Despite a late Walsall leveller Barnsley extended their unbeaten league start to the 2018-2019 season, it is the first time they have still yet to taste defeat after seven matches for 72 years! Back in 1946-1947 the Reds did not suffer defeat until their 11th league match.
They are unbeaten in their first four home league matches for the first time since 2012-2013.
It extends their current unbeaten home record to eight matches, stretching back to March 2018, their best run at home since a 12 match unbeaten run in 2007-2008.
Walsall also remain undefeated, the first time they have started a season unbeaten in seven since 1979-1980.
This draw ended a run of three straight wins against Walsall, they have only lost one of the last 10 Oakwell meetings, winning seven.
Victor Adeboyejo (three) has now scored more goals than any other substitute in League One this season. In all competitions Barnsley have scored four goals via substitutes (also George Moncur at Oldham in the Checkatrade Trophy), only seven came via subs in the whole of 2017-2018.
Both goals in this game was scored by substitutes, the first time two subs have scored in the same Barnsley game since the final match at of last season at Derby (Vydra, Nugent and Moncur)
However this was the first time that Adeboyejo has scored and Barnsley have failed to win.
This was Jack Walton's sixth appearance for the club, of which they have won only two.
Cameron McGeehan started a league game for Barnsley for the first time since the 21st November 2017.
Andy Cook grabbed Walsall's equaliser in the 88th minute, the latest Barnsley have conceded since the 24th April at Nottingham Forest (90th)
Barnsley made only one substitution yesterday, they had made all three in every other match this season (all comps), this is the least amount they have made since Boxing Day 2017 when only one was also made.
This result means Barnsley have only been behind in one of their first 7 games, their best start since the 1996-1997 promotion season when the only game they fell behind in in that time was the 3-1 defeat to QPR.
Barnsley enjoyed 56% ball possession, only at Bradford (49%) have they failed to have more ball possession than their opponents this season.
Walsall had 12 shots in the game, the most by an opponent at Oakwell this season.
Adeboyejo has been involved in three goals in his last two appearances (2 goals 1 assist)
Barnsley Team:
13. Jack Walton
12. Dimitri Cavare
5. Ethan Pinnock
6. Liam Lindsay
23. Dani Pinillos
8. Cameron McGeehan
21. Mike Bahre
27. Alex Mowatt
26. Mamadou Thiam
19. Kieffer Moore
10. George Moncur
Substitutes
29. Victor Adeboyejo (for McGeehan 45)
Unused Substitutes:
35. Jake Greatorex
11. Lloyd Isgrove
14. Jared Bird
18. Adam Jackson
28. Ben Williams
33. Jacob Brown.
Walsall Team:
13. Liam Roberts, 3. Luke Leahy, 4. George Dobson, 5. Jon Guthrie, 6. Nicky Devlin, 11. Josh Ginnelly, 16. Morgan Ferrier, 27. Jack Fitzwater, 29. Josh Gordon, Isaiah Osbourne, 31. Connor Ronan.
Substitutions:
9. Andy Cook (for Ginnelly 81)
8. Kieron Morris (for Gordon 85)
Unused Substitutes:
13. Chris Dunn, 17. Maz Kouhyar, 18. Jordan Sangha, 20. Connor Johnson, 28. Kane Wilson
Walsall manager Dean Keates said:
“We deserved something out of it,”
“In the first 45 minutes we were organised and played to a game plan. We counter-attacked at pace and created opportunities.
“We could probably have gone 1-0 up in the first minute of the second half.
“But then we got caught from a scruffy set-piece – it ricocheted off three or four people and ended up in the bottom corner.
“After that, they put us under a lot of pressure. We had to gamble and come out of our shape and leave bodies forward to try and get an equaliser.
“One or two times they broke in numbers at pace but their final ball probably wasn’t good enough and they didn’t kill us off.
“Our lads kept going and give my bodies credit – the resilience they showed was outstanding.”
Match Reports:
SkyBet League One results:
Saturday 8th September 2018:
(21st) Bristol Rovers 0-0 Plymouth Argyle (24th
(10th) Accrington Stanley 1-1 Burton Albion (17th)
Fraser 11
Kee pen 84
(3rd) BARNSLEY 1-1 Walsall (5th)
Adeboyejo 55 Cook 88
(9th) Blackpool 3-2 Bradford City (20th)
Doyle pen 59
Payne 64
Spearing 84
Spearing pen 88
Tilt 90
(8th) Charlton Athletic 3-2 Wycombe Wanderers (19th)
Williams 7
Jombati og 32
Taylor 71
Sarr 80
Cowan-Hall 90
(7th) Doncaster Rovers 2-1 Luton Town (11th)
Blair 6
Lee 45+1
Whiteman 4
(15th) Gillingham 0-1 AFC Wimbledon (13th)
Pigott 53
(2nd) Portsmouth 1-1 Shrewsbury Town (22nd)
Docherty 74
Pitman pen 87
(18th) Scunthorpe United 3-3 Rochdale (14th)
Novak 2
Colclough 18
Rathbone 52
Goode 54
Rathbone 66
Gillam 83
(16th) Southend United 2-3 Peterborough United (1st)
Godden 32
Godden 57
Hopper 63
McLaughlin 75
Toney 87
(4th) Sunderland 1-1 Fleetwood Town (6th)
Madden 9
Maja 38
Sunday 9th September 2018:
(23rd) Oxford United 1-2 Coventry City (12th)
Mousinho og 64
Chaplin pen 81
Obika 86
Barnsley lie in 3rd place in Sky Bet League One with 15 points from 7 games.
We are 3 points inside the Play-Offs, 2 points off the Automatic Promotion Places, 4 points off First place and 10 points above the Relegation Zone.
Up to 09/09/18
Next Up:
On The Road:
Sky Bet League One Matchday Eight: Coventry City v Barnsley, Saturday 15th September 2018. Kick-Off: 3pm
At Oakwell:
Sky Bet League One Matchday Nine: Barnsley v Burton Albion, Saturday 22nd September 2018. Kick-Off: 3pm