Coca-Coca Championship Matchday Thirteen: Nottingham Forest 1-0 Barnsley

After the heartbreak of last night it's probably difficult to look at the positives but a lot can be taken from these back to back away games The Reds have just had. Despite being second best in both games, they have taken three points; it should have been four and could even possibly have been six. There are very fine margins between victories, draws and defeats and it is safe to say Barnsley and their travelling support has witnessed them over the last few days.

At Doncaster on Saturday, The Reds were often over-run and chasing shadows, but probably shaded the game in terms of chances and managed to put one away to turn one point into three. Last night on a wet night in Nottingham, The Reds were again second best in the possession stakes- with the midfield once again struggling badly- but yet had the more clear cut scoring chances. This time they failed to take any of them and in the 92^nd minute Guy Moussi struck for Forest to turn one point into none for the Oakwell men. That one point would have moved Barnsley up to 18^th; instead one swing of a Gabon's foot deep into injury time dropped them to 20^th and kept Nottingham Forest seventh, but amazingly just two points off the top of the Championship.

This game saw the divisions two most inform teams go head to head but it was Forest who looked the classier side throughout. Just like at the Keepmoat, The Reds started off the brighter and could have been in front in the opening two minutes when Iain Hume curled a free kick onto the top of the crossbar and over. From then on though Forest seem to take control, finding space within the midfield where Emil Hallfredsson and Hugo Colace looked totally lost, and just like on Saturday long balls were hoisted in vain to Jon Macken and Hume.

Forest should have taken the lead with 22 minutes on the clock but what could be described as the miss of the season ensured they didn't.

Chris Cohen floated in a cross that David McGoldrick flicked to the back post where Dexter Blackstock was waiting just two yards out, somehow his slide in shot came back off the crossbar and five minutes later Luke Steele came to the rescue for The Reds. McGoldrick looked to be at least five yards offside, but the linesman kept his flag down and the ex Southampton man raced clear but was denied by a smart stop from Steele's legs.

Despite all the possession, The Reds rearguard marshalled by the excellent Stephen Foster and Darren Moore were standing firm and Barnsley nearly grabbed a shock lead just before half time when Macken managed to hold off Wes Morgan but was denied by Lee Camp.

There was real shock at the start of the second half when Barnsley made a substitution BEFORE the 60^th minute. Mark Robins obviously seeing that the "small" partnership of Macken and Hume wasn't working and it was Macken who came off to be replaced by the bigger and stronger Andy Gray.

The change certainly worked. The Reds now had somebody to hold the ball up in the Forest half but it was slightly worrying to see that Gray was playing as a lone striker. As the long balls kept coming, Gray kept doing excellently to hold them up, but most of the time had nobody to lay the ball off to.

The first chance of the second half did go to The Reds though. Hammill seemed to clearly push Cohen out of the way but the referee waved play on and the former Liverpool man forced Camp to beat the ball away for a corner. From the corner Hammill drifted the ball right to the far post where substitute Julian Gray was waiting unmarked. He picked the wrong option though and headed the ball straight into the side netting.

Barnsley were still creating the better chances despite seeing little of the ball and Hallfredsson could have redeemed himself for an inept performance with ten minutes remaining as he collected the ball 25 yards out but his curling effort was again well saved by Camp. With three minutes remaining, Hammill was tripped on the edge of the area and Dickinson slammed the free kick straight into the wall.

As the game went deep into four minutes of injury time, it looked like The Reds had ground out a point but their old Achilles heel surfaced in the 92^nd minute. The Reds, surprisingly, had yet to drop points via an injury time goal this season, but it finally came last night.

A long ball was fired deep into the Barnsley area, Dele Adebola chested it down and Guy Moussi barged in front of Moore, Colace and Dickinson to fire past Steele.

Moussi was shown a second yellow card for jumping into the crowd, but it was Barnsley who were left gutted.

The Robins Revival hit the buffers last night but the attitude in the last two games suggests it wont be halted for long.

Player Ratings:

Luke Steele: Kicking is still an issue but produced two good stops to keep Forest at bay. Had no chance with the goal. 7

Carl Dickinson: Struggled last night and his continous stream of long aimless balls is a worry. Booked. 4

Stephen Foster: Excellent at the heart of the defence again. Stood up to everything. The look of horror on his face when Moussi struck summed up how gutted he was. 8

Darren Moore: Absolute rock again! Got his body in front of everything, but right at the end didn't deal with Adebola, and he set up Moussi for the winner. Booked. 7.9

Ryan Shotton: Another very good display. His tackling is spot on and coped well throughout. 7.5

Adam Hammill: Drifted in and out of the game. Had one very good chance and when on the ball he looked dangerous. Needs to be involved more though throughout the game. 7

Hugo Colace: Back to his pathetic performances. Doesn't like the 50-50 balls and had no impact on the game. He really needs to buck up his ideas. 2

Emil Hallfredsson: Not sure if he's still struggling from the internationals but it was another laboured, lacklustre performance. Went very close with an effort near the end but he and Colace were easily outfought and outthought. 4

Anderson De Silva: Another who flattered to deceive. Couldn't get on the ball enough. Disappointing after having a good impact on Saturday. Subbed. 5

Iain Hume: Went close with a free kick early on but couldn't seem to get in the game, due mainly to a lack of service. Its frustrating to see long balls aimed at a player who is so good with the ball at his feet. Subbed. 6

Jon Macken: Another who lack of service affected. Went close near the end of the first half but with the way the game was going it was the right decision to replace him with Gray. Subbed. 5

Substitutes:

Andy Gray (for Macken 45) Worked like a Trojan as a lone striker and made sure the ball sticked when it was hoisted up. 7.5

Julian Gray (for Hume 57) Looked like something would happen when he received the ball but often picked the wrong option, including heading into the side netting when well placed. 6

Daniel Bogdanovic (for Anderson 90) Brought on after the goal as The Reds went five upfront with seconds remaining. Should have been on a lot earlier. N/A

Unused Substitutes:

David Preece, O'Neil Thompson, Jacob Butterfield, Nathan Doyle.

BarnsleyBoy's Man of the Match: Stephen Foster- Held the defence together superbly. Didn't deserve to see it thrown away at the death.

NOTTINGHAM FOREST: Camp, Morgan, Wilson, Anderson (Garner 76), Tyson (Majewksi 67), Cohen, Gunter, McGoldrick, McKenna, Moussi, Blackstock (Adebola 71).

Subs: Chambers, McGugan, McCleary, Smith.

Most Impressed by Nottingham Forest's: Wes Morgan: One Morgan who can be admired. Was a rock at the back for Forest.

Ref Watch: Nigel Miller: The ref himself didn't have a bad game but his assistants were very poor. Most of the time they looked at Miller for assistance on things like throw-ins, corners and goal kicks. Clearly both were not up to the job. Ref rating: 7 Linesmen ratings: 1

Coca Cola Championship Results Tuesday 20^th October 2009

Blackpool 3-0 Sheffield United

Bristol City 3-1 Plymouth

Cardiff 2-0 Coventry

Doncaster 3-1 Peterborough

Ipswich 1-1 Watford

Leicester 2-0 Crystal Palace

Middlesbrough 2-0 Derby (Middlesbrough sacked manager Gareth Southgate after this game)

Nottingham Forest 1-0 BARNSLEY

QPR 4-1 Reading

Scunthorpe 2-1 Newcastle

Sheffield Wednesday 1-2 Preston

West Brom 0-1 Swansea

Barnsley lie in 20^th place in the Coca-Cola Championship with 14 points from 13 games.

We are 8 points off the Play-Offs, 10 points off the Automatic Promotion Places, 10

points off First place and 6 points above the Relegation Zone.

Up to 21/10/09

Next Up:

On The Road:

At Oakwell:

Coca-Cola Championship Matchday Fourteen: Barnsley v Bristol City Saturday 24^th October 2009 Kick-Off 3pm.

Tickets:

East Stand and West Stand Upper Tiers
Adults £21.00
OAP/Juvenile £12.00
Juveniles (U12) £6.00

Family Area
Adults £21.00
OAP £12.00
Juvenile £12.00
Juveniles (U12) £6.00

East Stand Lower and West Stand Lower
Adults £20.00

OAP/Juveniles £11.00
Juveniles (U12) £5.00

CK Beckett Stand (Pontefract Road End)
Adults £19.00
OAP/Juveniles £11.00
Juveniles (U12) £5.00

Carling Cup Fourth Round: Barnsley v Manchester United Tuesday 27^th October 2009 Kick-Off 7:45pm

Tickets:

EAST STAND UPPER TIER
The East Stand Upper Tier is sold out although there is still extremely limited availability in the Family Area.

EAST STAND LOWER TIER
There are virtually no tickets remaining in the East Stand Lower Tier.

CK BECKETT STAND (PONTEFRACT ROAD END)
There is still limited availability in the CK Beckett Stand.

WEST STAND UPPER AND LOWER TIERS
Tickets are still available in both the West Stand Upper and West Stand Lower Tiers.

Tickets are priced at £25 for adults and £15 concessions.

Coca-Cola Championship Matchday Fifteen: Peterborough v Barnsley Saturday 31^st October 2009 Kick-Off 3pm

Tickets:

ADULTS - £22.00 (Standing £17.00)
SENIOR CITIZENS (OVER 60) - £14.00 (Standing £14.00)
STUDENTS - £14.00 (Standing £14.00)
JUVENILES (UNDER 16) - £10.00 (Standing £10.00)

Man of the Match: Stephen Foster