Derby 1 Sheffield Wednesday 1: Carvalhal satisfied with Rams point

The Owls were all set to claim their first win over a top-five counterpart this season, thanks to a fine curling strike from Barry Bannan midway through the second half, but a close-range header with his first touch from substitute Darren Bent secured a point for the Rams, who were seeking a fifth successive home win for the first time since 2010.

Despite that development, Carvalhal was pleased with the display of his side, who nudged ever closer to confirm a play-off spot ahead of seventh-placed Cardiff City, who they welcome next weekend.

Carvalhal said: “In this marathon, a point in Derby, a team who are relaxed and have made the play-offs and are very enthusiastic, I was happy.

“But I am a little disappointed because we know if we win, we achieve something important. But in the 96 minutes that we played, it was a balanced game between two good teams in the competition.

“At one of the strongest teams in the competition, we did well and played good football and gave a fantastic image of Sheffield Wednesday, not just us, but the fans also. We are still running.”

On Bannan’s goal: “It was amazing. He has scored a similar one before, it was fantastic. We also had more chances to score, but Kieren Westwood also did some good saves. It was a balanced game.”

The game saw Fernando Forestieri receive another booking following a second-half tussle with Richard Keogh on an afternoon when nine players were cautioned, with Carvalhal again dismayed.

He said: “It was unbelievable again. I am wasting my time talking about this situation with Fernando. But I appreciate the personality of Fernando, as even with kicks and so on, he plays the same way.”