An extremely poor showing for The Reds today with debutant Tommy Wright missing two glorious chances that would have given us a somewhat undeserved 3 points.
The first half will not live long in the memory.
Neither Reds keeper Nick Colgan nor his opposite number Barry Roche had much to do. Roche saved well with his legs from an otherwise poor Daniel Nardiello, whilst Colgan didn't make ONE meaningful save the whole game.
Chesterfield though enjoyed the lions share of the possession due in most parts to The Reds frustrating insistence of defending deep in their own half.
Barnsley made 5 changes from the side that came so close to taking 3 points off Huddersfield at the weekend.
Out went the injured Bobby Hassell and Matt Carbon and the rested Paul Hayes, Marc Richards and Brian Howard. In came Dale Tonge, Robbie Williams, Nicky Wroe, Daniel Nardiello and debutant Tommy Wright.
Richard Kell also found his way onto the substitutes bench (more about him later)
Chesterfield dominated the first half but again failed to trouble Nick Colgan whilst Nardiello's effort was blocked by Roche and just before half time, his free-kick was deflected just over.
The second half wasn't much better but The Reds should have won it.
On 53 minutes, Tommy Wright's pace saw him beat The Spirerites off side trap and race clear. He seemed to drift wide though as he homed in on goal and in the end his curling shot flew around Roche but also agonisingly around the post.
An even better chance came Barnsley's way after 66 minutes.
Sub Brian Howard was crudely upended on the edge of the area and Robbie Williams free-kick was just turned over by Roche.
It didn't end there. On 71 minutes Wright again broke clear, stayed central but blasted his shot straight against Roche.
Chesterfield could have sneaked it with their only genuine chance of the game ten minutes from time.
Caleb Folan did superbly to twist and turn past Austin but is effort just and I mean just went past the post.
The last chance though inevitably fell to The Reds in the last minute.
Richards sent Hayes galloping through but to keep in tune with the rest of the match he blazed well over.
Both teams just seemed desperate not to lose this and whilst my report may look we dominated, that was far from the case. Chesterfield must have had 80% of the possession but they looked like a team that had drawn their previous 7 games as any flowing moves came to an end as soon as they reached the Barnsley area.
One bright spot though was the sight of Richard Kell's name on the bench and the warm-ups he went through during the match. But even this couldn't go without farce.
Kell stripped down to come on in the second half and was stood on the touchline with the fourth official all ready before for some strange reason Ritchie changed his mind and told Kell to return to the bench even though we were crying out for a holding midfielder to come on and give us a foothold in the game. As you may imagine Richard looked less than impressed for the rest of the game.
Tommy Wright meanwhile has got pace and potential but needs to find his shooting touch whilst Nardiello just isn't the same player when he starts and switched to bone idle mode once again.
If this match proved one thing there certainly isn't much strength in depth.
Player Ratings:
Nick Colgan: Had nothing to do the whole game. A virtual spectator. 6
Neil Austin: Always gives 100% although looked a little uneasy second half. Never stopped though. 7
Paul Reid: A lot better from the skipper today. Worked his socks off and cut out all the Chesterfield attacks. 8
Robbie Williams: Good defensively but needed to get forward more. Came very close with one second half freekick. 6
Dale Tonge: Good first half struggled with the pace of N’Toya and Folan second half. 6
Martin Devaney: A subdued performance from old Devaldo today. Limping off in the second half just about summed him up. 5
Jacob Burns: Covered every blade of grass again to keep the midfield in check. Defended a little too deep at times though. 6
Nicky Wroe: Poor showing. Was constantly muscled off the ball and most of his passes went astray. 3
Chris Shuker: Ran his heart again and did look like Barnsley’s best chance of breaking through. That was until Ritchie bizarrely withdrew him after 82 minutes for Richards to a chorus of boos from the away fans. 7
Daniel Nardiello. Went close twice in the first half but apart from that didn’t look in the slightest bit interested. Spent more time blaming everybody else and getting caught offside. A lot better as a sub. 4
Tommy Wright: Had two of Barnsley’s best three chances and should have converted both. With a bit more time with his new team-mates and when he’s settled in, this lad does have potential. 7
Substitutes:
Brian Howard (for Devaney 56) Had more of an impact and the midfield looked much better. 7
Paul Hayes (for Nardiello 71) A Wright-Hayes partnership looks a lot rosy than a Nardiello-Wright. Created openings although did miss one great chance to win it at the end. 7
Marc Richards (for Shuker 82) After Ritchie’s other two substitutions were spot on this one leaves some head scratching. Shuker was our best attacking outlet whilst Richards couldn’t get started ( and to his credit didn’t have much time to. Would rather have seen Kell for Wroe earlier on. 6
Unused: Scott Flinders, Richard Kell
Barnsley Boy’s Man of the Match: Paul Reid: Kept the defence together and earned Barnsley’s first clean sheet in 7 league games
Coca Cola League One Results Monday 2nd January 2006
Blackpool 1-2 Southend
Bournemouth 1-1 Scunthorpe
Bradford 3-3 Brentford
Bristol City 3-0 Walsall
Chesterfield 0-0 Barnsley
Colchester 3-1 Nottingham Forest
Doncaster 0-1 Yeovil
Hartlepool 1-1 Swindon
Huddersfield 0-0 Gillingham
Milton Keynes Dons 0-1 Oldham
Swansea 0-0 Port Vale
Tranmere 3-2 Rotherham
Barnsley lie 6th in League One with 39 points from 25 games. We are in the Play-Offs on Goal Difference , 5 points off the Automatic Promotion Places and 13 points clear of the Relegation Zone.
Next Up:
At Oakwell: Barnsley v Walsall FA Cup Third Round Saturday 7th January 2006 Kick Off 3pm
Tickets: Adults: £15 Concessions: £8
On The Road: Port Vale v Barnsley Coca Cola League One Saturday 14th January 2006 Kick Off 3pm
Ticket information to follow.
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