ROVERS' nine-game unbeaten league run at Ewood Park came to an end last night despite a spirited late fightback.

Ben Marshall, fresh from scoring a brilliant brace in Saturday’s victory over Wigan Athletic, put Gary Bowyer’s team in front after just 52 seconds.

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But a Derby side who were superior for the majority of the match hit back to forge ahead through a superbly taken Jamie Ward double and an equally impressive strike from Will Hughes.

Rovers, who drop to 13th in the early Championship standings as a result of their first home loss since March 12, set up a frantic finale when Rudy Gestede reduced the deficit 12 minutes from time.

And Gestede went desperately close to making it 14 goals in his last 14 starts when he hit the woodwork in the first of five minutes of injury time.

Rovers boss Bowyer kept faith with the side that started the win over Wigan as he named an unchanged team for the first time this season.

But his opposite number, former England manager Steve McClaren, made three alterations to the side that started Sunday’s derby draw with Nottingham Forest as Zak Whitbread replaced the suspended Jake Buxton, who was sent off at the City Ground, and Cyrus Christie and the fit-again Ward were preferred to Ryan Shotton and Johnny Russell.

Bowyer said before the match that the fact that his team had the benefit an extra day to prepare would be an advantage – if they made the most of it.

Well they certainly started as they meant to go on.

Craig Conway had already skewed a volley over the bar, after neat interplay between Gestede and Jordan Rhodes, when Marshall gave Rovers a dream first-minute lead.

Tom Cairney played a pass into the former England 21s international’s path and he left fly with a 25-yard drive that nicked off Richard Keogh and looped over Lee Grant on its way into the net.

If Rovers’ start was stirring then so too was the Rams’ response.

After Marshall saw another long-range attempt deflect wide for a corner, McClaren’s men levelled the contest in the ninth minute.

Simon Dawkins slid a pass through to Craig Bryson whose cross-shot cannoned off the legs of Grant Hanley toward the back post where Ward was waiting to finish emphatically and smartly.

That ended any hope that Rovers, who have now conceded in each of their last 11 games, had of recording their first clean sheet of the campaign.

But more of a concern was the amount of space they were affording a fast, fluent and clearly in-the-mood Derby side who showed in the first half exactly why they came within a whisker of winning promotion to the Premier League in May.

And it nearly cost Rovers again in the 13th minute when the lively Dawkins played in Bryson once more to fire in a shot that beat Paul Robinson but also the bar.

It came as no surprise, them, when Bowyer switched from the expansive 4-3-3 formation that worked so well in the second half against Wigan to his favoured 4-4-2 system.

It helped Rovers get more of a foothold in the match and Alex Baptiste should have done better after Conway’s clever pass allowed him to get the wrong side of Craig Forsyth.

Corry Evans then saw a close-range effort hacked away by Whitbread after Keogh failed to clear a cross from Marshall.

But Derby went in front eight minutes before the break when Ward skipped past Markus Olsson and played the ball to Hughes who, from the edge of the area, bent it beautifully beyond Robinson.

And it could have got worse for Rovers before the half was out had Chris Martin shown more composure after he was brilliantly picked out by Hughes.

Half-time could not come quick enough for the hosts and five minutes after the restart they went close to equalising when Gestede’s 20-yard shot on the turn was pushed past the post by Grant.

But they fell further behind in the 58th minute when Ward appeared to foul Conway near the byline before being allowed to surge into the box where he placed a delightful left-footed finish around Robinson.

The former England number one then denied Ward a hat-trick as last season's losing play-off finalists threatened to run riot.

Bowyer almost immediately brought on Ryan Tunnicliffe for Conway.

Tunnicliffe certainly made an impact.

But it was not until the 77th minute that the Rams were truly put under the cosh as Grant bravely blocked from Hanley.

Seconds later, however, the former Burnley goalkeeper was beaten as Gestede brought down a long Marshall throw-in on his knee, spun sharply and poked the ball in off the post for his fourth goal of the season.

Rovers were transformed and Grant had to dive full stretch to his left to tip over a 20-yard curler from Cairney that was heading for the top corner.

And, after Robinson made a top stop from Martin, Grant turned over an overhead kick from Evans for a corner, from which Gestede saw a towering header hit Omar Mascarell and come back off the bar before being dramatically cleared to safety.

And that was that.

Rovers: Robinson, Baptiste, Hanley, Kilgallon (Varney 89), Olsson, Marshall, Cairney, Evans (Duffy 90), Conway, Gestede, Rhodes. Subs not used: Steele, King, Williamson, Taylor.

Goals: Marshall 1, Gestede 78.

Derby: Grant, Christie, Keogh, Whitbread, Forsyth, Hughes (Mascarell 82), Eustace, Bryson, Ward (Russell 73), Martin, Dawkins (Ibe 73). Subs not used: Roos, Naylor, Thomas, Shotton.

Booked: Eustace, Ward.

Goals: Ward 9, 58, Hughes 37.

Referee: David Webb.

Attendance: 13,566.