Derby County relegated from Championship

The club's fate was sealed this afternoon

Author: Nathan MarshPublished 18th Apr 2022
Last updated 18th Apr 2022

Derby were relegated from the Sky Bet Championship after losing 1-0 at QPR.

Luke Amos struck two minutes from time to twist the knife into Wayne Rooney's Rams.

County finished the match with 10 men after Tom Lawrence was sent off for a second yellow card following a challenge on Charlie Austin in the final seconds.

Derby's hopes of staying up looked set to remain mathematically alive at least until a last-gasp leveller earned fellow strugglers Reading a point as they came from 4-1 down to draw 4-4 with Swansea.

The Rams, who have been fighting an uphill battle ever since being hit with a 21-point deduction for their financial problems, gave their survival chances a shot in the arm by beating leaders Fulham on Good Friday but were unable to follow that up against Rangers, whose win was their first in seven matches.

Derby manager Wayne Rooney wants to bring the Rams back up from League One but stressed the club's future rests on the completion of a takeover.

Rooney told Sky Sports News: "I've never seen a team relegated and the crowd react like they did today.

"You can see what it means to the fans. This is a special club and I want to be the one to bring the happy days back."

Hear all the latest news from across the UK on the hour, every hour, on Greatest Hits Radio on DAB, at greatesthitsradio.co.uk, and on the Greatest Hits Radio app.