Derby County and Portsmouth played out an entertaining 2-2 draw under the lights at Fratton Park on Tuesday evening in Sky Bet League One.
A brace from Joe Ward twice put the Rams in the lead on the night but Paul Warne's men were pegged back on both occasions, first by Abu Kamara and later by substitute Owen Moxon.
The hosts started well and the slippy surface in the driving rain forced Joe Wildsmith to concede a free-kick outside of his area under pressure. Kamara looked for the top corner direct from the kick and forced Wildsmith into a fine save which he tipped over for a corner.
Curtis Nelson put in a goal saving challenge to deny Marlon Pack who was following in to try and finish off a corner that had fell to him on the edge of the box as Pompey continued to have the better of the early stages.
It was Nelson up the other hand who had the first chance in Derby colours. The returning James Collins did brilliantly to keep a free-kick alive and it fell to the centre-back kindly in the area but he could only scuff his effort wide of Will Norris' goal.
The Rams took the lead soon after and it was Ward with his first goal for the club following his arrival from Peterborough United last summer. Corey Blackett-Taylor did brilliantly to carry the ball centrally before picking out Ward on the right, who drilled home first time into the bottom corner.
Pompey hit back almost instantly through Kamara. He latched onto a through ball from Colby Bishop before taking on Nelson and finishing cooly beyond Wildsmith.
No sooner had the Rams been pegged back level, they were in front again and it was that man Ward netting his second of the night.
Collins latched onto a loose ball midway through the Portsmouth half and fed Ward who took aim from 25-yards and his effort rocketed into the bottom corner via the help of a deflection.
Pompey should have been level on the stroke of half-time when the ball fell to Christian Saydee unmarked in the centre of the box, but he blazed over.
Blackett-Taylor had the first chance of the second half when he fired over from the edge of the box following a classy run from inside is own half.
Wildsmith denied Saydee with a smart save with the hosts' first attempt of the second period as the game continued to be played in an end-to-end fashion.
The Rams had defended resolutely but were undone by a moment of magic from substitute Moxon. He picked up the ball from 25-yards out and let fly a rocket that moved in the air and sailed beyond Derby's number one and into the far corner.
Ebou Adams tested Norris from distance as the Rams looked to hit back almost immediately once more, with the goalkeeper keeping hold of the ball.
Chances were at the minimum following the equaliser with both teams looking like they didn't want to lose and despite attacking substitutions from both benches, the spoils were shared in a back-and-forth battle at the top of the League One table.
Portsmouth: Norris (GK), Ogilvie, Pack (C), Bishop, Saydee (70' Yengi), Rafferty, Shaughnessy, Raggett, Kamara (90' Whyte), Lane (70' Anjorin), Evans (59' Moxon).
Substitutes not used: Macey (GK), Swanson, Sparkes.
Derby County: Wildsmith (GK), Wilson, Cashin, Collins (90' Waghorn), Mendez-Laing (C), Smith (90' Hourihane), Sibley, Ward (70' Thompson), Blackett-Taylor (85' Washington), Adams, Nelson.
Substitutes not used: Vickers (GK), Fornah, Robinson.
The Rams return to action next Wednesday evening when they travel to Buckinghamshire to take on Wycombe Wanderers in Sky Bet League One (7:45pm kick-off).
