Derby County were held to a 2-2 draw by Shrewsbury Town at Pride Park on Saturday afternoon.
The Rams had taken a 2-0 lead in the first-half thanks to goals from Haydon Roberts and David McGoldrick but a second-half fight back from the visitors which saw a direct free-kick goal from Tom Bayliss and a penalty from Luke Leahy meant the spoils were shared.
Both sides started on the front foot and had speculative efforts within the first five minutes. First, Taylor Moore drove forward and fired wide from around 20-yards out before Conor Hourihane mustered the Rams' first chance and shot wide from a similar distance.
David McGoldrick spurned a glorious opportunity to put Paul Warne's side in front just minutes later. Tom Barkhuizen picked up the ball on the right and whipped a brilliant ball in to McGoldrick who headed over from the centre of the box.
The Rams did however take the lead after 20 minutes and it was thanks to a goal of the season contender from left-back, Haydon Roberts. Neat play alongside the edge of the box saw Hourihane tee up Roberts 25-yards out and the man on loan from Brighton rifled an effort into the top corner to give the home side a deserved lead.
Steve Cotterill's men were making life difficult for the Rams even after going a goal behind. Their high press forced Eiran Cashin into a loose pass at the back but the defender did well to recover and clear from what looked a dangerous situation.
With half-time seconds away, Derby were able to give themselves an all-important two goal cushion through that man McGoldrick. A long ball down the pitch from Roberts was flicked on by Jason Knight and McGoldrick found himself through one-on-one with just the keeper to beat. The Rams' number 10 made no mistake, firing low and hard into the bottom corner and gave Warne's men some breathing room at the break.
It was a nightmare start to the second-half for Derby with the visitors halving the deficit within the opening two minutes direct from a free-kick. Bayliss got the right power and direction on his effort and it dipped over the wall and into the corner of Joe Wildsmith's net.
They almost found an instant equaliser too but for Wildsmith. A corner from the right met Matthew Pennington's head in the middle of the goal but the Rams stopper got down quickly to his right to push it wide.
Derby regained their composure and started creating some chances of their own. First, McGoldrick got down the left and his cross was inches away from meeting Dobbin before Barkhuizen crossed from the opposite flank and again teed up Dobbin whose effort was well blocked by the defender.
The Shrews were then given a golden opportunity to put the game back onto level terms when Jake Rooney was adjudged to have pushed his man in the box and the referee pointed straight to the spot. Captain Luke Leahy stepped up and sent Wildsmith the wrong way. 2-2 with 20 minutes left on the clock.
It became end-to-end and both sides spurned huge opportunities to take the lead. First, Christian Saydee got the better of Cashin and forced Wildsmith into a superb save before the Rams broke up the other end and Roberts crossed for Dobbin who miscued in front of goal. The ball looked to have fallen kindly for Knight but the Irishman couldn't sort his feet out in time to prod home.
10 minutes of additional time were signalled due to a clash of heads between Killian Phillips and Cashin toward the end of the game and was met with a roar around Pride Park.
The Rams thought they had found a winner within the first minute of those 10 but for a world class save from visiting keeper Marko Marosi. Substitute Harvey White stood a lovely ball up into the middle of the box and Dobbin headed towards the top corner that Marosi somehow kept out.
Warne's men pushed and pushed throughout stoppage time but were unable to find the all-important goal that would have seen them claim all three points.
Attendance: 22,761 (2,251 Shrewsbury Town supporters).
Derby County: Wildsmith (GK), Forsyth (C), Hourihane, Cashin, Barkhuizen (76' Mendez-Laing), McGoldrick, Smith, Roberts, Dobbin (90' Springett), Rooney (76' White), Knight (83' Collins)
Substitutes not used: McGee (GK), Sibley, Davies
Shrewsbury Town: Marosi (GK), Leahy (C), Pennington, Moore, Phillips (87' Street), Bowman (45' Pyke), Bayliss, Dunkley, Saydee (87' Bennett), Shipley (45' Winchester), Flanagan
Substitutes not used: Burgoyne (GK), Bloxham, Barlow
It's a long road trip for the Rams when they visit high-flying Plymouth Argyle on Tuesday evening (8pm kick-off).
