Derby came from behind to beat Fulham 2-1 and keep their slim chances of Championship survival alive on Friday night at Pride Park.
The Whites came into the game needing a win to secure their seemingly inevitable promotion to the Premier League, but remarkably came up short in the top vs bottom Championship clash.
Derby are refusing to give up this seasonGetty
“Fulham’s promotion party is on HOLD!”
Derby now LEAD 2-1! They have turned this game on its head!
pic.twitter.com/L9rXLXpGVD
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) April 15, 2022
Fabio Carvalho opened the scoring for Fulham on 20 minutes and the runaway league leaders appeared all set for an Easter promotion party.
However, Luke Plange levelled early in the second half and an own goal from Tosin Adarabioyo turned the game on its head with 17 minutes to go.
Wayne Rooney’s men saw out the surprising victory, which leaves them nine points adrift of safety with four games left of the season.
It would take a monumental effort for Derby, who have been deducted 21 points by the EFL this season, to achieve a miracle survival, but this victory keeps them in with a slim chance staying up.
Fulham have now unexpectedly lost back-to-back league gamesGetty
Derby recently took a huge step forward in their quest for a new owner after administrators named Chris Kirchner as the preferred bidder and accepted his offer to buy the club.
Kirchner was at the Fulham game on Friday night.
The news means American software entrepreneur and multi-millionaire will enter a period of exclusivity with the administrators as he holds further discussions over a deal.
The Rams have been in administration since September, with Quantuma, the club’s administrators, working hard to find a suitable bidder for the Championship club who have been battling with the prospect of going out of business.
Derby are not down yetGetty
Thankfully for supporters, an official statement from the EFL has provided good news.
The statement earlier this month read: “Following a rigorous and well-documented marketing process, the joint administrators of Derby County Football Club (“the Club”) have accepted an offer from Chris Kirchner to acquire Derby County Football Club out of administration.
“This follows receipt of his recent bid for the club. The bid is for the purchase of the football club only with the terms of the club’s ongoing occupation of Pride Park stadium to be negotiated with external stakeholders.
“Discussions have taken place with key stakeholders, and Mr Kirchner has been named as the preferred bidder for the club, with immediate effect.
“The joint administrators have entered into a period of exclusivity with Mr Kirchner and his advisers, during which further operational, commercial and contractual discussions will take place.”
