DERBY County's reserve team showed a good attitude in testing conditions up in the hills of South Yorkshire yesterday.

Buffeted by a howling wind and rain, they and Sheffield Wednesday battled out a goalless draw in the totesport.com League Central Division.

The game was played at the Look Local Stadium, the home of Stocksbridge Park Steels of the UniBond Premier Division.

It was a contest of few clear-cut chances, although Derby could have won it in the second half when they struck a post before Henrik Ojamaa missed a good opportunity. At the other end, Rams goalkeeper Ross Atkins made two or three sharp saves.

Derby fielded a number of players with first-team experience. Paul Connolly, suspended for Saturday's visit of Reading, and Jay McEveley filled the full-back slots and Miles Addison was at centre-half.

Lee Hendrie, fit again after a hamstring injury, and Lee Croft both played 90 minutes to top up match fitness levels.

Chris Porter was an unused substitute. The striker is easing his way back after eight months out of the first team with a hip problem.

For Wednesday, Darren Purse, Mark Beevers, Etienne Esajas and Francis Jeffers all started.

The difficult windy conditions did not make things easy for the players.

Two or three balls caught in the strong wind in the opening 10 minutes and floated over the temporary fence along one side of the pitch and onto the adjoining cricket square.

Rams' young striker Callum Ball made a good headed clearance from an early Wednesday corner before Esajas showed clever footwork to skip between Medi Abalimba and McEveley. The shot was firm and Atkins did very well to keep it out.

Addison was caught out by a centre from Esajas. The ball drifted over his head and landed at the feet of Jeffers but Addison managed to recover just in time and took the sting out of the shot.

Derby's best opening in the first 20 minutes came when Ryan Connolly's ball into the box reached Ball, whose attempt lacked the power to trouble Richard O'Donnell.

Ryan Connolly, a Paul Scholes lookalike, was busy on the left and 17-year-old Academy midfielder Abalimba tried to inject some urgency but he dragged a shot wide from a good position just before the break.

Paul Connolly limped off before half-time holding his hip and Wednesday made a positive start to the second half.

Atkins held a shot from Esajas, McEveley covered well to deny Nathan Modest, who had surged into the area and then Addison slid in to halt the Wednesday striker.

Jeffers missed a good chance to put the Owls ahead after an hour, drilling a shot narrowly wide from 12 yards.

As the weather deteriorated, the action improved, thankfully, and Derby hit the woodwork a few minutes later.

O'Donnell could only push out Croft's low shot and both Ball and Arnaud Mendy got in the way of each other, with the empty net gaping. They slid in and Mendy appeared to make contact to send the ball against a post and away to safety.

Ojamaa went close 15 minutes from time, his shot on the turn striking O'Donnell's outstretched leg and bouncing wide.

In the closing stages, Ryan Connolly had to clear off the line, while Hendrie forced a good save from O'Connell.

SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY: O'Donnell; Barnett, Wragg, Boden, Purse, Beevers, Palmer, McAllister, Jeffers, Modest (Tunnard, 77), Esajas. Other subs: Wood, Jameson, Harrison, Eckhardt.

DERBY COUNTY: Atkins; P Connolly (Garton, 42), Addison (Keane, 69), Mendy, McEveley (Hendrick, 69); Croft, Hendrie, Abalimba, R Connolly; Ojamaa, Ball. Other subs: Severn (gk) Porter.

REFEREE: D Coote (Nottinghamshire).