Derby County climbed off the foot of the Championship table as John Eustace guided the Rams to their first win since Boxing Day, breathing new life into their battle for survival with a priceless three-point haul against his old club, Blackburn.
Eustace, who left Rovers last month to take charge at Pride Park, watched as Derby raced out of the blocks and were ahead early on when a free-kick into the box was flicked on by Nat Phillips.
The ball eventually made its way through to Craig Forsyth lurking at the back post, and the long-serving Scot had the simplest of tasks to guide the ball into the net.
And before Blackburn had chance to regain their composure, Derby were further ahead, this time Marcus Harness pulling a cross back from the byline that the visitors could not deal with, leaving Jerry Yates to claim an assist as Ebou Adams added a second.
Pride Park was delirious, but play-off chasing Rovers eventually fought their way back into the game, and it took a good save from Jacob Widell Zetterstrom to deny Yuki Ohashi.
At the other end, Aysnley Pears rescued Rovers from conceding a third after Dion Sanderson gave the ball away. But Rovers did find a breakthrough when Tyrhys Dolan got to the byline and his pull back was collected by Ohashi, who turned it into the area for Makhtar Gueye to lash high into the Rams’ net.
Just before half-time, the striker could have had another but he failed to make contact from a Sondre Tronstad cross. Both sides struggled for chances after the break, but Derby did create an opening from a set-piece when Phillips glanced a header wide of the far post from a corner.
And with six minutes remaining, Yates missed out on a chance to give Derby a third but no matter as they secured a much-needed win that leaves them four points adrift of safety. Here are the big talking points from the game…
A big win
When the full-time whistle pierced the air, the fabulous theatre that is Pride Park shook with so much noise that it was hard to hear yourself think.
An explosion of emotion took over, and whether it was songs from the South Stand or fans punching the air in celebration, the relief that greeted this win both visually and aurally was a treat.
John Eustace made his feelings clear as he held up his fist at the final whistle in a victory salute that showed this Derby team is not yet ready to lay down in the fight for Championship survival.
There was a lot of talk about Eustace facing the club he left only last month, but that sub-plot was nowhere near as important as the three points that Derby deposited into the league table.
They needed to win the game not only to break a long cycle of heartache that has been ongoing since Boxing Day, but also in the context of the battle at the bottom of the Championship.
It was a deserved win too. Blackburn could not live with Derby in the opening 10 minutes, by which time they had taken a two-goal lead through Craig Forsyth and Ebou Adams.
Blackburn had plenty of possession, which eventually led to Makhtar Gueye pulling a goal back before half-time, but after the interval Derby never gave them another sniff, courtesy of a performance that was as industrious as it was organised.
Even more impressive was that this came on the back of a week in which four more players had been added to the casualty list. It was a performance full of heart, and the overwhelming feeling here was that Derby will keep on swinging in the battle to climb out of the bottom three.
Rovers should be grateful
Derby’s head coach was predictably asked questions about Blackburn in the post-match press conference but his answers epitomised how he was as a player – in that he didn’t give much away.
He wished them well in their attempt to win promotion and said he had left the club in a better position than when he went in to take the job at Ewood Park, and that’s how all managers should be judged.
He did a brilliant job at Rovers, something which Derby fans will hope he can replicate here in what is going to be a long-term project that hopefully ends with the Rams also battling for a place back in the Premier League.
And instead of waving inflatable snakes, as some Blackburn fans did here, they should be grateful for what he has left behind.
Eustace has built a squad that possesses plenty of talent and is more than capable of being involved in the top-six shake-up come the end of the season. Any grievances that some Rovers fans do have should be reserved for the club’s owners, not their ex-manager.
No respite from injuries
Derby’s treatment table continues to be put under further strain, and this was a particularly terrible week in terms of injuries.
The headline is that Lars-Jorgen Salvesen is out for the season after having an operation on his knee which, it must be stressed, is to do with his meniscus and not his ACL, as some have speculated.
It is a devastating blow for the striker, who only arrived at the club from Viking FK in January and had settled in well after his £800,000 move.
And if that was not bad enough, Ben Osborn, Ryan Nyambe and Kemar Roofe have all suffered hamstring injuries of which there have been far too many of over the course of the campaign.
These aren’t fringe players either, and it was the last problem Derby needed given they are in the thick of a battle to preserve their Championship status. But there is a saying that adversity is the fire that tempers steel.
Hopefully that will prove to be the case in the weeks ahead.
Wilson return welcome
Considering he has been out for six weeks with a hamstring problem, Kane Wilson’s performance against Blackburn was a triumph.
John Eustace was mindful that Derby needed to be careful with him after a lengthy spell on the sidelines, rightly pointing out that they were in the midst of a three-game week.
But there is no disputing that the “Buffalo”, as he is affectionately known to his team-mates, has been a big miss for Derby while on the sidelines.
He proved Derby’s most useful avenue of attack in the second half and there was one moment when a quartet of Blackburn players pursued him towards the corner in an attempt to steal the ball off him.
His unpredictability makes him an engaging watch, but perhaps his biggest attribute is that he seldom struggles with stage fright. And when you are in the thick of a relegation battle, as Derby are, you need that kind of courage.
The fact he has been Derby’s best wide player this season, even though he plays in a defensive position, underlines how important he is to this team, certainly from a creative aspect.
It was great to see him back and with the man of the match award in tow.
