Coca-Cola Championship Matchday Forty: Plymouth Arygle v Barnsley

Team News

Daniel Bogdanovic could be restored to the starting line-up after being dropped to the bench for the start of the 1-0 defeat to Doncaster on Saturday. Rob Kozluk is also fit again and manager Mark Robins has virtually a fully fit squad to choose from.

Likely Lineup:

Luke Steele

Luke Potter

Darren Moore

Stephen Foster

Ryan Shotton

Adam Hammill

Hugo Colace

Nathan Doyle

Emil Hallfredsson

Jon Macken/Andy Gray

Daniel Bogdanovic

Head To Head

Many people connected with Barnsley Football Club will believe this match should not be played after the original match at Home Park back in November was abandoned due to rain with The Reds 4-1 up. Daniel Bogdanovic, Adam Hammill, Emil Hallfredsson and Ryan Shotton had put The Reds into a commanding half-time lead to cancel out Karl Duguid’s ninth minute opener. But with the rain lashing down, referee Gavin Ward called a halt to the match on 58 minutes, offering relief to Plymouth and their beleaguered then manager Paul Sturrock, and leaving bitter recriminations in the hearts of everybody connected with Barnsley, especially as Plymouth is the furthest away game of the season and means another 600 mile round trip.

Barnsley though have enjoyed the recent long treks to Home Park, winning two of their three visits there in the Championship (excluding the 4-1 washout). Overall though the stats make miserable reading- with The Reds losing 20 of their 33 visits.

Last season a 2-1 win on the final day of the season secured Championship survival. Gary Sawyer put the Pilgrims in front but The Reds responded through strikes from Adam Hammill and Jamal Campbell-Ryce. The result turned out to be academic as Norwich were beaten at Charlton but it was a still a great day out for the 3000 travelling supporters. A 4-2 win on the South Coast in March 2007 also helped pave the way to stave off relegation. A Lewin Nyatanga header, two incredible strikes from Martin Devaney and a late composed finish from Istvan Ferenczi, lifted The Reds four points clear of the drop zone that night.

There have been some major hammerings at Plymouth in recent years however. The Reds were thumped 3-0 in February 2008- although this came after Nyatanga was shown a straight red card in the fourth minute- a decision which was later overturned. Four days after that mauling Barnsley went to Anfield and knocked Liverpool out of the FA Cup!

The Reds were beaten 2-0 at Home Park in September 2003, which at the time knocked them out of the League One Play-Off zone.

The 2-0 home win over Plymouth last season ensured 2008-2009 brought a first double over Plymouth in exactly 20 years, but Plymouth got their revenge at Oakwell in February when a woeful second half performance for The Reds saw Plymouth come from 1-0 down to win 3-1 and secure their first win at Oakwell since 1992. Hugo Colace had given The Reds the lead right on half-time but then the side imploded and Carl Fletcher, Jamie Mackie and ex red Rory Fallon secured the points for the South Coast side. Ironically the last time Plymouth won at Oakwell was in the 1991-1992 season and that was also 3-1. That followed a 2-1 win for them at Home Park.

Barnsley 1-3 Plymouth Match Report 13/2/10

Barnsley 2-0 Plymouth Match Report 20/12/08

Barnsley 3-2 Plymouth Match Report 25/8/07

Barnsley 2-2 Plymouth Match Report 17/10/06

Last six Plymouth v Barnsley results:

13/2/10 Barnsley 1-3 Plymouth (Championship)

3/5/09 Plymouth 1-2 Barnsley (Championship)

20/12/08 Barnsley 2-0 Plymouth (Championship)

12/2/08 Plymouth 3-0 Barnsley (Championship)

25/8/07 Barnsley 3-2 Plymouth (Championship)

14/3/07 Plymouth 2-4 Barnsley (Championship)

Overall Record:

Plymouth Wins: 30

Barnsley Wins: 17

Draws: 17

Plymouth Goals: 112

Barnsley Goals: 72

At Home Park:

Plymouth Wins: 20

Barnsley Wins: 5

Draws: 8

Plymouth Goals: 68

Barnsley Goals: 32

This Season

Plymouth look all but relegated after Saturday’s 2-0 defeat at Blackpool left them six points adrift of safety with seven games remaining and anything less than three points tonight for the Pilgrims could prove fatal. Paul Mariner’s side have won just three of their last 14 matches- including the 3-1 success over The Reds and their dire home record has contributed to their plight. The Pilgrims have won just five times at home this season- the lowest total in the division and have lost nine- the joint most. They have also won just one of their last six home matches.

If Barnsley lose tonight it will be the first time they have lost four games in a row since January 2009. Successive losses to Ipswich, Bristol City and Doncaster have dropped The Reds to their lowest position in exactly two months. At the end of February, The Reds were in 11^th place, but a dreadful March in which they have won just once, and lost four times, conceding 14 goals has meant they are not yet totally safe from relegation.

Overall playing record for 30^th March:

Plymouth:

Plymouth have played 21 games on the 30^th March in their history but have won just six, losing nine of them. The Pilgrims have though won the last two on this date. In 1999 they thumped Scunthorpe 5-0 in a Third Division match. Steve Guinan grabbed a hat-trick with Dwight Marshall and Mark Sale also on target, whilst in 2002 they defeat Bristol Rovers 1-0 after Marino Keith grabbed the winner in the first minute. It was a result that helped the Pilgrims secure promotion from the Third Division as champions that season with a massive 102 points.

Those results though followed five successive defeats on this date- on of them being to Barnsley. They lost 1-0 to Bradford in 1985, 1-0 to The Reds in 1991, 3-1 to Huddersfield in 1993, 2-1 to Brighton in 1994 and 4-0 to Fulham in 1996.

Barnsley also have a pretty poor record on the 30^th March winning six and losing eight of their 19 matches played. The Reds have won just one of their last five matches on this date and have lost the last two. Their solitary success in this run was that 1-0 victory over Plymouth in 1991. Their last two matches were a 3-0 defeat at Port Vale in 1996 and a 3-1 reverse at West Brom in 2002, a Darren Barnard penalty the solitary reply in The Reds relegation season.

Plymouth: Played 21, Won 6, Drawn 6, Lost 9, Scored 25, Conceded 25

Barnsley: Played 19, Won 6, Drawn 5, Lost 8, Scored 27, Conceded 28

Last six 2009-2010 Results

Plymouth Argyle:

27/3/10 Plymouth 0-2 Blackpool (Championship)

23/3/10 Ipswich 0-2 Plymouth (Championship)

20/3/10 Scunthorpe 2-1 Plymouth (Championship)

16/3/10 Plymouth 3-2 Bristol City (Championship)

13/3/10 Coventry 1-1 Plymouth (Championship)

9/3/10 QPR 2-0 Plymouth (Championship)

W:2 D:1 L:3 F:7 A:9 GD:-2 Points: 7

Barnsley: