That’s what we can do...now will somebody buy this club?

In light of recent performances, yesterday’s victory over top of the table Cardiff City was incredible. The Barnsley team that played with such passion and no little ability were unrecognisable from the players that had laid down in previous games.

In some ways, it was a bizarre match. Barnsley scoring from set pieces?!? Three times?!? Amazing. Given the fact that recent games have been played in almost total silence, the fact that there was an atmosphere at Oakwell (noise, songs, applause… fans really getting behind the team) was equally strange. Finally, Paul Gibbs, a player widely hailed as one of the worst (if not the worst) ever to pull on a Barnsley shirt, had a superb game, and only an inspirational performance from Chris Morgan stopped him from winning the man of the match award.

Throughout the team, players turned in season best performances. Lumsdon at last looked like the player that was so impressive during his loan spell last season. Mulligan defended well and put in some decent crosses. Mitch Ward did well to protect the defence, and put in a couple of great deliveries for Morgan’s goals. Kevin Betsy worked tirelessly on the wing. Neil Austin looked like he’d been playing centre-half for years.

Above all, Chris Morgan celebrated his 25th birthday with a superb display. Aside from his two goals, he defended magnificently, winning virtually every ball in the air and tackling ferociously. It has to be said that, after scoring the first goal with a powerful header into the top corner (and celebrating by flashing his milky white six-pack to the Van Damme stand), Morgan was guilty of letting the impressive Earnshaw in to equalise straight from the kick-off. Apparently, Hodges criticised Morgan for ‘falling asleep’ at half-time and challenged him to go out and score again in the second half. That explains why, after scoring the winner with another back post header, Morgan ran fifty yards (with a big grin on his face) to celebrate with the manager on the touchline.

Barnsley proved today that they should never have been lying fourth bottom of the second division. If we can make performances like that the norm, rather than the exception, there is still every chance that we can make a push for the play-offs. Ultimately of course, that depends upon Barnsley Football Club still being in business at the end of this month. Let’s just hope that Mr Cryne, Mr Haselden, Mr Dalglish(!) or any of the other potential buyers were at the game yesterday. If they were, they will have seen a committed team put on a passionate display of attacking football, backed by a raucous crowd.

In short, they will have seen just why this town needs, and deserves, a football club.