Derby County started New Year with a bang and moved up to fourth in Sky Bet League One thanks to a 4-0 win over Accrington Stanley on Monday afternoon.
A brace for Tom Barkhuizen either side of goals from Conor Hourihane and David McGoldrick completed the rout as the Rams made it 15 unbeaten in all competitions.
Will Osula was shown a late red card for a kick-out but it didn't spoil what was a fantastic day for Paul Warne's side.
The Rams started incredibly brightly and were pressuring the visiting Stanley defence from the off with Barkhuizen the man causing all sorts of problems.
First, the winger stood up a cross that was headed over the bar by Harvey Rodgers before he then had a delicate dink blocked from a tight angle.
Barkhuizen wasn't to be denied though and had his goal before the eight minute mark. A superb reverse pass from McGoldrick was latched onto by Lewis Dobbin in the area and even though a Stanley defender was able to put a foot in - the ball fell kindly to Barkhuizen who hammered it home from the middle of the box to give the Rams the lead.
Paul Warne's men had the bit between their teeth and doubled their advantage after a quarter of an hour.
Slick passing down the right ended with Korey Smith finding Hourihane with a pinpoint pass and the Irishman made no mistake - slotting home first-time from the edge of the area.
Looking to one-up that second, the Rams very nearly made it three with an even better team goal soon after.
Again it was intricate interplay in and around the area with McGoldrick this time supplying a superb back-heel flick to Dobbin who fired inches wide of the left post.
Barkhuizen and Dobbin switched flanks midway through the first-half but that didn't stop their continued joy, especially the former who should really have made it three.
He jinked in between two Stanley defenders down the right and found himself bearing down on goal but his outside of the boot strike dropped just wide of the right-hand post.
The Rams did get a well deserved third before the break and it came courtesy of a penalty in added time. A corner dropped to Craig Forsyth and his volley that looked destined for the net was blocked by an arm, leaving the referee with no choice but to point to the spot.
Despite a recent miss against Morecambe, McGoldrick stepped up and made no mistake from 12-yards and put Derby into cruise control at the break.
Any thoughts about the Rams taking their foot off of the gas in the second-half were quashed within the opening 19 seconds as Barkhuizen added his second and Derby's fourth.
Jason Knight pounced on a loose pass from Liam Coyle and unselfishly squared to the winger who tapped home into an empty net.
The Rams thought they should have been awarded their second penalty of the afternoon when Knight was felled in the box. He got in behind his man and made his way into the area where he looked to have been illegally brought down but the referee shook his head and play continued to the shock of the Irishman.
With the game all but won, the match was ended on a bit of a sour note from a Derby perspective as they were reduced to 10 men.
Substitute Will Osula got involved in handbags following a corner and the young striker kicked out to his man which left the referee with no choice but to brandish a red card.
With still over 10 minutes to play their could have been the odd jitter on display but the Rams didn't show it as they continued to boss possession and even nearly made it five as McGoldrick stretched to get on the end of a Hourihane cross.
Four is how it remained as Warne's men moved to 15 unbeaten in all competitions whilst also moving up to fourth in Sky Bet League One.
Attendance: 26,816 (311 Accrington Stanley fans)
Derby County: Wildsmith (GK), Forsyth, Hourihane, Cashin, Barkhuizen (63' Mendez-Laing), Bird (C) (63' Thompson), McGoldrick (89' Stearman), Smith, Sibley (63' Roberts), Dobbin (63' Osula), Knight
Substitutes: Loach (GK), Rooney
Accrington Stanley: Savin (GK), Clark (67' Peritt), Hamilton, Astley, Coyle, Whalley (64' Woods), Leigh (64' Adekoya), Rodgers, Longelo (64' Nolan), Conneely (C), Fernandes (45' McConville)
Substitutes: Jensen (GK), Martin
It's a break from league action for the Rams when they take part in FA Cup Round Three against Barnsley next Sunday at Pride Park (12:30pm kick-off).
