Huddersfield Town 2-0 Derby County: Duane Holmes & Jordan Rhodes seal Terriers win
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Derby had looked relatively comfortable until Duane Holmes' deflected strike looped in
Huddersfield scored twice in the final 15 minutes to deny dogged Derby a deserved point after the Rams were forced to play virtually the entire game with 10 men.
Richard Stearman was sent off for Wayne Rooney's Rams after just three minutes for a reckless lunge on Terriers midfielder Lewis O'Brien.
But Derby, seven points from safety in 23rd, gave as good as they got and Louie Sibley drilled inches wide before spurning a glorious second-half opportunity to put the visitors ahead.
Former Rams winger Duane Holmes broke the deadlock with a heavily-deflected opener and Jordan Rhodes' cool finish sealed the points as Huddersfield moved up to fifth place in the Championship.
The Terriers extended their unbeaten league run to 10 games thanks to their late double and it is now more than two months since they tasted defeat.
Their victory here was somewhat fortunate - the hosts' luck embodied in the 75th-minute strike from Holmes that took a wicked deflection off Krystian Bielik to loop over helpless Rams keeper Ryan Allsop.
The goal came out of nowhere, with Derby having completely snuffed Huddersfield out during the second half, and indeed limited them to little more than half-chances for the majority of the game.
Town's only real clear-cut opportunity had fallen to Holmes in the first half from O'Brien's clever first-time pass but, one-on-one with Allsop, he steered his finish wide - although the keeper might have got a touch.
Ultimately, however, Derby were made to pay for Stearman's early rush of blood against a side he spent 18 months with before joining the Rams last summer.
He was not the only Rams player at fault, Liam Thompson was robbed by O'Brien after being put in trouble by a poor pass from keeper Allsop and Stearman compounded the errors with a dangerous lunge.
Stearman joined Derby from Huddersfield last summer
Despite the dismissal, Derby grew into the game and while Sibley was unlucky to fire inches wide before the break, he later wasted a great chance with a heavy touch when clean through on Lee Nicholls.
After Holmes' slice of fortune, Rhodes added a second four minutes later. He tucked home the rebound after Allsop had parried from Danny Ward, to score his first Terriers goal since 2012 and end his barren second spell with the club.
For Derby boss Rooney, meanwhile, there were plenty of positives after just a second defeat in eight games. His side showed enough to suggest they can continue to make a fight of their survival bid, as long as the club's administrators can prove to the Football League that the club has a viable future.
Huddersfield head coach Carlos Corberan told BBC Radio Leeds:
"It was a very important three points.
"The sending-off changed the dynamic of the game. For me, the key when you are playing against 10 players who want to be more solid in defence, is to be patient.
"The key is to stop the other team counter-attacking and to try to attack all the time you can. For me the team managed to find a good balance."
Derby boss Wayne Rooney:
"I've not seen the red card incident back yet. But Stears said at half-time that he felt he'd won the ball.
"That was the referee's decision, though, and we dealt with it without making a fuss.
"I was really proud of the players as they chased back, worked hard - it was a really good feeling to see them players fighting for the club like that.
"Despite the result, I believe even more now that we can survive."