Burnley suffered a frustrating setback in the race for automatic promotion from the Championship after they were held to a goalless draw by Derby County.

The Clarets saw plenty of the ball but could not breach a resilient Rams defence and the final whistle was met with a smattering of boos at Turf Moor.

Zian Flemming and Luca Koleosho had presentable opportunities in the second half for Scott Parker's side but were both well thwarted by Derby keeper Jacob Widell Zetterstrom.

Striker Jerry Yates could have snatched all three points for the visitors but he was also denied by excellent goalkeeping from Burnley's James Trafford after getting in behind.

In a game short of any real attacking quality, Burnley looked the more likely to score in the first half without creating any clear-cut chances.

Their first sight of goal came in the 11th minute when Josh Brownhill curled an effort towards the far corner from just outside the area but Zetterstrom clambered across well to claw it behind.

There were some brief flashes of quality from the hosts, including when Jeremy Sarmiento pulled off a delightful turn before playing a one-two with Connor Roberts and firing just wide of the near post from inside the box.

Burnley also had a penalty appeal turned down in the 34th minute after the ball struck Rams defender Nat Phillips' arm from Brownhill's delivery with Josh Laurent waiting to pounce.

They almost broke the deadlock two minutes after the restart when Ebou Adams underhit a back but Flemming's heavy touch allowed Zetterstrom to come out and smother.

Yates then came close to putting Derby in front after 56 minutes when he was played through by Kenzo Goudmijn but Trafford saved brilliantly before the Rams striker fired the rebound into the side-netting from a tight angle.

Burnley continued to probe but their only other chance of note in the second period fell to Koleosho as he raced in behind but Zetterstrom again saved well, rushing out to close him down.

Paul Warne's side could have hit a smash-and-grab winner in the closing stages with Liam Thompson volleying a powerful strike just over from 25 yards in the 78th minute, and Marcus Harness firing narrowly wide from distance in stoppage time.

But it ended all square, meaning Burnley fall three points behind Leeds United at the top following their 3-1 win at home to Middlesbrough, while second-placed Sheffield United could move four points ahead if they beat Millwall on Wednesday.

The Clarets have now scored just seven goals in their past nine games and were held to their fifth 0-0 draw of the season by Derby, who remain 16th.

Burnley head coach Scott Parker told BBC Radio Lancashire:

"A frustrating night, I think it's fair to say. We came here with a real purpose to get three points and that's not really manifested tonight.

"We huffed and puffed and fell a little bit short in the final third. Credit to Derby, they've come here and done a very good job defensively.

"We have our moments and really the game probably hinges on just one moment that we need to go and try and get our nose in front and probably the game looks a little bit different.

"The fine margins are tonight in our chances that we didn't manage to execute and it's certainly something we need to look at.

"But we go again, that's what we do. Certainly in this Championship, that's exactly what we do."

Derby County assistant head coach Richie Barker told BBC Radio Derby:

"I thought the lads were fantastic considering we had one day to work on something a little bit different.

"The starting XI, the five lads who came in were absolutely brilliant - and possibly we could have gone on and won it.

"I think it shows an amazing group of people who are willing to work extremely hard for themselves, for the people who work at the football club on a daily basis.

"I think everybody who is attached to Derby County should be very proud of that group of players.

"Sometimes you get your rewards and sometimes you don't. Tonight, we got our rewards.

"For a group of people who have had some criticism over the last few days, I think it shows how hard they want to work for the people at the club and how hard they want to work for each other."