Derby ended their run of four consecutive Championship defeats with a win over 10-man Bristol City.
Teale strikes late on against Bristol City
A late goal from Gary Teale gave Derby a confidence-boosting victory against 10-man Bristol City at Pride Park.
The Rams had previously lost four consecutive Championship games but took advantage of Jamie McCombe's sending off to snatch the three points.
It hand been an evenly matched game until two tangles with Rob Hulse saw the skipper dismissed and left his side hanging on for a draw.
Derby dominated with the numerical advantage but did not find the all-important breakthrough until the 85th minute as Teale cut inside from the left-wing and found the back of the net with a well-struck right-foot shot.
In an open first half, Derby enjoyed the lion's share of possession, but Gary Johnson's side could easily have taken a lead into the half-time as City striker Alvaro Saborio was guilty of squandering the game's best opportunity.
The Derby defence was caught napping as Bradley Orr whipped in a cross from the right flank just moments after the kick-off.
Saborio was unmarked inside the six-yard box but nodded a weak header straight at Stephen Bywater in Derby's goal.
Misses
It was the home side who were next to spurn a good opportunity when the ball broke to an unmarked James Vaughan but the on-loan striker scuffed his shot wide of Adriano Basso's goal.
With five minutes of the half remaining, Hulse came close as he hit a curling shot wafter a neat turn but aw his effort fly just over the junction of post and crossbar.
Fifteen minutes into the second half, the balance of the game was tipped heavily in Derby's favour as McCombe saw red.
The City captain lost his head and received two yellow cards inside two minutes.
His first was for feigning a facial injury after a tussle with Hulse at the corner flag, and just seconds later he took a wild swiping tackle at the same Derby player and was swiftly dismissed.
With the Robins reduced, the Rams proceeded to dominate for the remaining half hour.
Lee Croft should have broken the deadlock when a Basso error left the Derby winger with an empty net, but he fired his 25-yard effort wide of the target, much to the frustration of the home fans.
The sense of frustration was growing as next Paul Dickov twice failed to hit the target from six yards.
But the crucial strike finally came with just five minutes of normal time remaining as Teale found some space and beat Basso in the Bristol goal.
