Barnsley extended their unbeaten away run in all competitions with a hard fought goal-less draw at fellow top six rivals Bolton.
Whilst this draw ended a four match away winning run it is their best run on the road since a club record winning run of six in a row between February and April 2021.
This was Barnsley’s fourth successive away league clean sheet, a feat they have achieved for the first time since another run of four between February and March 2019.
This was Barnsley’s first goal-less draw in 42 matches (all comps) last being involved in a blank back in December 2021 against West Brom at Oakwell.
Only two of Barnsley’s last 25 away games (all comps) have been goal-less.
They have now drawn three games in 2022-2023 – one 0-0, one 1-1 and one 2-2.
This was only the third time this season a Barnsley league match has been 0-0 at half-time but two have come in the last three outings.
The Reds have now though gone back to back league matches without scoring for the first time this season and first time since a run of three in January/February v Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth and Cardiff
James Norwood collected his fifth league booking of the season (from 13 appearances) and will now serve a one match ban. He has two more bookings this season than he has goals.
Barnsley received two first half bookings for the third time in the league this season.
Barnsley have now failed to win any of their last 14 matches against Bolton in all competitions (D7 L7) and are also winless in 15 in the league (D8 L7) – their last win in any competition was 1-0 in the FA Cup in January 1998 and in the league was 2-1 in the Premier League in August 1997.
Both of those games were at Oakwell with Barnsley winless at Bolton now in 11 since a 3-2 win at the old Burnden Park in May 1994 with that one of only three ever at Bolton, also winning in 1912 and 1982.
Seven of the last 11 meetings at Bolton have ended in draws with the last two both being 0-0 (also in the League Cup last season which Bolton went on to win on penalties)
Barnsley have failed to score in three of their last four trips and four of the last six trips to the University of Bolton stadium.
There were only 13 shots in the game, the lowest in a Barnsley match in 2022-2023 and lowest since Cardiff at home in February.
Only three were on target, the lowest in a Barnsley match in 2022-2023 and lowest since the aforementioned Cardiff game (2)
Barnsley Team:
40. Brad Collins
24. Robbie Cundy
6. Mads Andersen (c)
5. Liam Kitching
3. Thomas Edwards
10. Josh Benson
48. Luca Connell
26. Ziyad Larkeche
27. Jack Aitchison
44. Devante Cole
9. James Norwood
Substitutes:
7. Nicky Cadden (for Larkeche 45)
14. Josh Martin (for Aitchison 66)
8. Herbie Kane (for Benson 81)
30. Adam Phillips (for Connell 81)
Unused Substitutes:
1. Jack Walton, 15. Jasper Moon, 29. Fabio Jalo.
Bolton Team:
19. James Trafford
2. Gethin Jones
5. Ricardo Santos (c)
6. George Johnston
21. Conor Bradley
4. Jordan Williams
25. George Thomason
14. Jack Iredale
17. Oladapo Afolayan
9. Jon Dadi Bödvarsson
10. Dion Charles
Substitutions:
22. Kyle Dempsey (for Thomason 69)
7. Kieran Sadlier (for Charles 75)
11. Amadou Bakayoko (for Bödvarsson 76)
16. Aaron Morley (for Williams 84)
24. Elias Kachunga (for Iredale 84)
Unused Substitutes:
8. Josh Sheehan, 20. Kieran Lee.
Bolton manager Ian Evatt said:
“I was frustrated – but there are so many things to be positive about,”
“That is a team that has just come down from the Championship and basically they have come and paid us the ultimate respect, sacrificed everything they have been doing, and kept men behind the ball, trying to frustrated and disrupt. We have to take positives and compliments from that.
“Against that type of low block and with so many men behind the ball it is difficult to create any clean cut chances but we did have two really good ones that we didn’t take.
Match Reports:
Sky Bet League One Results
Saturday 15th October 2022
Accrington Stanley (17th) 0-3 Derby County (9th)
Osula 15
Osula 39
Barkhuizen 90+8
Bolton Wanderers (7th) 0-0 BARNSLEY (6th)
Burton Albion (23rd) 1-1 Morecambe (24th)
Keillor-Dunn 30
Delaney 77
Cambridge United (18th) 0-2 Sheffield Wednesday (3rd)
Gregory 6
Gregory 77
Cheltenham Town (20th) 1-4 Bristol Rovers (12th)
Collins 15
Evans 23
Thomas 42
Collins 45+2
Sercombe pen 54
Exeter City (11th) 2-4 Oxford United (19th)
Brannagan 12
Long 31
Joseph 44
Joseph 54
Brown 65
Cox 90+2
Fleetwood Town (15th) 0-1 Shrewsbury Town (8th)
Bayliss 30
Ipswich Town (2nd) 0-1 Lincoln City (14th)
House 24
Milton Keynes Dons (22nd) 1-4 Plymouth Argyle (1st)
Whittaker 9
Ennis 25
Azaz 37
Grigg 49
Azaz 59
Port Vale (16th) 2-2 Forest Green Rovers (21st)
Peart-Harris 14
Cargill 37
Odubeko 78
Harrison pen 88
Wycombe Wanderers (13th) 3-1 Peterborough United (4th)
Burrows 22
McCleary 45
Vokes 74
Mehmeti 90+5
Monday 17th October 2022
Charlton Athletic (10th) 3-0 Portsmouth (5th)
Inniss 17
Blackett-Taylor 31
O’Connell 67
Barnsley lie in 6th place in Sky Bet League One with 21 points from 13 games. We are inside the Play-Offs on Goals Scored, 9 points off the Automatic Promotion Places, 13 points off First Place and 9 points above the Relegation Zone.
Up to 18/10/22
Next Up:
On The Road:
Sky Bet League One Matchday Fourteen: Morecambe v Barnsley, Saturday 22nd October 2022 Kick Off: 3pm
At Oakwell:
Sky Bet League One Matchday Fifteen: Barnsley v Lincoln City, Tuesday 25th October 2022 Kick Off: 7:45pm