Embarrassing, painful and unbearable. And that was just trying to get away from the Wednesday fans at the end!
Three unforgivable mistakes saw Barnsley humbled by The Owls in a game that was on the whole fairly even. And to push home the embarrassment even more that was Barnsley's heaviest home league defeat for 4 years and in front of the biggest Oakwell crowd for 6 years!
Caretaker Manager Simon Davey's chances of getting the job full-time were probably enhanced ten fold after the Boxing Day win over Burnley but they could have been diminished totally after today.
The decision to play Robbie Williams in the middle of the park was a disastrous one but a small shred of sympathy must be given to Davey as he had very few other options.
The Reds were robbed of the services of Paul Reid, Brian Howard and Sam Togwell which saw Williams partner McCann in midfield and young Robert Atkinson kept his place in the centre of defence alongside captain Antony Kay.
Neil Austin was deemed fit despite suffering a dead leg on Boxing Day. It really should have stayed dead for a bit longer as he was truly awful.
His bad positioning led to the first calamitous goal after just 11 minutes.
Winger Wayne Andrews was on the pitch a mere 47 seconds when he grabbed the winner for Coventry at Oakwell back in October, he had been on a little longer when Neil Austin gave him the freedom of Barnsley to fire in a shot that for the 2nd time in a week went straight through Nick Colgan.
Barnsley though seemed eager to get back in the game and an equaliser always seemed just a flicker of brilliance away.
Daniel Nardiello dazzled through the entire Wednesday defence, reminiscent of his mazy runs against Leeds home and away but then took his greed a littler further by firing straight at Mark Crossley with Williams free for a tap-in.
Grant McCann then shook the crossbar with a great free-kick on the half hour and although the half time interval came with The Reds trailing there was still confidence that the second half would bring parity.
Indeed Martin Devaney should have brought The Reds level on 56 minutes when a great ball from Kyel Reid sent him clear but after chipping Crossley the ball dropped agonisingly wide.
4 minutes later came the pivotal moment.
Robbie Williams slipped in the centre of midfield whilst in possession and Wednesday broke with Marcus Tudgay racing down the right hand side, his low cross was turned home by Barnsley nemesis Chris Brunt and heads simply dropped.
Roared on by nearly 8,000 fans Wednesday grabbed a third on 68 minutes with a real clanger from Kay, committing an error we finally thought had left him.
Dallying on the ball on the edge of the area, unsure whether to clear or lay back to Colgan, Steven MacLean dispossesed him and slipped the ball past Colgan.
Game Over!
Barnsley had a decent shout for a penalty when Nardiello seemed to be sent tumbling by Tommy Spurr but from then on all The Reds could muster were long balls to the diminutive Leon Knight.
The Wednesday fans bounced around singing “Its Just Like Watching Brazil”
Not even Brazil get gifted goals like that.
Player Ratings:
Nick Colgan: Allowed a 2nd goal in a week to slip through him and looked incredibly shaky almost refusing to leave his line. 5
Neil Austin: Horror show. Caught out for the first goal and he couldn't deal with Andrews' pace. 4
Antony Kay: Mr Dependable all season and the one game you don't want him to have a nightmare in he has it. Hoofed aimless balls up field most of the game and then caught in possession for MacLean to finish the game. Booked. 3
Robert Atkinson: Put his so called “experienced” team-mates to shame with his heading, tackling and work-rate. The only player trying to hold back Wednesday. 7
Bobby Hassell: Got forward as often as possible but even he couldn't influence the game today. 6
Martin Devaney: Showed flashes of his undoubted talent and got past his man a couple of times. Kept going until the end. 7
Grant McCann: Another player I cannot fault. Worked ever so hard and always wanted the ball. So close with a free-kick that would have brought Barnsley level. 7
Robbie Williams: This guy isn't a central midfielder and it showed. Let Wednesday in for the all important 2nd and generally looked out of his depth. Subbed. 3
Kyel Reid: Was highlighted as the danger man by Wednesday but failed to get going. Subbed. 5
Daniel Nardiello: Showed the skill to fashion chances but his selfishness let him down today. 6
Paul Hayes: Back to his “Cannot be bothered” self. Just looked lost upfront. Subbed. 4
Substitutes:
Leon Knight (for K.Reid 64) Asked to tend with long balls for half an hour. He's out of form and no bigger than a thimble. Terrific idea hey. 5
Marc Richards (for Hayes 71) Just the person you want to see enter play when your 3-0 down….5
Dale Tonge (for Williams 86) Williams' torrid afternoon finally ended 4 minutes early. 6
Unused Substitutes:
Kyle Letheren, Paul Heckingbottom
Sponsors Man of The Match: Martin Devaney
BarnsleyBoy's Man of the Match: Devaney had his moments but for the simple fact that he kept his young head whilst more experienced players were losing theirs my vote goes to Robert Atkinson.
Most Impressed By Sheffield Wednesday's: All 3 goals were put on a plate but Lee Bullen was strong at the back.
Ref Watch: Andre Marriner: We actually seemed to get a ref who gave things our way. Can we have him every week??? 8
Coca Cola Championship Results: Saturday 30th December 2006:
Barnsley 0-3 Sheffield Wednesday
Cardiff 0-0 Crystal Palace
Colchester 2-1 Wolves
Coventry 1-1 Southend
Derby 1-0 Plymouth
Hull 2-0 Burnley
Norwich 1-0 QPR
Southampton 2-0 Leicester
Stoke 3-1 Leeds
Sunderland 0-1 Preston
West Brom 2-0 Ipswich
Friday 29th December 2006
Birmingham 2-2 Luton
Barnsley lie in 21st place in the Coca Cola Championship with 26 points from 26 games. We are 17 points off the Play-Offs, 21 points off the Automatic Promotion Places, 27 points off First Place and 2 points above the Relegation Zone.
Next Up:
On The Road:
Coca Cola Championship Matchday Twenty Seven: Wolverhampton Wanderers v Barnsley Saturday 1st January 2007 Kick Off 3pm
Tickets for the game at Molineux are priced at:
Adults - £27.00
OAPs (Over 65) - £14.00
Juveniles (Under 17) - £14.00
Students (With Valid NUS Card) - £14.00
Official Reds On The Road coaches will be making the trip to Wolves.
Tickets: £11
Coaches will depart Oakwell at 11:30am on the day of the game.
FA Cup Sponsored by EON Third Round Southend United v Barnsley Saturday 6th January 2007 Kick-Off 3pm.
Tickets for the game at Roots Hall are priced at:
Adults - £15
Senior Citizens (Over 60) - £10
Juveniles (16 and Under) - £14.00
Official Reds on the Road coaches will be making the trip to Southend.
Tickets: £17
Coaches depart Oakwell at 9am on the day of the game.
At Oakwell:
Coca Cola Championship Matchday Twenty Eight: Barnsley v Preston North End Saturday 13th January 2007 Kick-Off 3pm.
Tickets for the big game are priced at:
East Stand and West Stand Upper Tiers
Adults £22.00
OAP/Juvenile £13.00
Juveniles (U11) £7.00
Barnsley Chronicle Family Area
Adults £22.00
OAP £13.00
Juvenile £13.00
Juveniles (U11) £7.00
East Stand Lower and West Stand Lower
Adults £21.00
OAP/Juveniles £12.00
Juveniles (U11) £6.00
Enterprise PLC Stand (Pontefract Road End)
Adults £20.00
OAP/Juveniles £12.00
Juveniles (U11) £6.00
All Disabled Areas £20.00
Helpers FREE OF CHARGE
To book tickets for forthcoming matches simply phone the Oakwell Box Office on 01226 211200. Alternatively call at the Box Office in person; contact the Box Office by fax on 01226 211444 or e-mail
boxoffice@barnsleyfc.co.uk. Please note that Juvenile U11 tickets must be purchased in advance from the Oakwell Box Office and this price will not be on sale on the turnstiles under any circumstances.