Blackburn Rovers 2-1 Derby County: Rams remain in relegation trouble
- Published
Harvey Elliott (left) has scored six goals for Blackburn since joining on loan from Liverpool in October
Blackburn Rovers came from behind to beat Derby County, as Wayne Rooney's Rams missed the chance to move further away from the Championship relegation zone.
Tom Lawrence nodded Derby in front midway through the first half but Sam Gallagher levelled three minutes before the break from a Barry Douglas corner.
Derby captain David Marshall made three good saves to deny Adam Armstrong in the first 15 minutes of the second half but could not keep out Harvey Elliott's fierce strike in the 66th minute.
The visitors pushed for an equaliser, with Nathan Byrne hitting the woodwork on the rebound after Thomas Kaminski had saved a free-kick from Lawrence, and the Rovers keeper also pushed away a header from Colin Kazim-Richards.
Even then, Derby had strong claims for a penalty waved away in the fifth minute of stoppage time as substitute Festy Ebosele went down under the challenge of Ryan Nyambe.
Derby remain four points clear of the bottom three, but Rooney's side have played three more games than 22nd-placed Rotherham United.
After securing a first win in eight outings, Rovers move up to 14th before the rest of the weekend's action.
Rams remain in trouble
This week Rooney had told Rams fans not to panic about the prospect of dropping into League One, but a third successive defeat means they remain in danger.
Lawrence put the visitors ahead when he ghosted in unmarked at the near post to head in Graeme Shinnie's cross from the left, and Derby will feel they should have been ahead at the break.
Patrick Roberts almost made it 2-0 with a curling shot which went narrowly wide and, after Gallagher peeled away from his man to equalise, Kaminski made a fingertip save to keep out Louie Sibley's low shot across goal in the final minute of the first half.
Rovers were more purposeful in the second half and deservedly went 2-1 up through on-loan Liverpool midfielder Elliott. The 18-year-old celebrated his goal by displaying a t-shirt paying tribute to the victims of the Hillsborough disaster.
The hosts came under increasing pressure in the closing stages as Derby chased an equaliser - but Belgian keeper Kaminski pulled off a series of smart stops, including pushing away Byrne's inswinging corner on his goal line in injury time.
Prospective new Derby owner Erik Alonso says his "eventual goal" is to take the club to the Champions League but, after a run of one win in 11 games, they may need to rediscover some winning form to avoid falling into the third tier for the first time since 1985-86.
Elliott unveiled a tribute to the victims of the Hillsborough disaster after putting Rovers 2-1 up
Blackburn Rovers manager Tony Mowbray told BBC Radio Lancashire:
"They came with a gameplan and tried to play a transition game.
"After we scored it gave the team a bit of confidence, and second half we raised it and probably could have scored a few more goals.
"They are a good side and I'm happy to take the points and move on.
"They screamed for a penalty right at the death. Their boy went over and whether he got caught, I don't know."
Derby boss Wayne Rooney told BBC Radio Derby:
"We deserved more from the game and need to start picking up points.
"It is a disappointing result."
On the stoppage-time penalty appeal: "It is a clear penalty. When you can see from where I was stood and you are far away, it is not a difficult decision.
"The referee is in a good position and it is completely unacceptable."
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