Arsenal 0 - 0 Derby County

	Derby despair for Ray Parlour (RossKinnaird/Allsport)

For this was one of those afternoons that Smith will cherish through every step of the English winter.

It wasn't the victory which Derby's spiky old manager has been chasing all season - but it was the performance which he has been demanding. And it was delivered on a ground where only the best and the bravest will survive.

The Premiership may well be an argument among the rich, a competition dominated by huge clubs with vast resources. But, mercifully, it can still produce matches like this.

And as they shuffled away from Highbury last night, quietly cursing, even the Highbury diehards could not begrudge Derby their qualified success. Arsene Wenger graciously agreed that Derby had deserved the point. In fact, as the Arsenal manager observed: 'They deserved maybe more than a point, so we cannot complain too much.'

Derby's new coach, Colin Todd, was suitably effusive: 'Lots of belief . . . confidence coming back . . . tremendous effort . . . great boost . . . credit to all the lads.'

All true, every word. For Derby were brave beyond reason or duty. Without a Premiership win in 15 games, they were coming to a place where the residents are unbeaten and where hopes of the championship are quietly entertained.

Yet Smith's side achieved precisely what they deserved. True, they had to withstand a barrage of Arsenal attacking in the final 10 minutes, an assault of such ferocity that it challenged belief.

But they made their tackles, they blocked with fanatical desperation, they conjured their clearances and they survived with clenched fists and muttered prayers.

In fairness, they might have left North London with something more substantial, since the bulk of the genuinely considered chances fell to men in white shirts. But it was the quality of the performance which delighted the manager.

Smith was amply satisfied with the vigorous intelligence they brought to their effort. His young defender, Chris Riggott, was asked to combat some of the most potent attackers in world football, and he did everything that was asked of him in his tussles with the likes of Dennis Bergkamp, Thierry Henry and, latterly, the enigmatic Kanu.

Behind Riggott, his goalkeeper Mart Poom was enjoying one of those invincible days. And yet, it was the combined effort which frustrated Arsenal; an effort built from a deep defensive base but applied with thoughtful enterprise.

Initially, Derby had carried all the apprehension which their record suggested, pulling bodies back in numbers and working urgently yet without conviction.

But slowly it dawned that Arsenal's normal cohesion was missing and that the day might hold some reward. Within 40 minutes, Darryl Powell had abused a string of half-chances, Rory Delap had seen a header taken off the line and then, most culpably, Delap had swung recklessly from four yards and bounced the chance off the Arsenal bar.

By now, the prawn-sandwich munchers at the Clock End were growing distinctly restive, and even the football fans were asking for more. They were answered by the introduction of Kanu after 66 minutes, a switch which made things more complicated for Derby as he revealed improbable control.

	Behind you! Kanu gets hounded by Craig Burley (RossKinnaird/Allsport)

Still they stuck to their disciplined task, and they should have been rewarded extravagantly in 75 minutes, when the substitute, Lee Morris, shook off Martin Keown and ran unopposed on the Arsenal goal.

Referee Steven Lodge not only gave the free-kick to Arsenal, but he compounded his error by booking Morris. For a moment, it seemed that Smith would explode in a puff of purple smoke as he danced his disgust on the touchline.

But his troops continued to graft, and when Poom made an athletic save from Bergkamp with 13 minutes left, they sensed the result could be theirs. There were many more tests of their manager's heart. But they survived, and they deserved to.