Ollie Rathbone netted his first goal of the campaign late on to earn Wrexham a point in their Championship contest with Derby County.

The Rams made a dream start from a counter attack as Mo Fuseini found Sam Szmodics who spectacularly rifled beyond Anthony Patterson from 20 yards out for his fourth goal of the campaign after just nine minutes.

After losing last season's top scorer Josh Windass to injury early on, the visitors thought they had equalised on the stroke of half time when Rathbone - celebrating his 30th birthday - netted from Ben Whiteman's cross, although the effort was controversially disallowed for offside.

But Phil Parkinson's side equalised in the 88th minute as Kieffer Moore nodded Danny Imray's cross into the path of Rathbone who converted from close range.

It leaves John Eustace's men in the Championship's relegation zone and without a win in five home league games this term.

The draw - Wrexham's fifth in the league this season - leaves Parkinson's side in 14th.

Derby went into the match with the worst home record in the division having claimed just one of the 12 points on offer at Pride Park.

The Rams had also conceded the joint-most goals and scored the joint-fewest on their own patch in the Championship.

As they appeared destined to earn a first home win of the campaign, their defensive frailties were once again exposed - though the point means they at least avoided losing four successive games at Pride Park for the first time since doing so under Phillip Cocu in 2020.

As for Wrexham, they have not been helped by a mounting injury list.

Callum Doyle - who played every minute of the opening nine games across all competitions - was absent at Pride Park along with Liberato Cacace who has suffered yet another injury setback.

Midfield duo Ben Sheaf and Matty James were also left out, with Windass' premature withdrawal in the first half adding further salt to the wounds.

Academy product Samuel Chesworth was included in a senior squad for the first time as a result, and with fixtures coming thick and fast, manager Parkinson can ill-afford any further issues.

But their battling spirit was evident as they claimed what could yet prove to be a valuable point in their quest to clinch a play-off spot this season.

Derby County boss John Eustace speaking to BBC Radio Derby:

"I'm very proud of the effort of the group, I thought we were excellent today.

"We were up against a really good team, a solid Championship team who will end up in the top eight I'm sure.

"The way we went about our business from the first minute was excellent and we looked very good on the transition.

"We scored a fantastic goal and unfortunately we just couldn't get that second goal in the second half."

Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson speaking to BBC Radio Wales:

"When you concede a great goal, it came from us having a shot on the edge of the box, and he's [Sam Szmodics] smashed in an unbelievable goal.

"We probed and couldn't quite find that moment in the first half and had a few situations, but credit to the lads, they kept going.

"The quality wasn't always where we needed it to be, but I don't think anyone can fault us for keping chipping away.

"Finally the moment came, a brilliant cross from Danny [Imray], a great header back from Kieffer [Moore], and Ollie [Rathbone] which he's done so many times for us getting important goals."