Louie Sibley celebrated his league debut with a memorable goal as missing Derby player Wayne Rooney defeated Blackburn 3-0 to dash hopes for the Rovers’ playoffs.
Rooney’s absence was not felt when Sibley, 18, scored a rocket in the first half before Chris Martin twice sealed the Rams’s impressive work.
Blackburn created soon after Ben Brereton lost an early opportunity and John Buckley received a red card in stoppages because they missed the chance to climb into the top six.
Before the match, everything was focused on Rooney who was not on the team, even if the former English captain was on the ground.
Graeme Shinnie replaced him in midfield and Blackburn started well, forcing a corner in the second minute that Tosin Adarabioyo led.
When the visitors won another one in the ninth minute, the ball fell to Brereton but he had shot for eight meters.
Derby had a good opening in the 19th minute with Shinnie preparing Martin, whose shot just inside the area was pushed back.
Derby, Martyn Waghorn called for a penalty in the 23rd minute, but the home team took the lead four minutes later as Sibley kicked an unstoppable 25-yard kick in the upper right corner.
Blackburn looked shaken and Derby had a great chance to score again in the 37th minute when Craig Forsyth played Waghorn but he failed to lift the ball over Christian Walton.
It was only a temporary reprieve as the second came four minutes later when Shinnie’s drive was pushed back by Walton and Martin slipped into the rebound.
It was almost the match, the set and the match in the 44th minute. Waghorn walked around Walton but his shot returned from inside a post and into the keeper’s arms.
Blackburn needed a big improvement in the second half to return to the game, but Walton had to make a smart save to turn behind a Waghorn free kick.
Rovers won a free kick on the edge of the box in the 58th minute, but Adam Armstrong knocked it into the wall and Ben Hamer made his first noticeable save three minutes later by turning away from a deflected shot from Amari Bell.
Derby’s defense was starting to come under pressure, but Blackburn could not find the skill or invention to return to the game.
And their hopes were dashed in the 85th minute when Martin converted a penalty after Jason Knight was delivered by skipper Elliott Bennett before Buckley was sent off for a late split on Curtis Davies.