The dreams of Derby County teenager Louie Sibley all came true when he marked his first league start with his maiden senior goal.
Following FA Cup heartbreak on Thursday evening, the Rams earned an impressive 3-0 victory over Blackburn Rovers on Sunday afternoon.
Chris Martin earned the man of the match accolade after scoring twice, as Phillip Cocu’s side attempt to revive their play-off hopes.
However, Sibley received many of the plaudits at Pride Park due to his wonder strike and overall performance.
It was a quite brilliant goal from the attacking midfielder, who admitted that it was “a dream come true.”
18-year-old Louie Sibley scored this beauty on his first league start for Derby.
He’s a real talent.
Remember the name…#DCFC #DCFCfans pic.twitter.com/rq1svavAKw
— Second Tier Podcast (@TheSecondTier) March 8, 2020
“I’ve supported Derby County all my life, so to hit one like that into the top corner was amazing,” he told Storyhub Derby.
“As soon as I hit it, everyone saw my celebration, you could see how much it meant to me.
“It was great play from the lads, we knew that their midfielders would be attracted to the ball, so after Waggy’s (Martyn Waghorn’s) great pass and the touch out of my feet I thought ‘why not’, and obviously it went in.”
Dream come true to get my first goal for the rams today! Even better with a top performance from the lads! Thank you for the support as always😁🐏👏🏼 pic.twitter.com/HueQHi2PLe
— Louie Sibley (@louie_sibbo) March 8, 2020
The 18-year-old also played a key role in Martin’s first of the afternoon, laying the ball off to Graeme Shinnie who unleashed a powerful effort which inevitably fell into the path of the Rams’ striker.
Sibley added: “I heard the fans saying shoo, but Shinnie was in a better position.
“It was a good strike from him and then that’s what Chris (Martin) is good at, anticipating those rebounds and scoring from about 10 yards.”
Following the win over Rovers, Derby sit in 12th in the Championship and just five points off of the play-off spots.
READ MORE: Phillip Cocu admits there are play-off possibilities for Derby County
“Anything is possible,” confirmed Sibley.
“If we go on a good run and keep winning games there’s always a possibility.
“We just want to finish as high as possible, so hopefully we keep pushing.”
