Stoke City lost further ground in the race for promotion as they were held to a goalless stalemate by draw specialists Preston.

The result means Mark Robins' side have now won just two of their past nine matches. They were second in the Championship table before last month's international break but are now 10th.

Preston stayed in the play-off positions, in fifth, but have drawn 10 league matches this season - no team in the division has drawn more.

It will be little consolation for Robins, but the hosts were the better side and after a bright start by the visitors it was Stoke who created the better chances.

Unfortunately for City, who have scored just two goals in their past five games, visiting goalkeeper Daniel Iversen was equal to everything thrown his way.

Stoke have lost a significant amount of momentum, with six defeats in their past nine games, and there was frustration inside the ground at the final whistle after another home game delivered so little.

Preston, whose manager Heckingbottom was watching from the stands as he served a touchline suspension, had the better of the early chances, with Thierry Small's effort at the end of a lovely flowing move smothered brilliantly at close range by keeper Viktor Johansson in the Stoke goal.

Small had another shot saved by the Swede shortly afterwards, but those turned out to be the visitors' best moments.

Stoke's on-loan striker Divin Mubama created a great opening for himself from Mohammed Lawal's centre but, after doing the hard work with his first touch, he hit the side netting from a tightening angle.

Potters defender Ashley Philips then had an effort from the edge of the area deflected over the bar by Odeluga Offiah, while Jordan Storey headed straight at Johansson with Preston's one notable chance of the second period.

Sorba Thomas went close to breaking the deadlock with a curling shot from the left side of the area late on - Iversen pulled off an excellent save to his left to tip the ball around the post.

Stoke manager Mark Robins told BBC Radio Stoke:

"It is a point more than we got last Saturday, so I will take that, and I thought the performance was pretty good. We created quite a lot and were on top in all the metrics if you are a data person.

"We were on top in the game against a side who give very little away and have beaten teams up this season.

"I thought we did pretty well for nine tenths of the game, it was just the final bit, the finish, where we have been in really good positions but have failed to hit the back of the net.

"We can be happy with a lot of the elements, but you want the three points from a performance as strong as that. But we have to take it. Last three we have won one, drawn one, lost one.

"We are into the second half of the season now and we would like to do better than in the first half, and there's no reason why we can't."

Preston assistant boss Stuart McCall told BBC Radio Lancashire:

"A really hard-fought, well-deserved point at a really difficult place.

"We defended a lot against corners, throw-ins and free-kicks, and I thought we stood up to that well. Happy defensively, would have liked to have done better offensively.

"They're a little bit disappointed, but we said to the lads that any point away from home you've got to accept.

"We are drawing a lot of games again this season, not that we came to sit in - we got pushed back. Going forward, we didn't pick the right options at times."