It wasn't pretty. In fact it was downright rubbish! But Barnsley grabbed their first away win of the season, second away goal of the season, third derby win of the month (and season), first win at Doncaster since 1969 and their first South Yorkshire "double" since the promotion season of 1996-1997 when they beat Sheffield United home and away.
Winter is certainly setting in as it was absolutely freezing at the Keepmoat Stadium where over 3,100 Reds fans converged on their first time to Doncaster's new stadium hoping to see their side emulate what Barnsley did on their first visit to Belle Vue- win.
Doncaster meanwhile were looking to end a horrible run of eight defeats in nine - with just a 0-0 draw to punctuate it.
And after 90 minutes of pure dross, it is not hard to see why these two occupy the bottom four.
As I've mentioned, it feels like a thousand times, Barnsley had won nine out of 52 Championship away games and the only reason they made it ten out of 53 was due to the fact Doncaster were really even worse.
Anybody who witnessed the 3-0 drubbing from Crystal Palace on SKY would have seen how bad The Reds perform on their travels. Well last night they were actually WORSE than at Selhurst Park and we all owe a massive debt of gratitude to Rovers manager Sean O'Driscoll for pairing Jason Price and Lewis Guy upfront.
Price, made his home debut for Rovers, two years ago against Barnsley and grabbed both goals in a 2-0 win. He looked a shadow of that player last night.
On a least three occasions in the first half he sent decent half-chances high into the away following and looked totally bereft of confidence. Thankfully for Rovers, Anderson De Silva did his best to beat Price's attempts to hit the ball as high above the net as he could. Let me just say I thought Anderson was terrific in midfield. He produced some great tackles and passes but, as has been shown in previous games his shooting is woeful,
Firstly Jamal Campbell-Ryce- who was shackled superbly by James O'Connor- managed to pull the ball back to the Brazilian Anderson who blazed over and then he did the same thing minutes later after beating two men wonderfully to give him the whole goal to aim at.
Iain Hume went closest for either side on 30 minutes when he managed to engineer a yard of space but his curling effort flew just wide of Neil Sullivan's goal and it was an awful error by the veteran former Wimbledon and Leeds keeper which handed Barnsley their second away goal of the season after 42 minutes.
Sullivan had been at fault for two of Barnsley's four goals against Rovers at Oakwell at the start of the month and maybe age is catching up with him after last night's fumble.
More lovely play from Anderson saw him slip Jon Macken in the clear. And when you're a striker with just one goal in your last 15 games (ironically against Doncaster) the one thing you would love to see is the goalkeeper to allow the ball to squirm through his legs. Sullivan duly obliged and Macken had his seventh goal for Barnsley.
Lewis Guy's frustration caught up with him in stoppage time when he was rightfully booked for throwing himself over Dennis Souza's leg in the penalty area. Pity Steve Tanner didn't realise nobody had touched Guy at Oakwell.
Now for the second half. Lets just say Barnsley had NO intention whatsoever of trying to extend their lead and with Macken left isolated upfront, Rovers dominated possession.
The one chance The Reds had though so very nearly brought a second.
On 48 minutes Hume showed great persistence to chase down O'Conner and he raced down the left wing before pulling the ball back. Sam Hird just got in front of Martin Devaney's diving header and the ball just dropped behind Macken who was waiting for a tap-in.
That though really was it. Doncaster pumped ball after ball after ball into the Reds area but Darren Moore and Souza were simply terrific in getting it away. And when they did miss a clearance, Heinz Muller cleaned up. None more so than when after a mass scramble in the area, Price hooked the ball from six yards towards goal and Muller made a great block.
The closest Rovers came to an equaliser after that arrived in injury time when substitute Paul Heffernan's volley clipped the top of the crossbar but referee Alan Wiley had already blown for a foul on Souza.
At the final whistle Barnsley fans celebrated a vital away win. It was probably in relief rather than joy. But with our away record, any win on the road is cause for celebrations!
Player Ratings:
Heinz Muller: Despite seeing most of the ball in his area. He had very little to do. Hardly troubled but produced some great catches at the end. 7
Rob Kozluk: Another great game. Was the only Barnsley player willing to run forward with the ball in the second half. Solid. 8
Dennis Souza: Three immense games in a row? Surely there's a stinker coming. Marvellous again. 9
Darren Moore: Changing everybody's opinion on him. Won everything in the air and produced comical entertainment when he stripped off mid-match! 9
Stephen Foster: Completed a rock-solid back five. Rarely ruffled. 8
Martin Devaney: Had no interest in the game at all. Couldn't be bothered to run, track back or tackle. Disgusting performance. Subbed. 0
Hugo Colace: Found it quite hard going but never stopped working and was excellent at the end. Booked. 7.5
Anderson De Silva: His shooting is laughably poor but in terms of technique when it comes to tackling and passing he was the best man on the pitch. Dominated the midfield. 9
Jamal Campbell-Ryce: Ran the show when Rovers came to Oakwell but was completely nullified by O'Connor. Frustrating night. 5
Jon Macken: Must wish he could play Doncaster every week. Will never get an easier goal and his link-up play was spot on. Subbed. 8
Iain Hume: Worked his socks off again and even defended very well in the second half. Subbed. 7
Substitutes:
Kayode Odejayi (for Hume 79) Oh dear. 6ft odd, built like a brick outhouse but couldn't challenge in the air. Summed up his performance when he ran down the wing with the ball and ran it out of play. 3
Bobby Hassell (for Devaney 79) Came on to add my defensive steel to the defence and performed well. 7
Miguel Mostto ( for Macken 89) Never got the opportunity to get forward but played very well in a defensive position. 7
Unused Substitutes:
Diego Leon, Maceo Rigters
BarnsleyBoy's Man of the Match: Kozluk, Souza, Moore, Anderson and Macken all played very well with Moore shading it.
Doncaster: Sullivan ,O'Connor ,Mills ,Van Nieuwstadt (Hird ,24 ) ,Roberts ,Coppinger ,Wilson (Hayter ,73 ) ,Woods ,Guy (Heffernan ,73 ) ,Price ,Elliott
Subs not used: Byfield,Taylor,
Most Impressed by Doncaster's: James O'Conner. Completely nullified Campbell-Ryce.
Ref Watch: Alan Wily: Made some strange decisions but was great to see him go tumbling in the second half. 5
Coca-Cola Championship Results: Tuesday 28th October 2008:
Bristol City 0-0 Sheffield United
Burnley 1-0 Reading
Cardiff 2-0 Blackpool
Crystal Palace 1-2 Nottingham Forest
Derby 3-1 Norwich
Doncaster 0-1 BARNSLEY
Ipswich 1-1 Charlton
Preston 2-0 Watford
QPR 1-0 Birmingham
Sheffield Wednesday 0-1 Plymouth
Southampton 1-1 Coventry
Wolves 2-1 Swansea
Barnsley lie in 21st place in the Coca-Cola Championship with 15 points from 14 games.
We are 7 points off the Play-Offs, 15 points off the Automatic Promotion Places, 16 points off First place and 2 points above the Relegation Zone.
Up to and including 30/10/08
Next Up:
On The Road:
Coca-Cola Championship Matchday Fifteen: Charlton Athletic v Barnsley Saturday 1st November 2008 Kick-Off 3pm
Tickets:
Adults - £25
Senior Citizens (60 and over) - £15
Under 21's- £15
Juvenile (18 and Under)- £1
Official Reds on the Road coaches will be making the trip to the Valley. Price: £23 The coaches leave Oakwell at 9am on the day of the game.
At Oakwell:
Coca-Cola Championship Matchday Sixteen: Barnsley v Sheffield United Saturday 8th November 2008 Kick-Off 3pm
Tickets:
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
CK Beckett 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 0871 2266777. 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.
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