The hotly anticipated clash between Barnsley and Sunderland ended as you were as the Reds endured their third goal-less draw in six outings, as many as in their previous 52 games.
It is the Reds fifth 0-0 draw of the season, their most since 2016-2017 (6)
This was the 15th time this season a Barnsley match has been goal-less at half time (all comps) and Barnsley have only gone on to win five.
It is the Reds most half-time 0-0s since 2016-2017 (17)
Despite failing to score for the third time since top scorer Kieffer Moore's season ending injury at Gillingham, Barnsley kept their fifth clean sheet in a row, their best run since 2015 when they kept shut-outs against Crewe, Scunthorpe, Gillingham, Coventry and Walsall between January and March and Adam Davies has been in goal for all ten matches.
It was Barnsley's 18th league clean sheet of the season, the joint MOST in the top four tiers of English football along with Luton who also picked up their 18th on Tuesday.
It is the most clean sheets Barnsley have kept in one season (excluding playoffs) since the League One promotion season of 2005-2006 when they kept 19.
Barnsley have conceded only 28 goals in 37 League One games, the best defensive record in the division.
This result continued Barnsley's poor home record on a Tuesday, they have now played eight league games at Oakwell on a Tuesday since their last win, defeating Nottingham Forest 2-1 in August 2017.
Sunderland however failed to win on a Tuesday for only the third time in their last 13 such fixtures (W10 D2 L1)
This was the first draw in this fixture for 26 meetings and the first ever goal-less draw between the two sides.
It was also the FIRST time Sunderland have failed to score in League One this season and ended a run of scoring in 43 successive league matches for the Black Cats, since a 2-0 home defeat to Preston 12 months ago (17th March 2018)
This result extended Barnsley's unbeaten league run to 17 games (W11 D6), last going longer without a loss in January 1981 (20 matches).
Sunderland themselves are now undefeated in 15 league outings since a 3-1 reverse at Portsmouth in December, one of only two league defeats they have suffered in 2018-2019.
Barnsley have gone unbeaten in their first 13 league games of a calendar year (W8 D5) for the first time since 1939 (14 - W10 D4)
Barnsley are now unbeaten in their last 27 matches at Oakwell in all competitions (W16 D11), their longest run at home since going a staggering 36 matches without defeat at Oakwell between 4th February 1933 and 24th November 1934 (W25 D11).
As Barnsley do not return to Oakwell until the 30th March it means they will go a full year without a home league defeat - last tasting a reverse on home soil on the 17th March 2018, equaling a postwar record of 23 home league games without defeat which was set in the 1967-1968 season.
The Oakwell attendance was 18,282, the biggest crowd at the stadium since Sunderland's North East rivals Newcastle visited on Tuesday 18th October 2016 (18,597) - incidentally there was 2,585 more people at Oakwell for a Tuesday night League One meeting in March between the two sides than there was for a Saturday afternoon clash in the Championship in August last season (15,697)
It is the biggest third tier attendance at Oakwell since a League One clash between Barnsley and Sheffield Wednesday in February 2005 (19,659). Both games ended 0-0.
Sunderland became only the second team in any competition this season after Wycombe to have more ball possession at Oakwell than Barnsley (52%)
They are however the 18th team (all comps) to have two or less shots on target against Barnsley this season home or away (1)
Barnsley Team:
1. Adam Davies (c)
12. Dimitri Cavare
6. Liam Lindsay
5. Ethan Pinnock
23. Dani Pinillos
27. Alex Mowatt
4. Kenny Dougall
15. Jordan Green
21. Mike Bähre
9. Cauley Woodrow
26. Mamadou Thiam
Substitutes:
22. Jordan Williams (for Green 69)
29. Victor Adeboyejo (for Bähre 80)
Unused Substitutes:
13. Jack Walton, 7. Ryan Hedges, 18. Adam Jackson, 20. Callum Styles, 28. Ben Williams.
Sunderland Team:
1. Jon McLaughlin
13. Luke O'Nien
15. Jack Baldwin
30. Jimmy Dunne
2. Adam Matthews
6. Lee Cattermole (c)
23. Grant Leadbitter
11. Lynden Gooch
27. Max Power
19. Aiden McGeady
22. Will Grigg
Substitutions:
17. Lewis Morgan (for Gooch 75)
26. Kazaiah Sterling (for Power 90+1)
Unused Substitutes:
5. Alim Ozturk, 8. Dylan McGeouch, 9. Charlie Wyke, 25. Robbin Ruiter, 33. Denver Hume.
Sunderland manager Jack Ross said:
“When you play in weather conditions like we did tonight it’s always going to be difficult,”
“Anything can happen in weather like that so to come out of it as we did and relatively unscathed, I think we can be reasonably satisfied.
“Sometimes when you aren’t on the pitch you can’t appreciate how difficult it is. Barnsley were really strong in the first half and made it difficult for us to get out of our own half.
“Both sets of players struggled in the conditions but had chances, it’s just a shame we were unable to take one of them.”
Match Reports:
Official Website
BBC
Sky Sports
League One results:
Tuesday 12th March 2019
AFC Wimbledon 1-0 Peterborough United
Pigott pen 87
BARNSLEY 0-0 Sunderland
Blackpool 1-1 Doncaster Rovers
Nottingham 49
Rowe 73
Bradford City 0-1 Luton Town
Stacey 16
Charlton Athletic 2-1 Burton Albion
Taylor pen 6
Akins pen 19
Reeves 33
Coventry City 2-1 Fleetwood Town
Bakayako 6
Evans 33
Hiwula-Mayifuila 42
Gillingham 0-1 Bristol Rovers
Clarke-Harris 57
Plymouth Argyle 2-1 Shrewsbury Town
Ladapo 8
Norburn 60
Carey pen 89
Rochdale 0-0 Oxford United
Scunthorpe United 4-1 Southend United
Cox 3
Pearce 23
McMahon 68
Thomas 73
Perch 77
Walsall 2-3 Portsmouth
Pitman pen 13
Bogle 25
Solomon-Otabor 68
Guthrie 75
Guthrie 90+4
Wycombe Wanderers 1-3 Accrington Stanley
Cowan-Hall
Kee pen 45+10
Kee pen 66
Smyth 71
Barnsley remain in 2nd place in Sky Bet League One with 74 points from 37 games. We are 19 points inside the Play-Offs, 4 points inside the Automatic Promotion Places, 5 points off First Place and 34 points above the Relegation Zone.
Up to 14/03/19
Next Up:
On The Road:
Sky Bet League One Matchday Thirty Eight: Doncaster Rovers v Barnsley, Friday 15th March 2019. Kick-Off: 7:45pm
At Oakwell:
Sky Bet League One Matchday Forty: Barnsley v Coventry City, Saturday 30th March 2019. Kick-Off: 3pm