Barnsley have it all to do in Wales on Saturday after a narrow 1-0 home leg defeat to Swansea in the semi-finals of the Championship play-offs.
This is the fourth play-off campaign Barnsley have been involved in (2 second tier, 2 third tier) and they have now lost three of the four home legs (2-1 to Birmingham, 1-0 to Huddersfield and 1-0 to Swansea) however Reds fans will take hope in the fact they have won all three away legs and have always made the final.
Swansea were the only Championship team to complete a league double over Barnsley this season and become the first to defeat Barnsley three times in the same season since Doncaster Rovers in 2005-2006 who won 2-0 both home and away in the league and also defeated The Reds 5-2 at Oakwell in the LDV Vans Trophy.
They become the first team to defeat Barnsley three times in a season with three clean sheets since Sheffield Wednesday in 1983-1984 who won 1-0 and 2-0 in the league whilst also defeating the Reds 1-0 in the FA Cup.
Barnsley have gone three games without a win (all comps) for under the second time under
Valerien Ismael, the other occasion being between the 27th January and 11th February… they went on to win seven games in a row following this.
This was Barnsley’s first Monday defeat in 9 such matches (W7 D1)
Barnsley have played four home legs in the play-offs and are yet to have a player booked.
Barnsley have now failed to win any of their last 17 meetings with Swansea (all comps) D7 L10 and have lost five of the last seven.
They have also failed to win any of the last eight Oakwell clashes D4 L4.
There have been 20 shots in each of Barnsley’s last three matches.
Barnsley Team:
40. Brad Collins
20. Toby Sibbick
30. Michal Helik
6. Mads Andersen
7. Callum Brittain
21. Romal Palmer
27. Alex Mowatt
4. Callum Styles
28. Dominik Frieser
10. Daryl Dike
9. Cauley Woodrow
Substitutes:
14. Carlton Morris (for Frieser 45)
2. Jordan Williams (for Palmer 78)
29. Victor Adeboyejo (for Dike 88)
Unused Substitutes:
1. Jack Walton, 5. Liam Kitching, 11. Conor Chaplin, 24. Aapo Halme, 26. Michael Sollbauer, 34. Jasper Moon.
Swansea Team:
1. Freddie Woodman
26. Kyle Naughton
44. Ben Cabango
5. Marc Guehi
24. Jake Bidwell
6. Jay Fulton
8. Matt Grimes
14. Conor Hourihane
10. Andre Ayew
20. Liam Cullen
9. Jamal Lowe
Substitutions:
15. Wayne Routledge (for Cullen 69)
Unused Substitutes:
2. Ryan Bennett, 3. Ryan Manning, 7. Korey Smith, 17. Morgan Whittaker, 18. Ben Hamer, 21. Yan Dhanda, 22. Joel Latibeaudiere, 23. Connor Roberts.
Swansea manager Steve Cooper said:
"I was pleased with the effort. We knew what kind of game it would be and we stood up well to it. The two centre backs are both 20 years old and they were excellent.
"We know Andre can do that. It was a real moment of excellence.
"It was a really good atmosphere and that has whetted the appetite for Saturday now. It will be a special moment to play in front of our fans again."
Sky Bet Championship results
MONDAY 17TH MAY 2021
AFC Bournemouth 1-0 Brentford
Danjuma 55
Next Up:
On The Road:
Sky Bet Championship Play-Offs Second Leg: Swansea City v Barnsley, Saturday 22nd May 2021. Kick-Off: 5:30pm