RAMS 1 BURNLEY 0

Gareth Davis reports from Pride Park Stadium

Billy Davies cannot hide his dismay after being sent to the stand by Mike Riley. Empics

Derby picked up their seventh successive victory - and a fourth on the bounce by 1-0 - to further strengthen their position at the top of the Championship.

Steve Howard dived in to head home a beautiful David Jones free-kick on three minutes and that proved to be the only goal of a hard-fought affair.

Craig Fagan hit a post before the break and Mike Pollitt pulled off a fine save to deny Jones, while in the second period Stephen Bywater produced a couple of fine stops to keep the Rams in front.

Billy Davies was sent to the stands after expressing his dismay at a decision by referee Mike Riley, who also sent off Burnley's Eric Djemba-Djemba late in the game - and visiting boss Steve Cotterill followed him right at the death.

Derby manager Billy Davies made six changes to his starting line-up as the Rams returned to Coca-Cola Championship action after a break for the FA Cup.

Back came Dean Leacock after suspension, Gary Teale following his absence due to being cup-tied, and the rested Matt Oakley, Stephen Pearson, David Jones and Marc Edworthy.

Missing out were Arturo Lupoli, Bob Malcolm and Michael Johnson, who were on the bench, while Richard Jackson, Giles Barnes and Seth Johnson weren't involved in the matchday 16.

And only three minutes had passed when Derby took the lead.

They won a free-kick in midfield and Jones delivered it superbly from left to right, where Steve Howard dived home to head emphatically past Mike Pollitt.

It was almost two a couple of minutes later as Edworthy's throw was flicked on by Howard, but David Jones couldn't quite steer it goalwards from close-range.

Pollitt did well to scramble a deflected Gary Teale cross from in front of goal as Howard closed in with a second goal in his sights.

A wonderful Pearson pass from midfield on 19 minutes split the Burnley defence wide open and sent Craig Fagan away, but from a narrow angle to the left he saw his shot rebound off the far post.

The Derby dominance continued as Fagan curled a cross over from the left that Jones met with his head and Pollitt clawed away spectacularly.

Burnley's first shot on target came 28 minutes in as a training-ground move ended with Joey Gudjonsson firing straight at Stephen Bywater from 25 yards.

Oakley picked up a 32nd-minute caution for catching Michael Duff late after the Burnley defender had cleared the ball - there was no malice from the Derby skipper, it was simply mistimed.

FIFA-list official Mike Riley was hardly endearing himself to either set of fans with his constant whistle-blowing and breaking up of play, just when a move looked to be developing.

He endeared himself even less to the home faithful with a 43rd-minute yellow card for Fagan, after the slighest of touches on Wayne Thomas.

It was the visiting skipper's last moment of action as he hobbled off to be replaced by Stephen Foster, though Fagan's challenge was not the cause of his limp.

Burnley started the second half brightly and peppered the Derby box with crosses, but again they failed to seriously threaten.

The closest they came was when Bywater stretched to grab James O'Connor's looping header, though he never looked like being beaten.

Derby's patience with Riley wore even thinner on 54 minutes when - after Fagan was pulled up for another nothing challenge - boss Billy Davies was sent to the stands after expressing his dismay with the decision.

Jon Harley then hacked down Teale, who was on a flying run down the right, but amazingly wasn't cautioned for the challenge.

Pearson strode down the left and crossed low to Jones, who was on the move and could only crack his shot safely over the bar just before the hour in Derby's first serious attack of the second period.

Morten Bisgaard replaced Teale on 60 minutes in a straight swap, with the Dane heading out to the right in place of the former Wigan man.

But Burnley were still having more of the ball, if little by way of chances, though Kyle Lafferty did force Bywater to make a comfortable save with a low 20-yarder.

The visitors introduced Alan Mahon for Wade Elliott in a bid to freshen things up in midfield.

But Mahon's first item of note was a wild lunge on Jones that saw him become Burnley's first caution of the night.

Bywater produced another sprawling save to keep out another low Lafferty effort on 78 minutes, but this stop was more impressive as the Derby man couldn't have seen the edge-of-the-box shot until very late.

Eric Djemba-Djemba saw yellow with nine minutes to go for sliding through Jones from behind, but the tension was growing around Pride Park - a one-goal lead is never the most secure to have under any circumstances.

Lafferty threatened once more from the edge of the box but this time his radar was off-target.

Then came Foster's turn to see yellow, for a touchline challenge on Oakley, though it could be described as innocuous at best.

The same couldn't be said of Harley's tackle on Fagan however as the visitors completed a hat-trick of bookings in very little time.

Jones scuffed the free-kick over but it reached Bisgaard on the far post, though he didn't get a good contact on his shot and it was cleared away for a corner.

Harley trotted off to be replaced by Chris McCann with three minutes left in Burnley's last throw of the dice.

Then it was four yellow cards - but this time Djemba-Djemba picked up a second for a late challenge on Howard, and became the second visiting player sent off at Pride Park in a matter of days.

Visiting boss Steve Cotterill was also sent from the touchline in stoppage-time.

And with results going Derby's way elsewhere, the final whistle blew to the most almighty Pride Park cheer.

RAMS: Bywater, Edworthy, Moore, Leacock, Camara, Teale (Bisgaard 60), Oakley (C), Jones, Pearson, Fagan, Howard.

SUBS: M Johnson, Peschisolido, Lupoli, Malcolm.

BURNLEY: Pollitt, Thomas (C) (Foster 43), Harley (McCann 87), McGreal, Duff, J O'Connor, Elliott (Mahon 69), Lafferty, Djemba-Djemba, Akinbiyi, Gudjonsson.

SUBS: Coyne (GK), G O'Connor.

ATTENDANCE: 23,122 (435 visiting fans).