It has taken them five attempts, but Sheffield Wednesday’s Championship campaign is finally up and running as a hard-earned point left Yorkshire rivals Leeds United frustrated.
The Owls were promoted from League One in May but not much has gone right since.
Darren Moore left in acrimonious circumstances and his successor, Spaniard Xisco Munoz, had seen his team arrive at Elland Road as the only club in the EFL yet to pick up a point this season.
In the end, though, Wednesday were decent value in the end for a result which saw them stop the rot and ease the mounting pressure on Munoz.
“We’ve got a point, we’ve got a point,” sang the delighted traveling supporters after a first clean sheet under Munoz.
Daniel Farke’s Leeds were largely dominant but could not make it pay and the visitors grew in confidence as the match wore on, with both goalkeepers making fine saves.
The Yorkshire derby capped an eventful week for Leeds which saw them win 4-3 at Ipswich, get dumped out of the Carabao Cup by League Two Salford and lose Luis Sinisterra to Bournemouth.
Wednesday made the trip up the M1 on the back of their dreadful league start and having been bundled out of the League Cup at home by Mansfield in midweek.
Farke again fielded what was effectively a four-pronged attack with Georginio Rutter spearheading an attack which also featured Crysencio Summerville, Wilfried Gnonto and Joel Piroe.
The latter had scored on his debut at Portman Road but Wednesday made life difficult for the Whites at a sun-kissed Elland Road.
Home fans aired an anti-Sinisterra chant shortly after the kick-off but Leeds fashioned a superb opening in the 17th minute.
Wales midfielder Ethan Apadu found Summerville and he played a one-two with Rutter on the edge of the 18-yard box before lashing a powerful right-foot shot over the crossbar.
Leeds continued to probe and in the 39th minute Summerville played in Rutter, who forced a superb save from Devis Vasquez to keep out the Frenchman’s shot.
Moments later Gnonto fired wastefully into the side netting but Farke's men upped the tempo after the break and were almost soon rewarded.
Jamie Shackleton showed some neat footwork to engineer the space to curl a right-foot shot narrowly over the crossbar.
Wednesday captain Barry Bannan's errant pass then gifted possession to Summerville, who played a one-two with Rutter before drawing another smart stop from Vasquez.
Moments later, Leeds skipper Luke Ayling then greeted Gnonto's left-wing cross with a header which failed to hit the target.
At the other end, Wednesday went close when Josh Windass was played in before Illan Meslier raced off his line to block the striker’s close-range shot.
The visitors grew in confidence and in the 72nd minute Callum Paterson blazed wildly over the crossbar when unmarked eight yards out.
Leeds then saw a penalty claim ignored by referee Dean Whitestone after Gnonto went down under a challenge from Wednesday substitute Dominic Iorfa.
With 12 minutes remaining, Ampadu played in Rutter but his left-foot shot went straight into Vasquez’s midriff and a huge opportunity was spurned.
Farke threw on new signings Djed Spence and Glen Kamara for their debuts but Windass went close again for Wednesday moments later.
Munoz and his players came to Elland Road to make a point – and in the end that is exactly what they got.