... Tuesday night was arguably the worst performance of the season and somehow 3 points were attained, just 4 days later The Reds turned in arguably their best performance to date and slammed FIVE past a sorry Scunthorpe who slumped to their 5th consecutive defeat and are a team in real freefall.
The result and performance mirrored the 4-0 thumping on Oldham back at the start of this unbeaten run which now stands at 10 matches and over 2 months.
2 goals in the opening 7 minutes and every opportunity looked like yielding a goal.
The Oakwell faithful, which was nearly 2,000 more than on Tuesday had just 120 seconds to wait for the first and it, was almost identical to the first on Tuesday.
The same three players combined. This time Hayes battled through two challenges before feeding Chris Shuker. He scurried away before drilling a low cross that found Martin Devaney racing in again to finish past keeper Tom Evans.
5 minutes later it was 2-0.
Jacob Burns swung a great freekick over and Bobby Hassell was totally unmarked to head home. Finally a goal he could claim as his own.
Barnsley were now rampant.
Marc Richards went agonizingly close before Hayes raced down the left played the ball to the unmarked Shuker but somehow Evans kept his effort out.
Scunthorpe were really struggling to put anything together and looked a shadow of the side that was well organised back on Matchday 2.
It came as no surprise when goal number 3 arrived after 33 minutes.
A breath-taking goal.
Devaney did a C. Ronaldoesque back heel to send Brian Howard foraging down the middle before releasing Hayes who put in a brilliant cross that Marc Richards finished with aplomb. This was the first time Marc Richards and Paul Hayes have both scored in the same game.
Scunthorpe had a great chance to at least narrow the deficit when Richard Hinds got through but Scott Flinders made a superb block.
Half time and 3-0. Tuesday night’s woeful display firmly erased from the memory.
The second half started pretty much the same way with Devaney and Howard going close whilst The Reds were denied a blatant penalty on 57 minutes. Hayes effort being almost punched away by Bryne but referee Mariner laughably pointed to his head!
The Reds did get the fourth after 71 minutes though after some more glorious football.
Hayes nipped in behind the Iron defence after a great ball from Richards before playing an inch perfect ball across for Shuker to grab his 8th goal of the season.
Keeper Evans then denied Devaney and Howard before Scunthorpe undeservedly ended Barnsley's hopes of a clean sheet a minute from time.
Substitute Robbie Williams clumsily pushed over Cleveland Taylor (the man who grabbed the winner at Glanford Park back in August) and veteran Peter Beagrie grabbed his 100th career goal coolly slotting the penalty down the middle with Flinders diving to his right.
This starting a silly bout of 3 goals in a minute.
A woeful back pass let in Paul Hayes to fire past Evans and ensure it gave him 2 in 2 against his former club, before the gloss was taken off the victory slightly when Neil Mackenzie was given far too much space and with virtually the last kick of the game he fired the ball past Flinders
Today’s result has finally proved that this team DOES have the necessary quality to achieve something special in May the players just need to prove it. A woeful performance on Tuesday followed by a sublime one 4 days later needs to be addressed with something a bit in the middle been performed every week. (Unless of course they want to play as breath-taking as today every week) That though is not what Barnsley fans expect. We would all be happy with 100% every game and today we got just that. The chants of Its Just Like Watching Brazil returned as The Reds scored 5 in a match for the first time since we hammered Blackburn 5-1 in January 2000 on our way to Wembley.
To keep with the omens, that result put Barnsley 4th in the league, the same position today’s result has lifted us.
The unfortunate and untimely cup replay is next up on Tuesday before a long trip to Yeovil next Saturday.
I’m sure most fans would surrender a cup run for 3 points down at Huish Park.
Player Ratings:
Scott Flinders: Looking more assured with every game he plays. Great stop from Hinds at 3-0. Very unlucky to lose his clean sheet in the dying minutes for the second game in a row. 7
Neil Austin: Terrific display from "Aussie" today. Gave 110% and made some excellent tackles. Fans deservedly chanted his name. Subbed. 9
Paul Reid: Great to see the skipper back. He brought some real calmness to the defence and hardly put a foot wrong. Booked. 8
Antony Kay: Quite a good performance from Kay today. Cut out the errors. 7
Bobby Hassell: This time nobody could deny him his first goal for the club. Really kept Beagrie in check. Booked. Subbed. 7
Martin Devaney: Yet another virtuoso display with another clinical finish. The Scunthorpe midfield and defence just didn’t know how to handle him. 8
Brian Howard: Reads the game ever so well and his passing skills were excellent. 7
Jacob Burns: Getting back to his best. Never stopped running. 7
Chris Shuker: Did to Scunthorpe’s left back what Devaney did to their right back. Unstoppable and goal number 8 of the season. 8
Paul Hayes: His former club returned and so did his early season form had a hand in 3 goals whilst scoring one himself. Talk about proving a point. 9
Marc Richards: Helped himself to goal number 4 and battled well with Hayes. Fairly quiet though. Subbed. 6
Substitutes:
Dale Tonge (for Hassell 69) Made a couple of fine challenges and carried on where Hassell left off at the back. 7
Nathan Jarman (for Richards 75) Given a 15 minutes run-out and looked lively. Once this kid gets his first senior goal he should blossom. 6
Robbie Williams (for Austin 81) Quite uncharacteristic error-prone 9 minutes from Williams. Gave away the last minute penalty and looked a little uncomfortable. 5
Match Sponsors Man of the Match: Neil Austin
Barnsley Boy’s Man of the Match: Whilst Aussie was a deserving recipient I’m going to award it to Paul Hayes. Was outstanding today, if only he played former clubs every week!
Coca Cola League One Results Saturday 10th December 2005
Barnsley 5-2 Scunthorpe
Blackpool 1-1 Tranmere
Brentford 1-1 Chesterfield
Bristol City 2-0 Huddersfield
Gillingham 3-0 Port Vale
Hartlepool 2-1 Bournemouth
Milton Keynes Dons 2-3 Doncaster
Nottingham Forest 1-1 Walsall
Oldham 2-2 Swindon
Rotherham 1-2 Yeovil
Southend 1-1 Bradford
Swansea 1-1 Colchester
Barnsley lie 4th in League One with 36 points from 21 games. We are in the PlayOffs on by 2 points, 3 points off the Automatic Promotion Places and 15 points clear of the Relegation Zone.
Incidentally The Reds now have the second highest goal difference in the league and the second best defensive record
Next Up:
On The Road: Bradford City v Barnsley FA Cup Second Round Replay Tuesday 13th December 2005 Kick Off 7:45pm Tickets: Adults: £15 Concessions: £10 Official Reds On The Road Coach Tickets: £9. The coach leave Oakwell at 5:30pm on the day of the game.
Yeovil Town v Barnsley Coca-Cola League One Saturday 17th December 2005 Kick Off 3pm. Tickets: Adults: £14 Students/OAPs: £9 Under 16s £5 Official Reds On The Road Coach Tickets: £19 The coach leaves Oakwell at 8am on the day of the game
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