It’s sometimes nice to go back to where it all started. Mark Robins did that on Saturday, but things just seemed so much different. Robins started his reign as Barnsley manager against Watford in a game that finished 1-0. That one at Vicarage Road back in September finished in the Hornets’ favour however and left The Reds rooted firmly to the bottom of the Championship with just a single point. Five months, 10 wins and 35 points later, the two sides met for the return game at Oakwell. That finished 1-0 but this time to Barnsley, and it moved the perennial relegation candidates to ninth position- just three points off the play-offs. Now Barnsley have only finished in the top half of this division ONCE in the past 11 years (granted they were not in it for four of them) but as the chants of EIEIEIO rang out at the final whistle, some supporters are dreaming of more!
Is it plausible? Why not would be the cry, every year a side makes a late surge into the top six but in the last 20 years, the lowest number of points needed to get into the play-offs was 70- and that has only been on one occasion. This means to extend The Reds season beyond the first Sunday in May, they are going to have to garner at least 31 points from their final 18 matches- Robins accrued 29 points from his first 18 games in charge, but if the Plymouth game had stood it would be 32. The dream is there but at the moment it is still a dream.
At the weekend The Reds- not for the first time under Robins- showed the ability to win when not at their best, although Watford were not much better. The manager went with the same 4-4-1-1 formation that dismantled Preston in midweek, but for that system to work, every player has to be on their game, like at Deepdale. At Oakwell a few weren’t. Anderson De Silva who performed the “in the hole role” so superbly on Tuesday night had one of his worst games in recent times, constantly losing possession, and he posed no threat whatsoever to the Watford backline. It was no surprise that the team looked better when Anderson came off for Jay Rodriguez and Robins went 4-4-2- ironically the goal arrived just a minute after that change.
Both teams started the game in hesitant mood which was not surprising considering the fact that although both sides had enjoyed thumping midweek wins they were not in the best of form- Barnsley’s 4-1 win at Preston was only their second victory in 2010, whilst Watford’s 3-0 triumph over Sheffield United was their first win in eight and they hadn’t won on the road since October. The major bright spot in a dull first half was Felipe Teixeira. The star man by all accounts on Tuesday he showed the skill and awareness that makes it all the more surprising as to why West Brom have only afforded him 290 minutes of league football this season. Incidental his only league start for Albion this season came in a 5-0 thumping of Watford, and although there was no chance of the score-line ever being remotely close to that at Oakwell, he still ran the show, producing tricky runs and sublime passes- including one excellent outside of the foot effort that Andy Gray knocked on to Emil Hallfredsson to grab the winner.
Barnsley have only scored in the first half at home once in their last nine matches at Oakwell so it was no real surprise they didn’t do it against Watford and the only real chance of note came when Henri Lansbury spun in the area and was seemingly brought down by Carl Dickinson. It was 50-50 whether “Dicko” got man or ball, thankfully referee Fred Graham said ball.
The game finally broke into life after 54 minutes. Nathan Doyle- who is finally starting to show himself as a competent player, hit an absolute beauty from 25 yards that smacked off the base of the post. It was a strike of real quality and he could not have caught the ball any better. The injustice felt at that chance going begging was soon remedied a minute later. Great skill by Teixeira saw him slip the ball through for Gray, who put Hallfredsson one on one with Adrian Mariappa. The Icelander did brilliantly to nip past the full-back and leave himself against keeper Scott Loach. Hallfredsson cracked the ball with his left foot and although the England Under 21 international managed to get his right hand to the effort, the power of the strike meant he could only help it in off the inside of the post.
Now The Reds had something to hold onto and with a top ten place up for grabs, the expectation and indeed nerves set in around Oakwell, and Watford started throwing men forward. Their cause was helped by Ryan Shotton’s ridiculous lunge with 14 minutes remaining. Shotton, who was having a pretty sloppy game anyway, was fouled twice as he attempted to wriggle through, but the referee gave nothing and as the ball seemed to be slipping away, he lunged for it, taking out Lloyd Doyley in the process. Graham instantly produced the red card- Shotton’s second of the season and which means he is now banned for four matches. HHenr
It was Barnsley who next threatened however. A poor back pass by Martin Taylor allowed Gray in, but the big striker was at a very acute angle and his effort across the face of goal was palmed away by Loach. After this it was some real backs to the wall stuff, with Watford throwing literally everything at a Reds rearguard with just four clean sheets all season. Watford thought they had grabbed the equaliser with just two minutes remaining, as a diving header from John Eustace found the net, but the referee had already blown for a push. Five minutes of injury time were put up on the board but as Watford continued to push, the time seemed to extend, and in the SEVENTH minute of added time, came a moment which may prove pivotal in Barnsley’s season.
Lansbury was awarded a free kick right on the edge of the area, for a debatable foul by Teixeira. And the Arsenal loanee curled an inch perfect effort towards the top corner. Luke Steele- who has suffered some heavy criticism in recent weeks produced a quite breath-taking stop, diving full length to turn the ball away. That save won the match, and “little old Barnsley” lie just three points off the play-off places. Not bad for a side, bottom the last time these two sides battled out to a 1-0 finish.
Player Ratings:
Luke Steele: Has been stung by criticism in recent weeks, especially after his howler gifted Reading the game last weekend, but answered all that with a quite magnificent save in injury time. 7
Carl Dickinson: Still cannot imagine him having a bad game. Solid as always.7
Stephen Foster: The Reds best defender. Held the back four together superbly, and was magnificent in those seven minutes of injury time. 8
Darren Moore: A man who seemed to relish the aerial bombardment that Watford offered. Made up for his terrible back pass at Preston. 7
Ryan Shotton: Was having a poor game by his normally high standards before he ended it with a lunge on Doyley. 4. Sent Off.
Felipe Teixeira: Like a magician on the ball and can get out of tight spaces. Totally ran the show, firstly from the wing and then in the centre. 8.5
Nathan Doyle: That second half against Leicester seems to have to been the making of him and he now looks like a proper holding midfielder. Went thudding into challenges and was desperately unlucky not to get only his second ever goal (his first ironically also came against Watford, for Hull in the Championship play-offs in 2007) when his brilliant drive smacked off the post. 8
Hugo Colace: He now seems the sole weak link in the midfield, why Jacob Butterfield cannot get a game over him is beyond me. Didn’t fancy the physical game that Watford brought. Booked. 5
Anderson De Silva: Had his worst game in a long time. Constantly dallied on the ball and Watford refused to give him the time and space to orchestrate moves. Needs to be able to adapt to physical teams. Subbed. 4
Emil Hallfredsson: Was having a quiet game before he showed great skill to beat Mariappa and a great finish to open the scoring. That was his third goal of the season and he’s starting to look dangerous in the final third. 7
Andy Gray: Worked his socks off upfront and never stopped running. Unfortunately for him, Anderson wasn’t as keen to run off him like on Tuesday and he looked even more dangerous when Rodriguez came on alongside him, showed by his effort that Loach did well to save. 7.5
Substitutes:
Jay Rodriguez (for Anderson 54) Although he couldn’t repeat the feat of scoring with his first touch, he showed some nice movement and looks comfortable with the ball at his feet. His introduction also helped Gray. 7
Unused Substitutes:
David Preece, Luke Potter, Jacob Butterfield, Adam Hammill, Jon Macken, Iain Hume.
Sponsor’s Man of the Match: Felipe Teixeira
BarnsleyBoy's Man of the Match: Felipe Teixeira: Agree with the sponsors again. Teixeira ran the midfield- something we haven’t seen from a Barnsley midfielder for a while.
WATFORD: Loach, Mariappa, Lansbury, DeMerit, Cowie, Helguson, Doyley (Hoskins 85), Jenkins (Graham 63), Harley, Taylor, Eustace.
Subs: McGinn, Lee, Bennett, Bryan, Hodson.
Most Impressed by Watford’s: Henri Lansbury: You can tell he has been brought up the Arsene Wenger way. Looks very classy on the ball and nearly grabbed the equaliser with that free-kick at the death.
Ref Watch: Fred Graham: Another no-mark with only three other Championship games under his belt this season. Seemed to spot every niggle and tug on a Watford player but missed EXACTLY the same things when they happened to Barnsley players. Showed his fifth red card in just 18 matches this season and I don’t think anybody but him knows where seven minutes of injury time came from! 3
Coca Cola Championship Results Saturday 6th February 2010:
BARNSLEY 1-0 Watford
Blackpool 1-2 Leicester
Bristol City 1-1 Coventry
Doncaster 1-2 Reading
Ipswich 1-1 Middlesbrough
Nottingham Forest 2-1 Sheffield Wednesday
Peterborough 1-0 QPR
Plymouth 0-1 West Brom
Scunthorpe 1-2 Crystal Palace
Sheffield United 1-1 Derby
Swansea 2-0 Preston
Friday 5th February 2010
Newcastle 5-1 Cardiff
Barnsley lie in 9th place in the Coca-Cola Championship with 39 points from 28 games.
We are 3 points off the Play-Offs, 17 points off the Automatic Promotion Places, 20
Points off First place and 10 points above the Relegation Zone.
Up to 8/2/10
Next Up:
On The Road:
Coca-Cola Championship Matchday Twenty Nine: Middlesbrough v Barnsley Tuesday 9th February 2010 Kick-Off 8pm.
Tickets:
ADULTS - £26.00
SENIOR CITIZENS (OVER 65) - £16.00
JUVENILES (UNDER 18) - £13.00
At Oakwell:
Coca-Cola Championship Matchday Thirty: Barnsley v Plymouth Argyle Saturday 13th February 2010 Kick-Off: 3pm
East Stand and West Stand Upper Tiers
Adults £22.00
OAP/Juvenile £12.00
Juveniles (U12) £6.00
Family Area
Adults £22.00
OAP £13.00
Juvenile £13.00
Juveniles (U12) £7.00
East Stand Lower and West Stand Lower
Adults £21.00
OAP/Juveniles £12.00
Juveniles (U12) £6.00
CK Beckett Stand (Pontefract Road End)
Adults £20.00
OAP/Juveniles £12.00
Juveniles (U12) £6.00
All Disabled Areas £20.00
Helpers FREE OF CHARGE
Please note that Juvenile U12 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.