Derby started the game in similar circumstances as their previous fixture; with some highly debatable refereeing. DJ Campbell, starting following his last gasp equaliser at the weekend, was denied an early penalty. The forward was clearly brought down by Preston keeper Lonergan as he raced into the Preston box. Preston were guilty of some poor finishing as they edged the first half. Sam Parkin fired over from close range whilst Ross Wallace hit the cross bar with a fantastic free kick from over 25 yards out.

Preston continued the barrage of shots in the second half as Neil Mellor forced a sublime save from Stephen Bywater. Derby grew in strength as the match wore on and DJ Campbell’s header was millimetres away from opening the scoreline as his header struck the underside of the crossbar. Callum Davidson was similarly unlucky as he hit the post from close range in the dying seconds.

Derby fans should feel proud of their team for another passionate display and valuable point. Deepdale is a notoriously difficult place to pick up even a point and fans will be delighted with Derby’s defence finally keeping a clean sheet away. As the Rams enter an important and hectic Christmas schedule Nigel Clough will be pleased Derby’s defence frailties are becoming less frequent. Clough will be hoping the Rams can pick up another point this Saturday at Vicarage Road.

The Rams came into the away fixture at Preston on the back of an impressive draw with high-flying West Brom; a match that Derby ought to have won had it not been for some dubious refereeing. Whilst performances on the pitch may have been improving it was slightly disconcerting to read the reports Nigel Clough may be forced to sell his prized assets in the January transfer window; notably Rob Hulse and Kris Commons. Hulse’s absence against Preston gave the Rams an opportunity to see how the team cope without their incumbent Player of the Year.

Derby started the game in similar circumstances as their previous fixture; with some highly debatable refereeing. DJ Campbell, starting following his last gasp equaliser at the weekend, was denied an early penalty. The forward was clearly brought down by Preston keeper Lonergan as he raced into the Preston box. Later on Preston were guilty of some poor finishing as they edged the first half. Sam Parkin fired over from close range whilst Ross Wallace hit the cross bar with a fantastic free kick from over 25 yards out.

Preston continued the barrage of shots in the second half as Neil Mellor forced a sublime save from Stephen Bywater. Derby grew in strength as the match wore on and DJ Campbell’s header was millimetres away from opening the scoreline as his header struck the underside of the crossbar. Callum Davidson was similarly unlucky as he hit the post from close range in the dying seconds.

Derby fans should feel proud of their team for another passionate display and valuable point. Deepdale is a notoriously difficult place to pick up even a point and fans will be delighted with Derby’s defence finally keeping a clean sheet away. As the Rams enter an important and hectic Christmas schedule Nigel Clough will be pleased Derby’s defence frailties are becoming less frequent. Clough will be hoping the Rams can pick up another point this Saturday at Vicarage Road.

Beating Watford last weekend was a great boost to Derby after a string of successive draws home and away (with the occasional loss thrown in the mix as well). Travelling to Preston was bound to be a difficult game for us but Derby weren’t giving up that easily.

The first half was quite a tense battle. Derby showed good determination although there were few opportunities to up the ante from away goals. Preston were also a strong side who looked extremely comfortable.

It was in the 30th minute when Sean St Ledger knocked in a goal for Preston, giving the home side the lead.

Plenty of opportunities arose for Derby with shots from Paul Green, Kris Commons and Rob Hulse challenging Preston keeper Andy Lonergan but nothing was strong enough to beat him.

Jon Parkin was the man to hit the nail in the coffin for Derby after a smash from 18 yards gave the home side two goals over Derby and, in the end, all three points.

With Ipswich stunting their progress in the Championship at the weekend, Derby were keen to get back on track with their successful campaign.

Rob Hulse was first on the score sheet after smashing in a belter to give Derby the lead.

Preston were quick to respond though when Callum Davidson converted a penalty after Emanuel Villa took Ross Wallace down in the box.

Preston managed to get another past Carroll when Neil Mellor struck from 18 yards but Derby’s Jordan Stewart went one up on him with a huge long-distance volley, taking the scores level.

After the break, Derby seemed to be the stronger side for the first 25 minutes with plenty of opportunities being thrown at Andy Lonergan but struggled to break the deadlock.

End result – two goals and a point each.

While our league results are seriously lacking, Derby County are on a winning streak with the Carling Cup this season.

Not content with knocking out Lincoln City in the first round, a confident Derby team travelled up to Preston last night and actually looked like a winning team.

Early on in the game, Przemyslaw Kazmierczak came close to scoring when he hit the bar with his pounding effort.

It was in the 40th minute when Paul Green connected with a cross from Jordan Stewart to score the only goal of the game, giving Derby a morale boosting win before our second visit up North this week to Barnsley.

Read the full match report on BBC Sport.