Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
WE HAVE SIB.. WHO NEEDS ROO!
New King Louie comes out swinging as Wayne’s replacement at Pride Park
DERBY found a new young star – as Wayne Rooney sat in the stands and watched.
Rooney missed his first game for the Rams because of a muscle injury.
But 18-year-old Louie Sibley stepped on to the vacant stage and announced himself as an outstanding talent.
On his full Championship debut, Sibley scored a cracker.
Derby fans of a nervous disposition, look away now.
They know it’s the hope that kills you, and the Rams are now five points away from the play-offs.
Blackburn would have gone into the top six themselves with a win – but could not cope with new boy Sibley.
Derby boss Phillip Cocu said: “It’s not bad if you start your career with such a goal. That was a great goal.
“If Rooney had been OK, he’d have been in the team. He has a small muscle problem and we have to find exactly what it is. But we are positive, he may be available for the next game.”
That’s Millwall away on Saturday – a genuine test of ambition and bottle.
Sibley’s 26th-minute opener was a belter. Taking a Martyn Waghorn pass, Sibley needed one touch, had a look up and blasted a drive that curled as it hit the top left corner.
He has been doing this in the Under-23s and, combined with driving, forceful runs from midfield, it has got him into the first team.
It was also a Sibley run that brought a shot from Graeme Shinnie, parried by Blackburn keeper Christian Walton, for Chris Martin to put
Derby 2-0 up four minutes before the interval.
Rovers boss Tony Mowbray said: “We came here with an ambition to get into the top six today and believed we could and would.
“It is so disappointing.”
Despite the ongoing fuss around Rooney, Martin’s efforts to keep Derby on the fringe of the promotion race have been immense. With the late penalty he put away,
Martin has been involved in eight goals in seven games – scoring five and assisting in three. But it was Sibley, who also did well in the FA Cup tie with Manchester United, that Blackburn could not contain.
Martin completed the job with his 85th-minute penalty after Elliott Bennett brought down Max Bird, another of Derby’s lively lads.
To finish a dismal Blackburn day, substitute John Buckley was shown a straight red card for a dangerous, lunging tackle on Curtis Davies in added time. Mowbray added: “We’ve got nine games to go and play a lot of teams around us.
“We have an opportunity against Bristol City on Saturday at home, where our record is pretty strong, to jump into the top six.” DERBY: Hamer 7, Bogle 7 (Whittaker 88), Wisdom 7, Clarke 7, Forsyth 7, Shinnie 8, Bird 7, Knight 7, Sibley 9 (Marriott 76, 5), Waghorn 8 (Davies 76, 5), Martin 8 BLACKBURN: Walton 7, Bennett 6, Nyambe 6, Adarabioyo 6, Bell 6, Travis 5 (Johnson 59, 5), Downing 6, Brereton 5 (Buckley 72, 5), Armstrong 6, Rothwell 5, Gallagher 5 (Graham 72, 5) MOTM LOUIE SIBLEY (DERBY)