Jaydon Banel scored a late winner for Derby as they twice came from behind to beat QPR 3-2 and stay in the race for a Sky Bet Championship play-off place.
Harvey Vale put Rangers ahead and Oscar Fraulo levelled with his first Derby goal, before Richard Kone put the west London side back in front with his 10th league goal of the season.
Sondre Langas hauled the Rams level again, and Banel’s 88th-minute strike – the youngster’s third goal in five matches – secured the points for John Eustace’s men.
The winner was scored with QPR down to 10 men after forward Rumarn Burrell, recently back after a three-month absence, went off injured with Rangers having made all their permitted substitutions.
Derby’s vital – and rare – away triumph means they will go into the final weekend of the season eighth in the table and with a chance of making the play-offs unless sixth-placed Wrexham beat champions Coventry on Sunday.
They had lost their previous three away matches and six of their past seven on the road.
Rangers, who have now suffered three consecutive defeats and are without a win in five games, went in front after 13 minutes.
Daniel Bennie did well on the right-hand edge of the penalty area, pulling the ball back towards Vale, who created space for a shot with a nice touch and then slotted past Jacob Widell Zetterstrom.
A Rangers goal had been coming. They were on top from the start and had gone close to going ahead when Vale fired the loose ball against the outside of a post after Kone had been denied at point-blank range by Zetterstrom.
Derby equalised out of nothing in the 25th minute after Rangers could only half clear a corner.
Max Johnston’s miscued volley fell to Fraulo, who cleverly met a bouncing ball with a side-foot which would probably have been saved by keeper Paul Nardi had it not deflected off Jonathan Varane.
Rangers responded, with Zetterstrom keeping out attempts from Varane and the lively Paul Smyth as Derby came under more pressure.
QPR thought they had regained the lead on the stroke of half-time when Vale’s corner sailed into the net, but the goal was disallowed, seemingly for a push by Kieran Morgan on Zetterstrom.
The lead was restored 10 minutes after the interval. Kone, with his back to goal and under pressure from Matt Clarke, showed great persistence to hold off the defender and shoot into the bottom corner.
But Derby hit back with Langas’ 76th-minute header from Joe Ward’s right-wing free-kick.
And Banel, on as a substitute, won it with a superb goal, cutting in from the left past full-back Kealey Adamson and firing into the far corner of the net.
The managers
QPR’s Marti Cifuentes:
To follow…
Derby’s John Eustace:
To follow…
