents in the table with games fast ticking down.
Kickoff in in East Anglia is now less than 30 minutes away, so let's take a look at how the two sides line up for this one...
TEAM NEWS!
NORWICH CITY STARTING XI: Ruddy, Whittaker, Martin, Bassong, Olsson, Howson, Tettey, Dorrans, Johnson, Hoolahan, Jerome
DERBY COUNTY STARTING XI: Grant, Shotton, Keogh, Albentosa, Forsyth, Hanson, Hughes, Hendrick, Ince, Ward, Russell
Starting with the home side, then, and Alex Neil has made two changes to his starting lineup for this afternoon's match. In come Alex Tettey and Sebastien Bassong, with Gary Hooper and Carlos Cuellar the men to make way. Tettey has had to sit out the last two games due to an automatic two-game suspension, while Bassong missed the victory over Millwall last time out due to a knee injury.
As far as the visitors are concerned, youngster Jamie Hanson comes in for his Rams debut, while Ryan Shotton also enters the starting XI. Omar Mascarell is unavailable due to injury, so he makes way, as does Jake Buxton who is also nursing a a knock. Chris Martin and Darren Bent are still on the sidelines, meanwhile, with the former missing out on a meeting with his former club.
BENCH WATCH!
NORWICH CITY SUBS: Rudd, Cuellar, Hooper, Andreu, Loza, Redmond, O'Neil
DERBY COUNTY SUBS: Roos, Christie, Lingard, Thomas, Dawkins, Bryson, Warnock
As already touched upon, Gary Hooper has to make do with a place among the Norwich subs, as does Nathan Redmond who is also a part of the matchday squad this afternoon. Gary O'Neil came on as a substitute in that win over Millwall, but he is not among the starters here today. Jesse Lingard is the pick of the Rams' subs, meanwhile, joined by 19-year-old striker Kwame Thomas on the bench.
Just 15 minutes to go until we get underway in East Anglia:
Well in case you missed it a little earlier, Middlesbrough stormed to the top of the Championship table with a resounding 4-1 victory over fellow promotion chasers Ipswich Town. It's now the turn of the Tractor Boys' great rivals Norwich to stake their claim for an automatic promotion spot, up against a Derby side with hopes of their own of gaining a place in the Premier League.
Neil has certainly helped propel his side since taking over earlier this season, and having won seven of their last eight games they are now among the favourites to go up automatically come May. There is a little blemish to the recent results, though, with Wigan Wanderers springing a huge surprise to claim all three points here earlier this month.
Despite that setback, Neil claimed that anything less than a place in the automatic promotion zone will feel like a disappointment - a huge psychological blow should his players have to settle for a place in the playoffs. Speaking of shock results, Derby had to settle for a 2-2 draw against Birmingham City in their last outing, rather comically throwing away a two-goal advantage in added time to see their winless run stretch to three games.
The depth of quality in this Derby squad, even without the injured Bent and Martin, makes them among the favourites to go up, though. If they are to do that then the simply must stop the rot with just 10 games of the campaign left to play. They have a mixed bag of fixtures remaining, while Norwich play just one more direct rival - Middlesbrough - between now and the end of the term.
PREVIOUS MEETINGS: These two sides played out a 2-2 draw in their last meeting back in December. Steven Whittaker's 89th-minute goal rescued a point for the Canaries at the iPro Stadium, while Russell Martin and Cameron Jerome also got their names on the scoresheet. In fact, today's hosts have not tasted defeat in their last three encounters with Derby, winning two and drawing one of those games.
DID YOU KNOW? Derby have failed to win away from home since back in January. A bad record, perhaps, but something has to give this afternoon because Norwich hardly boast the best of records at Carrow Road having picked up more points on their travels this season than in front of their own fans.
PREDICTION: Another huge afternoon of Championship football kicked off with Boro racing to the league summit, and now the pressure is firmly on these two to react. With just nine games left to play after this, every last point will count, but I'm sure both sides will be looking to pick up all three. Derby have been hit by injuries up top and that appears to have effected them of late, and that's why I'm backing Norwich to claim a 2-0 win here today.
Before we get underway at Carrow Road, there will be a minute's applause for former Carrow Road great Roy McCrohan, who passed away earlier this week:
KICKOFF! Here we go, then, as Derby County get us underway. The Rams are currently second in the Championship table, sitting a single point above their opponents prior to this game.
Jerome is playing as a lone striker with Hoolahan playing just off him this afternoon, and already Olsson has looked for the former Birmingham City striker with a lofted ball over the top which failed to find its intended target.
Bradley Johnson fires away the first shot of the game from all of 30 yards, rather scuffing the effort in the end as it flew high and wide of the goal. Positive start from the home side nonetheless as they look to make an early breakthrough.
Norwich the side seeing more of the ball in these early stages without asking too many questions of the opposition defence. There's so much experience across the midfield four for Norwich this afternoon, but can they make it count? They are up against debutant Jamie Hanson, who will be hoping to make his youthfulness count.
We had already seen plenty of action by this stage in the day's earlier kickoff, a game which Boro went on to win 4-1 to take top spot in the Championship. It remains awfully tight at the top, and updates will be provided throughout the day from games elsewhere.
Johnson does well to drive his way into the opposition box, firing away a low cross which is cleared away by Ward. The same man fouled Tettey soon after to concede a free kick, but the resulting cross was easily collected by Grant in the end.
Tettey is the latest Norwich player to try his luck from 25 yards out, slicing an effort well wide of goal following some decent link-up play on the edge of the box.
The hosts have managed to get in behind on the left on a couple of occasions, this time earning a corner for their efforts which comes to nothing. Norwich have been the better side in the opening 14 minutes or so, but they have hardly done enough to merit a lead at this stage.
Jerome produces a decent cross into the box which evades all his teammates before being cleared away. Martin fired away another ambitious shot from the follow-up attempt - the third time his side have done so - as Derby once more live a little dangerously.
SHOT! A fourth long-range shot from the hosts, the latest coming from Howson who curls an effort into the hands of Grant. It will take a lot more than that to beat the Rams stopper, but at least he was tested on this occasion.
Well all the action has come at one end so far, or at least that was the case until Will Hughes - without a goal since September - produced a bullet of a strike from the edge of the box. It was, much like all of Norwich's efforts so far, high and wide, but it was a shot nonetheless. More of that attacking intent is needed from the visitors.
Norwich are the side on top, and they were so nearly in there if not for a fine challenge from Russell. The Canaries certainly not shying away from shooting from the edge of the box, but so far Grant has barely had to do anything of note.
It's now Derby's turn to enjoy some possession in this cagey affair, although like their opponents they are struggling to create any clear-cut openings. This is one of those games which really needs a goal to see it spark into life.
CHANCE! The first real opening of note falls the way of the home side and Cameron Jerome in particular. The lone striker latched onto Hoolahan's almost perfectly weighted through-ball, but he couldn't quite direct his shot on target when stretching inside the box.
They will not be all that pleased with what they have seen so far, with Norwich the better side in these opening 30 minutes:
GOAL! NORWICH CITY 1-0 DERBY COUNTY (JEROME)
What a fantastic team goal from the Canaries, rounded off by Jerome for his 18th goal of the season. The Canaries have been restricted to the odd shot from range so far, but this was a top-quality team move which culminated in Johnson and Hoolahan linking up, before Olsson played the ball across the face of goal for his teammate to roll into an empty net.
The Derby players, perhaps a little embarrassed by being completely carved open, claimed for offside on the back of Jerome's goal. But he looked to be just about onside, so there can be little complaints. Derby really need to find a way into this game, because Norwich look full of confidence at the moment.
YELLOW CARD! Shotton is shown the game's first booking for a challenge on Johnson. Still Norwich who are looking the better side, but Derby perhaps showing a few signs of growing into the contest.
Some fine play from Russell almost opens up the Norwich backline, but they manage to clear away his low cross which was heading right into the danger zone. Much better from the Rams, who are looking more of a threat in attacking areas now.
YELLOW CARD! The so far non-existent Tom Ince finally bursts to life, drawing a foul from Tettey for his 11th caution of the season. He's just came back from a two-game suspension after picking up a 10th booking, but he clearly hasn't learnt his lesson.
Norwich have struggled to build on that Jerome goal which is down in large to Derby slowly growing into the game. Whittaker has been receiving some treatment on the field over the past minute or so following a clash of heads, so we will have at least a couple of minutes added on at the end of this first half.
This game appears to be fading out to half time at the moment, and in truth neither side has truly deserved to find a goal since that Jerome tap-in. Norwich are good value for their lead overall, but they will need to step it up in the second half.
HALF TIME: NORWICH CITY 1-0 DERBY COUNTY
Norwich lead 1-0 at half time, then, thanks to Cameron Jerome's goal shortly after the half-hour mark. It was a fine team goal which involved numerous passes before the striker rolled the ball into an empty net. That aside we have not seen a great deal of goalmouth action, with the only attempts coming from long range.
The only other real opening also fell to Jerome, who failed to get his effort on goal at full stretch on the end of Hoolahan's through-ball. Derby have yet to test John Ruddy at all, meanwhile, with Hughes's strike from the edge of the box the closest they have come to doing so.
BENCH WATCH!
NORWICH CITY SUBS: Rudd, Cuellar, Hooper, Andreu, Loza, Redmond, O'Neil
DERBY COUNTY SUBS: Roos, Christie, Lingard, Thomas, Dawkins, Bryson, Warnock
A quick reminder of both sides' benches, which could play a pivotal part in how this game pans out. I mentioned how Norwich need to step things up, but it must be remembered Derby came into this game sitting higher in the table - they need to stop the rot desperately, and it wouldn't be at all surprising if Steve McClaren changed things around at the break.
UPDATES: Right, before the teams re-emerge for the second half there's a little chance to take a look at some of the other half-time scores from across the division. Middlesbrough won earlier today, of course, while Bournemouth are cruising at 3-0 against League One-bound Blackpool. Brentford hold a slender 1-0 advantage over Cardiff, meanwhile, and Watford are on track to picking up all three points against Reading with a 2-0 lead of their own.
SECOND-HALF UNDERWAY! So Norwich find themselves one point off the summit as things stand, sitting two points above Derby who appear to be slowly sliding down the division. Without exaggerating, these could be 45 of the biggest minutes in either sides' seasons.
Norwich just knocking the ball around at the moment as they look to build an attack, but Derby are remaining compact at the back. When will we see the first change of this clash?
A very scrappy start to the second half, which can be best explained by the pressure of claiming a positive result this afternoon. This really is the business end of the season now, with just nine games left to play after today. You feel that Derby would take a point if you offered it to them right now.
An encouraging passage of play for the visitors as Hughes lofts in a decent looking cross for Hendrick, which just about evades his teammate. That's the first piece of attacking play of the half, which will hopefully help kick-start the game once more.
Whittaker fires over from a corner kick, and some horrendous Derby defending leads to another set piece for the Canaries which Jerome this time latches onto. He was unable to keep his attempt down, though, meaning that the Rams escape unhurt once more.
A quiet start to the second half is showing some signs of coming to life:
We approaching that stage in the game where both managers will be thinking about rolling the dice. The onus is on Derby to find a way back into this game, although that said Norwich may need a second goal to secure the points. Should they fail to see this game out they will see it as two - or potentially three - points dropped.
Tettey and Hanson clash heads when contesting a high ball, and it is the experienced midfielder who comes out second best. He has remained down on the ground for a couple of minutes now receiving some treatment, so he may be unable to continue any longer.
I'm amazed at how few clear-cut chances we have seen in the opening hour of this game. Jerome's goal remains the only real opening we have seen all afternoon, and with time fast ticking down that does not look like changing any time soon. Still no sign of any movement on the touchline, either.
SAVE! More than an hour into the game, Ruddy is finally forced into action. It was a simple save, mind, to deny Ince's rather tame shot down the middle from around 25 yards out.
Still not a lot happening on the field, as Derby earn themselves a second corner of the game. Ince delivered a decent cross which was cleared away, while his second bite of the cherry has earned a second corner for his side.
GOAL! NORWICH CITY 1-1 DERBY COUNTY (HANSON)
Incredible. The 19-year-old debutant has just scored direct from a corner on his Derby County debut. It required a huge slice of lack, Ruddy collecting the cross and seeing it squirm right through his fingertips on the goal-line. It's not quite an own goal, though, because it was technically on target, but an absolute howler nonetheless.
"England's number one" comes the chant from the jubilant away fans, as they poke fun at Ruddy's howler. Word has it that Hanson, heavily bandaged following a clash of heads with Tettey a short while ago, was due to come off just moments prior to drawing his side level. It's hardly deserved, but then again Norwich have struggled themselves since edging ahead in the first half.
DERBY COUNTY SUB: A change at last, as Cyrus Christie replaces Ryan Shotton at full-back. At least now we have an exciting climax in store, as both teams surely look to press on and find a winner.
UPDATE: Bournemouth have extended their lead a little further against Blackpool, holding a 4-0 advantage now at the Goldsands, while Watford lead Reading 3-1. Brentford have let a 1-0 half-time lead slip against Cardiff, meanwhile, trailing 2-1 now with 15 minutes left to play at Griffin Park. It means that Bournemouth and Middlesbrough are top, with Watford, Derby and Norwich close behind.
DERBY COUNTY SUB: A second roll of the dice for Steve McClaren, as he brings off Will Hughes. The Englishman has been underwhelming this afternoon, and he is replaced by Craig Bryson with 13 minutes left to play.
YELLOW CARD! A silly booking for Albentosa to pick up, with Jerome going nowhere face. A decent crossing position from the free kick now.
SAVE! Brilliant stop from Grant to keep out Bassong's header from the resulting free kick. Hoolahan's cross was right into the mix, and the centre-back needed no second invitation to attack the ball, forcing Grant into a rare save.
NORWICH CITY SUB: So the Canaries are now the side on top with the end of this game in sight. Gary Hooper, a man who certainly knows how to find the net, has been introduced in place of Dorrans.
YELLOW CARD! Martin is shown a yellow for his challenge on Hanson. There appears to be more movement on the touchline with Warnock the man likely to come on.
DERBY COUNTY SUB: Indeed Warnock does come on, replacing Ward in Derby's last change of the game. Play has well and truly been disrupted since that Rams leveller, with just the one chance of note since then which fell the way of Bassong.
One of these sides needs to grab the game by the scruff at the neck now, because one point and all three could be the difference between automatic promotion and a spot in the playoffs. What will these final five minutes bring?
SAVE! Another huge stop from Grant, who has kept his side level for the second time in the space of 10 minutes. Hooper was almost the super sub with his goal-bound shot from the edge of the box, which would have rustled the back of the net if not for the Rams stopper who got down low to turn it aside.
County are really holding on at the moment as Norwich throw bodies forward. They have to be careful not to over do it, however, as Martin had to halt the run of Russell who was almost in on the end of a counter-attack. Russell is lucky not to have been shown a second yellow there following a high-boot challenge.
Russell has drawn a little blood following that challenge, although he looks as though he will be fine to continue. One bandaged Rams player has already scored, of course, so can Russell follow suit?
CHANCE! Jerome could, and probably should, have won the game for Norwich in added time. A cross from Whittaker, which he did brilliantly well to keep in, was met by Jerome in the middle, but his header had just too much on it and ended a few inches over the bar.
CHANCE! Derby are struggling to see this game out. They conceded twice in added time, and they could have done likewise here as another Whittaker cross from the right is not fully dealt with. Jerome appeared to be the man to latch onto it again, although the connection was all wrong.
We're now into the fourth minute of five added on at the end of the game, and if there is going to be a winner than only one side is going to find the all-decisive goal at this stage. Derby are really holding on - this will be a huge point for them if they can see out these closing seconds.
FULL TIME: NORWICH CITY 1-1 DERBY COUNTY
Honours even at Carrow Road, then, as the two sides play out a 1-1 draw. There is no denying that Norwich City had the better chances across the 90 minutes, but Derby showed some great character to battle back and rescue a point against the run of play.
Results elsewhere throughout the course of today means that Bournemouth and Watford currently occupy the top-two spots in the division, while Middlesbrough are tied on 69 points but one place further adrift due to a slightly weaker goal difference. Then come Derby and Norwich, on 67 and 66 points respectively, with Brentford completing the top six.
Another day of huge drama in the Championship comes to a close, and with just nine games left to play this season it is sure to be a thrilling finale. Well that brings to an end our coverage for this afternoon, on a day which saw Bournemouth and Watford break through as pacesetters at the top. Thanks for joining!
