Barnsley 1 Oldham 1

On the surface, this looks like two points dropped. After all, this was a game in which Barnsley missed a penalty in the final minute, thus wasting a glorious chance to go back to the top of the table. Over the course of the ninety minutes, however, Oldham’s display fully merited a point: the visitor’s were on top for long periods and enjoyed the majority of possession, particularly in the first half when Barnsley just couldn’t get a grip on the game.

Having played 4-5-1 for much of the season, Thordason reverted to an attacking looking 4-4-2, but the midfield seemed to struggle without the extra man. Kay & Hayward were guilty of sitting far too deeply, offering Oldham’s 98-year-old John Sheridan the freedom of Oakwell. It was therefore the visitors that created the most chances in what was a tepid first 45 minutes. Calvin Zola was a constant menace, but the lack of an end product meant that the game remained goalless.

A change of tactics (Lumsdon reverting to central midfield, Betsy moving to the right, leaving Fallon as the lone striker) had an immediate impact in the second half, when Lumsdon’s curler flashed wide. Dean Gorre began to see more and more of the ball and the Reds gradually began to impose themselves on the opposition.

The reward came on the hour: Gorre beat two men and laid the ball off to Lumsdon who had been guilty of lingering over a similar opportunity in the first half. The memory of that chance, along with the noise generated by 10,000 people screaming “hit it!”, encouraged Lumsdon to hit the ball first time, and it flew into the back of the net via the far post.

The lead was almost doubled a minute later when Betsy charged down the keeper’s clearance, only for the ball to bounce just wide. Just as they appeared to be cruising, the Reds were hit by a sucker punch: an Oldham break resulted in Zola knocking the ball down to Vernon, and his low drive beat IIic.

The final half hour saw chances wasted at both ends: Crooks finished weakly when Gallimore’s free kick saw the ball land at his feet, and then Oldham's Eyres saw his 20 yard strike fly just wide. In the final minute, referee Paul "Ooh, look at me everyone, I used to ref in the Premier League, I did" Danson gave Barnsley a dubious looking penalty following Gorre's corner. Was it for handball? Was it for a push on Fallon? Was it for a foul on Ireland? No one seemed to know, but the decision proved irrelevant when Gorre struck the crossbar with his penalty kick.

On the whole, this was a night when Barnsley fans got something of a reality check: yes, we’ve had a superb start to the season, but there is a still a lot to do if this team is to mount a serious promotion challenge. Above all, Ridsdale needs to get us out of administration and allow Thordason to add to his squad: the game was crying out for a substitute to liven things up in the second half, but the Reds boss didn’t have one attacking option from the five players sitting on the bench.