Derby County 1-1 Huddersfield Town

Jacob Butterfield joined Derby from Huddersfield in September 2015

Derby fought back to draw with Championship promotion hopefuls Huddersfield, a result that sent Brighton up to the Premier League.

Jacob Butterfield dented his former club's ambitions of reaching the top two with a deflected finish, leaving them seven points adrift of Newcastle.

In a first half of few chances, Collin Quaner put the visitors ahead when he converted Martin Cranie's cross.

Derby rarely threatened before Butterfield's late long-range effort.

Butterfield's goal two minutes from full-time leaves the Terriers fourth in the table - with a game in hand on all sides above them - but was not enough to salvage Derby's play-off aspirations as they slipped 10 points behind the top six.

The result added to the celebrations on the south coast as it meant Brighton were mathematically assured of top-flight return after a 34-year absence.

It also came as a relief to Newcastle supporters following their side's 3-1 defeat by Ipswich earlier in the day, as victory for Huddersfield would have moved them to within five points of the Magpies.

German forward Quaner opened the scoring after a fine team move and while Darren Bent did have the ball in the back of the net in response soon after, the goal was ruled out for offside.

Despite the draw now leaving Derby with nothing left to play for this season, it ensured Garry Rowett avoided a first home defeat on an afternoon that his controversial replacement at Birmingham City, Gianfranco Zola, resigned from his post.

Derby manager Gary Rowett: "We want more quality and penetration, but I'm pleased with the character of the team.

"We kept going and did not lose hope, you have got to keep doing the right things for the whole period and we got something out of the game.

"We showed plenty of patience against a tough team. We have got some quality players but the balance is not there."

Huddersfield head coach David Wagner: "If we secure a play-off spot then we will be very happy. We are humble and we know how difficult it is to get points in this division.

"We are Huddersfield Town and to have this points total is an unbelievable achievement. We have to focus on ourselves and not Newcastle.

"We are in a wonderful position but we do not have enough points yet. We would like to have more points and we would like more good performances."