Coca-Cola Championship Matchday Twelve: Doncaster 0-1 Barnsley

Three successive victories for the first time since April 2007. One achieved when dominating the game (West Brom), one achieved with a goal in the final minute (Ipswich) and one achieved in a smash and grab raid whilst playing way below their best (Doncaster). Rumour has it those are all traits of a successful side.

Make no bones about it, yesterday was a pretty dire performance. Gone was the free flowing football that had been seen so far under new manager Mark Robins, and instead- particularly in the first half- came an horrendous long ball game that was doing no favours to the Reds strike force of Jon Macken and Iain Hume.

Doncaster quite simply outplayed The Reds in every department… except one, and that one is the most important department in football- scoring goals. It has been a familiar theme for Rovers since promotion to the Championship in 2007. They can play fantastic football but they simply do not score enough. That was very evident yesterday.

Barnsley can claim to have a midfield of genuine quality in the shape of Icelandic international Emil Hallfredsson, former Argentine U20 captain Hugo Colace, on loan Hull man Nathan Doyle and former Liverpool graduate Adam Hammill, but they were totally out-thought and out-passed by the Rovers quartet of Simon Gillett, James Coppinger, Martin Woods and Dean Shiels. Every time Rovers had the ball, there were men in space and real width down the flanks.

Whenever The Reds had the ball, there wasn't a blue and gold shirt to pass to and with Hallfredsson labouring on the left wing; The Reds might as well have had nobody there at all.

The Reds started off quite brightly and could have been in front in the opening two minutes when Colace lobbed the ball into the area for Hammill who was denied by a sprawling save from Neil Sullivan. Two minutes later Hume made the wrong decision when clear in the box. Instead of shooting for goal, he attempted to fire the ball across the box and Jason Shackell managed to clear. After that, Barnsley rarely touched the ball for the next 20 minutes.

In Coppinger and Woods, Rovers had a midfield two who were able to run the game at will. But a lack of a cutting edge was evident. The closest Rovers went to opening the scoring in the first half came after 19 minutes. Coppinger sent Gareth Roberts cross looping towards the top corner, but the returning Luke Steele produced an absolutely wonderful save to claw the ball away.

The Reds only forays forward were long balls (mostly from Carl Dickinson) which the Rovers central pair of James Chambers and Shackell were dealing with them far too comfortably. It has to be mentioned though that The Reds pairing of Stephen Foster and former Rover Darren Moore- who as a pairing had kept just one clean sheet all season, and none on the road since April- were truly magnificent. In Billy Sharp, Doncaster had a tricky customer who has been known to score against The Reds before, but he was completely kept in check. He only escaped once, in the first half when he slotted home from a clear offside position. Moore in particular put his body on the line yesterday, and produced some terrific blocks.

This ensured Rovers, for all their possession had just two clear chances, the one superbly saved by Steele and then an even better chance ten minutes in the second half. Shiels curled a beauty from 20 yards and with Steele only an onlooker, the ball cracked back off the crossbar.

This signalled changes on the Barnsley bench with Anderson and Jacob Butterfield replacing Hallfredsson and Macken within four minutes of each other and both improved the midfield greatly. Now Barnsley had ball winners in the middle of the park and the side looked far more threatening. Hammill curled one effort into Sullivan's mid-drif and with 16 minutes remaining, The Reds struck.

Hume's corner fell to Hammill at the near post; he twisted and turned his man before firing towards goal. It seemed to baffle Sullivan who must have been expecting a cross and was not on his line. As the effort came in he could only flick out a hand and help the ball in. Over 3,000 supporters behind the goal went mental!

It was nearly two four minutes later when another excellent Hume corner was met by Foster, but he powered his header over the bar.

The goal seemed to have demoralised Rovers and Anderson should have sealed the points with eight minutes remaining, but from an acute angle and with Andy Gray unmarked, the Brazilian smacked his effort against the outside of the post and wide.

Towards the end of the game a cry of EIEIEIO Up the Football League we go rang out. It may be a bit premature for that, but right now it's a good time to be a Barnsley supporter! Simon who?

Player Ratings:

Luke Steele: Despite Rovers dominance, Steele, returning after missing seven games with a broken finger, was a virtual spectator… apart from one moment when he proved his worth with a magnificent stop to deny Coppinger. 7

Carl Dickinson: Hoisted too many aimless long balls in the first half, but in his defence Hallfredsson was not supporting him down the left. Looked more composed in the second half when Hammill came across. 6

Stephen Foster: A rock alongside Moore. Repelled every Doncaster had and kept the pacy Sharp quiet. 8

Darren Moore: Just shades Foster in the MOTM stakes, purely because of the amount of headers and blocks he made. Was a brick wall that Rovers simply couldn't get round. 9

Ryan Shotton: Seemed to struggle early on and got booked but improved greatly thereafter. His performances belie his 21 years. 7

Adam Hammill: Had a very quiet game but then popped up when needed most to score the winner out of nothing. 7

Hugo Colace: Finally a performance a bit like the old Colace. Yes the midfield was over-run at times but until the introduction of the substitutes he was the best one. Got his foot in to stop what could have been dangerous attacks on more than one occasion. 7.5

Nathan Doyle: Found it tough going against Coppinger and Woods. This week it was Colace who helped him out. 5

Emil Hallfredsson: A totally laboured game in which he had no impact whatsoever. Playing for Iceland and the ensuring jetlag in midweek seemed to have had a big effect. 2

Iain Hume: As ever worked his socks off and probably should have scored in the opening five minutes. After that he was never a goal-threat but his corners always were, including the one to set up the winner. 7

Jon Macken: He wasn't helped by the amount of long balls that were sent his way. Worked hard but never really a threat. 5

Substitutes:

Anderson De Silva (for Hallfredsson 56) Had a real impact in the midfield. Slowed the game down to allow Barnsley to get men forward and his introduction finally gave the Rovers midfield something to think about. Should have sealed the game late on. 7.5

Jacob Butterfield (for Doyle 60) Another whose ball winning abilities were vital. He too could have scored when he slalomed past about four Rovers players but just couldn't get the space to finish. 7

Andy Gray (for Macken 77) The impact of all three subs suggests they should all have started. Gray offered height and strength upfront which had been sorely missing as the long balls came up. He gave Shackell a difficult time. 7

Unused Substitutes:

David Preece, O'Neil Thompson, Julian Gray, Daniel Bogdanovic

BarnsleyBoy's Man of the Match: Darren Moore- Was an immovable object!

DONCASTER ROVERS: Sullivan, Roberts (Heffernan 86), Chambers, Shackell, Hird, Shiels (Fairhurst 84), Woods, Gillett (Guy 86), Coppinger, Hayter, Sharp.

Subs: O'Connor, Spicer, G. Woods, Dumbaya.

Most Impressed by Doncaster's: James Coppinger & Martin Woods: A midfield pairing that dominated the game. If Rovers only had a finisher or two in their squad they would never have relegation fears.

Ref Watch: Graham Salisbury: Very fussy ref who insisted on checking that the ball was in the arc every time Hume took a corner.. It always was.. 5

Coca Cola Championship Results Saturday 17^th October 2009

Blackpool 2-0 Plymouth

Bristol City 1-1 Peterborough

Cardiff 1-1 Crystal Palace

Doncaster 0-1 BARNSLEY

Ipswich 1-1 Swansea

Leicester 0-0 Derby

Middlesbrough 0-1 Watford

Nottingham Forest 1-0 Newcastle

QPR 4-0 Preston

Scunthorpe 3-1 Sheffield United

Sheffield Wednesday 2-0 Coventry

West Brom 3-1 Reading

Barnsley lie in 19^th place in the Coca-Cola Championship with 14 points from 12 games.

We are 5 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 17/10/09

Next Up:

On The Road:

Coca-Cola Championship Matchday Thirteen: Nottingham Forest v Barnsley Tuesday 20^th October 2009 Kick-Off 7:45pm

Tickets:

ADULTS - £20.00
SENIOR CITIZENS (OVER 60) - £15.00
STUDENTS - £12.00
JUVENILE - (UNDER 18) - £12.00
JUVENILES (UNDER 12) - £6.00

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

Man of the Match: Darren Moore

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