Billy Sharp netted from the penalty spot as 10-man Derby suffered a heartbreaking defeat at Sheffield United in their first game since the club went into administration.
Rams keeper Kelle Roos was shown a red card for bringing down Sharp in the 57th minute as the United striker chased a pass forward by Oliver Norwood.
Ryan Allsop was sent on as a substitute, but could not keep out Sharp’s 89th-minute spot-kick after Curtis Davies was penalised for handball and although Tom Lawrence hit a post in added time, Derby could not find an equaliser.
Going into administration resulted in a 12-point deduction, which put Derby bottom of the Championship.
But they also went close when former Blades defender Phil Jagielka headed against the crossbar in the first half and their display offered further encouragement for boss Wayne Rooney following last week’s win over Stoke.
- Relive Saturday’s EFL action
Derby remain on minus two points, and nine points from safety, while victory moved Slavisa Jokanovic’s United up to 11th in the table.
Rooney named an unchanged side, but they were almost caught out early on when Sharp sprang the offside trap, only to shoot wide as Roos rushed from goal to close down the space.
Blades remained a threat, but the visitors produced the better efforts in the opening period, with Jagielka’s effort followed by Sam Baldock shooting just wide and Robin Olsen having to push away Graeme Shinnie’s drive from outside the box.
Derby, whose administrators believe there is a 95% chance of a new owner being found despite “tens of millions of pounds” of debts, tested Olsen early in the second half with a left-foot shot by Max Bird.
They responded well to an enforced change of formation following Roos’ dismissal and Olsen saved at the second attempt from Tom Lawrence before the late penalty, which Sharp converted.
Sheffield United manager Slavisa Jokanovic:
“In the last 20 minutes I detected some body language that I didn’t like. I need to support them, and they need to support me and support themselves.
“We scored against Cardiff with a late goal, we scored against Preston with a late goal. This is part of football and is especially part of the Championship.
“The first 45 minutes we didn’t find the space between the lines, they closed down really well.
“We pushed further in the second half and after the sending off we found more space, we tried to get more people in the box. This is part of the game, we didn’t play our best game, but we had enough power and knowledge to get the victory.”
Derby County manager Wayne Rooney:
“I think it was a penalty, and a red card is a red card, so there are no complaints from me with the decisions.
“Sheffield United are a very good team and the game plan today was to try and frustrate them and try and nick a win in the last 20 minutes.
“We were on course to do that as I thought we had the best chances throughout the game. Obviously the red card changed things.
“The character, the effort and everything the players gave, I can’t fault. How they’ve applied themselves all week has been first class.”
