Derby and Stoke celebrated Championship survival after they played out a 0-0 draw at Pride Park.

A point was enough for both teams on a nervy afternoon although results elsewhere eased much of the tension in the stadium long before the final whistle.

Viktor Johansson made several top saves for the visitors while Josh Vickers pulled off a vital stop for the hosts early in the second half.

Stoke had gone into the game needing just a point to be safe and a loose pass from Derby centre-back Matt Clarke gave them an early corner which came to nothing.

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A win, or even a point depending on other results, would have been enough for Derby and after Stoke had made the better start, they got into some promising positions without making them count.

Craig Forsyth headed over under pressure at the back post in the 20th minute which was the closest either team had come until Derby had a great chance 11 minutes later.

Harrison Armstrong swung over a cross and Sondre Langas directed a header towards the bottom right corner only for Johansson to make a fine save.

Langas then fired over from a corner but Stoke's Bae Jun-ho broke dangerously in the 39th minute to play in Sam Gallagher who was denied by a great tackle from Armstrong.

That was the last of the action in what had unsurprisingly been a tense first half, although the scoreline suited both teams at the break.

The second half started with Armstrong sending a shot from the edge of the box into the arms of Johansson before Ali Al-Hamadi burst into the Derby area and it needed a good save from Vickers to deny the Stoke striker.

Stoke were looking threatening but Pride Park was bouncing as the news came through that Luton were losing heavily at West Brom.

There was no sign that Derby or Stoke were settling for a draw as Bosun Lawal volleyed over before Ebou Adams forced a diving save from Johansson in the 75th minute.

Johansson rescued Stoke again in the 84th minute with another good save, this time getting down to his right to turn behind a Kane Wilson shot before Derby almost won it.

Jerry Yates was first denied by Johansson and then sent the rebound against the bar before Nat Phillips also ratted the Stoke woodwork in a frantic late scramble.

But minutes later, players on both sides embraced safe in the knowledge they would be playing in the second tier again next season.

The managers

Derby's John Eustace:

"I'm very proud of the group. We were seven points off being safe six or seven weeks ago so to now finish 19th is a fantastic achievement.

"Huge respect to the players we work with every day. Without their efforts this would never have been possible

"Obviously the Blackburn game was a big turning point, it gave the lads a lot of confidence but the way the boys have dedicated themselves every day, it wasn't done over a couple of games.

"We've had a lot of setbacks with injuries but the motto we brought to the club was we're fighters not victims. There's always going to be difficult moments and it's important not to use excuses."

Stoke's Mark Robins:

"The game was rubbish but we both ended up getting what we needed which is the most important thing.

"Teams have struggled here to play against them all season to be fair but certainly since John (Eustace) came in. They play in a way that makes it difficult for you to play in the best of times but you take what you can and we battled and got the point we needed.

"Since I came in on January 1 it's been a really tough period, one of the toughest of my career to be fair.

"It's been really difficult because they've had a lot of upheaval, a lot of injuries to key players at the wrong time of the season for too long a period of time which has really affected and hampered it.

"This team should never have been anywhere near the bottom, it's a mid-table team at worst and had everyone been fit and we had been in earlier things wouldn't have come down to this day but thankfully we've managed to come out the other side OK and now is the period where we have got to build."

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