Derby County recovered from being 1-0 down inside the opening minute to beat Blackburn Rovers 3-2 in a thrilling clash at Ewood Park this evening.
The home side got off to the perfect start when Ben Marshall's deflected 25-yard effort looped over Lee Grant in the Derby County goal to put the home side ahead after just 47 seconds.
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Derby were level just eight minutes later as the in-form Jamie Ward converted Craig Bryson's left-wing cross at the back post.
Will Hughes put Derby County ahead with a neat left-footed finish from just inside the area on 37 minutes to complete the first-half turnaround.
Ward got his second of the night after 58 minutes when he won possession and burst into the box before curling a low finish into the far corner of Paul Robinson's goal.
The striker could have completed his hat-trick 10 minutes later but his effort from the byline was kept out by the Blackburn Rovers goalkeeper.
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Blackburn Rovers fought back through Rudy Gestede's near-post finish and could have snatched a dramatic draw through Shane Duffy, but the substitute saw his last-minute header cleared off the line.
The result, which sees Derby County rise to seventh in the Championship table, was Blackburn Rovers' first defeat at home in 10 games.
Joe Sharratt
