Another game, another defeat and seemingly another step towards inevitable relegation as the Reds lost for the 14th time in 24 Championship outings in 2021-2022.
They ended a calendar year with just 14 points, the first time they have failed to reach the 20 point mark by the end of a calendar year since 2013, however they had 16 points then.
It is already their lowest points tally since they ended 1899 with 10 (when converted to 3 points for a win) however they had played only 16 games at that point compared to 24 now.
This result also extended Barnsley’s winless away start to the campaign which now stands at 12 league games (D4 L8) their longest winless away start to a season since 2001-2002 when they did not win away until their 13th match.
They remain the only Championship side without an away win in 2021-2022 and one of only two in the EFL (also Doncaster)
In all competitions Barnsley have gone 15 away games without a win, stretching back to May – their longest winless run on the road since a run of 16 in 2013 (the final eight games of 2012-2013 and the first eight of 2013-2014.
Barnsley have also now won only one of their last 22 league matches overall (W1 D7 L14), their worst run since the 1952-1953 season when they won only one of their final 26 Second Division games (W1 D6 L19) which included failing to win any of their final 23 and finished bottom, 15 points adrift of second bottom.
Poya Asbaghi is the first permanent Barnsley manager to fail to win any of his first six games in charge since John McSeveney who failed to win any of his first ten in 1971.
Barnsley’s 2021 record (all comps) reads won 17, drawn 15, lost 22, scoring 51 goals, conceding 61 goals, that’s four wins less, seven draws more, three more defeats, 1 goal less scored and exactly the same conceded as in 2020. Ironically they started 2021 in 8th place in the Championship and finish it 23rd whilst they finished 2020 in 8th having started it in 23rd.
They have also alternated the last four years (2018-2021) with winning 17 or 21 games (21 in 2018, 17 in 2019, 21 in 2020 and 17 in 2021)
This was only the fifth time that both teams have scored in the first half of a Barnsley game this season.
It is the second time this season the Reds have scored in first half injury time, both in December and both by Carlton Morris.
There have been five goals scored in either the 44th, 45th+ or 90th+ minutes in the last four Barnsley/Blackburn clashes.
Three of the last four meetings have finished 2-1 to the home side.
The home side has scored at least twice in five of the last six meetings with the one exception being the 0-0 draw at Oakwell in September, with that meeting the only one in the last 13 that one team hasn’t scored at least twice.
Joe Rothwell scored Blackburn’s first goal, the first ex Red to score against them since Adam Armstrong scored….. for Blackburn against Barnsley back in February.
Blackburn goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski was shown a yellow card, the first opposition keeper booked in a Barnsley match since Sheffield Wednesday’s Joe Wildsmith in March.
Barnsley had the majority of the ball possession (59%) for the first time in six outings
Barnsley Team:
40. Brad Collins
7. Callum Brittain
30. Michal Helik
6. Mads Andersen
5. Liam Kitching
21. Romal Palmer
10. Josh Benson
22. Clarke Oduor
4. Callum Styles
14. Carlton Morris
11. Aaron Leya Iseka
Substitutes:
15. Jasper Moon (for Helik 62)
29. Victor Adeboyejo (for Oduor 71)
44. Devante Cole (for Leya Iseka 71)
Unused Substitutes:
1. Jack Walton, 2. Jordan Williams, 17. Claudio Gomes, 26. Remy Vita.
Blackburn Team:
1. Thomas Kaminski
16. Scott Wharton
25. Jan Paul van Hecke
26. Darragh Lenihan
27. Lewis Travis
8. Joe Rothwell
2. Ryan Nyambe
3. Harry Pickering
21. John Buckley
7. Reda Khadra
22. Ben Brereton Díaz
Substitutions:
9. Sam Gallagher (for Khadra 64)
10. Tyrhys Dolan (for Rothwell 85)
20. Tayo Edun (for Buckley 85)
Unused Substitutes:
13. Aynsley Pears, 5. Daniel Ayala, 19. Leighton Clarkson, 4. Bradley Johnson.
Blackburn manager Tony Mowbray said:
"I thought we could have come in three or four up at half-time and yet it was one all.
"The mentality in the dressing room was very focused and determined to make sure we won the second half and I think we deserved to win the match on chances created.
"Sitting here with three points feels good. It should have been more comfortable but we had to find a way to win the game and we did.
"If you've got a work ethic, and a desire and attitude, like a lot of these young players have got, they deserve a level of success and we've got 22 games now to keep fighting in every one and see where it takes us."
Sky Bet Championship results
WEDNESDAY 29TH DECEMBER 2021
Blackpool (13th) 1-2 Middlesbrough (5th)
Sporar 60
Lavery 90+1
Watmore 90+3
Coventry City (10th) 0-1 Millwall (11th)
Bradshaw 79
THURSDAY 30TH DECEMBER 2021
AFC Bournemouth (1st) 3-0 Cardiff City (20th)
Christie 25
Solanke 68
Smithies og 83
Bristol City (18th) 1-2 Queens Park Rangers (7th)
Scott 3
Austin pen 45+3
Barbet 90+3
Nottingham Forest (9th) 0-1 Huddersfield Town (6th)
Holmes 30
Stoke City (8th) 1-2 Derby County (24th)
Plange 16
Ince 78
Kazim-Richards 85
Barnsley lie in 23rd place in the Sky Bet Championship with 14 points from 24 games. We are 25 points off the Play-Offs, 31 points off the Automatic Promotion Places, 35 points off First Place and 7 points inside the Relegation Zone.
Up to 31/12/21
Next Up:
On The Road:
Sky Bet Championship Matchday Twenty Five: Nottingham Forest v Barnsley, Monday 3rd January 2022. Kick-Off: 3pm
At Oakwell:
FA Cup Third Round: Barnsley v Barrow, Saturday 8th January 2022. Kick-Off: 3pm