Barnsley 2-1 Walsall

I witnessed one of the most one-sided first halves at Oakwell for quite a while today, although the score-line may suggest differently.

Walsall had ONE shot in the opening 45 minutes and it came 25 seconds before the end. Barnsley dominated from start to finish but yet had just one goal to show for it. The insistence to walk the ball in can be incredibly frustrating and we can look at this two ways. Better teams than Walsall will punish us or one day all the chances will fly in.

Barnsley could have been ahead seven minutes in when Walsall keeper Joe Murphy pushed a fine edge of the area strike from Jacob Burns (who ONCE AGAIN was tremendous) around the post.
Steven Watt who made his debut after joining on loan from Chelsea this week won everything that came his way in the air, to leave Walsall's England starlet Matty Fryatt constantly frustrated

The goal we did manage to score in that dominant half came after 13 minutes, was a peach and showed the quality of the team.

Shuker's trickery saw him glide through before playing the ball up to Marc Richards. His lovely lay-off header saw Hayes volley home his first goal since 13th September and boy did he enjoy it.

This should have been the call for the floodgates to open but it never arrived.
The ball was continuously worked to the edge of the area but instead of having a go the players wanted one more pass and Walsall snuffed out the danger.

Shuker, who was really roughed up in the first half finally departed injured after 39 minutes with the midweek hero Martin Devaney replacing him and that seemed to kill Barnsley's attacking instincts until half-time.

Walsall were marginally better second half but Barnsley were still creating the better chances.

Richards combined with Hayes again and Hayes was incredibly unlucky to see his effort just go wide.

Walsall finally started to come in the game and looked increasingly dangerous as Fryatt, Demontagnac and sub Leitao started to make a nuisance of themselves.

The game seemed to swing even more in Barnsley's favor though after 55 minutes when Craig Pead was shown a straight red card.

Pead had committed a foul on Howard and then proceeded to kick Howard in the stomach. Referee Graham Salisbury had no doubt in brandishing the red.

Unfortunately this decision seemed to galvanise Walsall more than Barnsley, yet it was a schoolboy error that brought Walsall an equaliser 8 minutes later.

Julian Bennett launched a long throw that Watt and Kay both dithered in clearing and Fryatt didn't need any invitation to fire past Colgan.

The home fans sensed yet another missed opportunity but Walsall fans hadn't stopped celebrating before The Reds were back in front just 3 minutes later.

They had come agonisingly close a minute earlier when Richards raced clear only for Murphy to block with Hayes lifting the rebound over. But there was no denying them 60 seconds later.

Devaney raced away down the right his cross was deflected towards goal where Murphy made a great block, but the ball fell straight to Brian Howard and he fired home.

Barnsley continued to create chances but the withdrawals of Richards and Hayes for Nardiello and Jarman seemed to kill any chances of a third goal although Jarman had a great chance when clean through on 81 minutes. He slipped the ball past the advancing Murphy but all agonisingly past the post.

Walsall threw everybody forwarded including keeper Murphy for a late corner that Barnsley cleared and raced away. The ball fell to Howard just past the halfway line and with an open goal. Unfortunately he put too much on the shot and it just cleared the bar.

So the Reds hung on for another valuable three points that lifts them to the extremely heady heights of 5th, although only goal difference separates us from 7th place Chesterfield. This would have probably been a game we would have drawn or even lost last season after Walsall drew level but there does seem more resilience in this Reds side to fight back for a win and 7 points out of the last 9 isn't bad is it.

Only time will tell if we can stay in these lofty heights until May, but they have proved they can get there. No excuses now!

Player Ratings:

Nick Colgan: Redundant first half, didn’t have much to do second period either. Statistically the best keeper in the league and didn't really need to prove it today. 6

Dale Tonge: Excellent performance from young Dale today. Tigerish in the tackle and got forward whenever possible. 7

Antony Kay: Won his fair share of headers but needs to pass the ball instead of hoofing it anywhere. Booked. 6

Steven Watt: Won nearly everything in the air and a solid debut. Will get even better with more games. Booked. 7

Neil Austin: Has learned a lot since the Donny LDV debacle. Hardly put a foot wrong. 7

Chris Shuker: Was really buzzing before his early departure. Can't afford for "Shukes" to be injured. Subbed. 7

Jacob Burns: Still waiting for a bad game from him this season. Must have about 6 lungs the way he runs around for 90 minutes. Player of the Season by a country mile so far. 8

Stephen McPhail: Oozed confidence and class. A lot better than last season. 8

Brian Howard: His introduction to the team has been well worth the wait. Really bright today and grabbed the all-important second. 7

Paul Hayes: After 9 games was finally back among the goals and hopefully will get more. His close control and first touch is excellent. Team suffered when he was subbed. Subbed. 8

Marc Richards: Works wonderfully with Hayes. Wins more headers than Conlon and really puts himself about. Subbed. 7

Substitutes:

Martin Devaney (for Shuker 39) Looks a lot more comfortable on the right and his cross caused the havoc for the winner. 6

Daniel Nardiello (for Hayes 67) Hardly got into the game. Stated in the summer he wants 30 goals will be lucky to get 5 if he doesn't improve Was interesting to see that before Nardiello's introduction Barnsley had not been caught offside once. They finished with 3 (all Nardiello) 5

Nathan Jarman (for Richards 76) Really tried hard and was desperately unlucky not to open his professional account near the end. 6

Man of the Match: Tough one as most of the team played well but Brian Howard just sneaks it for me.

Coca Cola League One Results Saturday 29th October 2005

Barnsley 2-1 Walsall

Brentford 0-2 Bournemouth

Bristol City 0-3 Southend

Colchester 3-2 Yeovil

Doncaster 0-2 Tranmere

Gillingham 2-1 Blackpool

Huddersfield 1-1 Swindon

Milton Keynes Dons 1-1 Rotherham

Nottingham Forest 1-0 Bradford

Port Vale 1-2 Hartlepool

Scunthorpe 4-2 Oldham

Swansea 5-1 Chesterfield

Barnsley lie 5th in League One with 25 points from 16 games. We are in the PlayOffs on goal difference, 6 points off the Automatic Promotion Places and 9 points clear of the Relegation Zone.


Next Up:

At Oakwell: Barnsley v Darlington Saturday 5th November 2005 FA Cup First Round Kick-Off 3pm Ticket Prices: Adults £12 Concessions £6
On The Road: Bradford City v Barnsley Saturday 12th November 2005 Kick Off 2pm (Note earlier time) (Note: This match is pay on the gate) Ticket Prices: Adults £18 Over 60s £12 Under 16s £10

Brian Howard: Man of the Match