A woeful second half performance saw Barnsley's 12 match unbeaten home record smashed to bits against a resurgent Norwich side.
Before today's game Norwich had won just twice on their travels whilst Barnsley had suffered that solitary home blotch on the opening day of the season.
And for 45 minutes it looked like being a home banker. That's the trouble though at the moment. The Reds are only turning up for the first 45 minutes at Oakwell and paying the price. In the last three home game The Reds have played extremely well in the first half and being in front in the last two games but yet have failed to bag the points. 2-0 up against Southampton last time out, The Saints did us a favour by only scoring two after the break. Norwich were not in such generous mood.
The game started quite bizarrely. Heinz Muller and Stephen Foster were both ruled out of the side by Davey yesterday, both started whilst Bobby Hassell, a right back played on the left and Marciano Van Homoet who has done well at left back switched to the right.
It didn't seem to matter. Playing confidently and stroking the ball around with ease, it looked like the six match winless run in the Championship would come to an end. Even Kayode Odejayi excelled upfront! His pace and power seriously unnerved Norwich's veteran defender-cum striker Gary Doherty. In fact straight from kick-off Odejayi surged through only to be denied by a last ditch tackle from Doherty. It set the tone for an exciting opening half with Odejayi involved in everything. He brushed off Doherty on 13 minutes but just missed the target, whilst the lively Jamal Campbell-Ryce raced away down the right hand side and Odejayi was inches away from converting his low cross.
Barnsley got their reward with 18 minutes gone. Martin Devaney cut in from the left hand side, Norwich's defence simply parted and Devaney flashed a shot that goalkeeper David Marshall got a hand to but couldn't stop ending up in the far corner of the net. That should have provided the catalyst for a thumping victory. Unfortunately it never arrived. Norwich shored up at the back although Odejayi again got the better of Doherty and the Irishman had to get a handful of shirt to stop the big man.
Second half though was as different as chalk is to cheese. Norwich came out fighting and were level within three minutes.
Grant McCann and Campbell-Ryce collided as they went for the same ball and winger Mark Fotheringham raced away before slipping through Ched Evans who coolly slipped the ball past the advancing Muller into the far corner. It was Evans's third goal in just seven starts for Norwich and they had won in the previous two games he had netted as well.
With ex Manchester City man Lee Croft pulling the strings Norwich looked like scoring every time they attacked. Barnsley's supposed playmaker- captain Brian Howard was simply anonymous.
Every time Croft got control of the ball he eased past Howard and McCann and with Fotheringham and Evans on the wing, Norwich were toying with The Reds. Only Foster seemed capable of stemming the tide and he twice made crucial interventions to stop Croft.
And the speedy Croft should have given Norwich the lead after 61 minutes but contrived to hit a Miss of the Season contender.
Another mistake by McCann allowed Evans to break, he fed Croft who came up one on one with Muller. From six yards out, central to goal, he slipped the ball past Muller but somehow against the post.
It was a warning The Reds didn't heed and five minutes later Norwich got the luck which had previously deserted them. Fotheringham hit a speculative 30 yard shot that took a wicked deflection off Foster and sent Muller the wrong way. It was a cruel goal to concede but one that Norwich deserved none the less. It now became a case of trying to stop the rampant Canaries from adding to their total. We couldn't and with 15 minutes left the game was wrapped up.
A great corner from Fotheringham was met by Dion Dublin and he arched an header that Muller got fingertips to but could only help onto the inside of the post and in. Dublin and the 1100 Norwich fans couldn't hide their delight. Dublin should not have even been on the pitch after elbowing Foster in the first half but it just wasn't Barnsley's day. Davey threw on Michael Coulson, new boy Diego Leon and Istvan Ferenczi to try and find a way back into the game but only Dublin's wastefulness - scooping over an open goal- stopped Norwich turning the scoreline into a rout.
The Reds have now gone seven games without a win and in that time have gone from 8th, three points off the play-offs, to 15th, seven points off the relegation zone. The early season optimism of pushing the top six now seems a long way off. Davey must urgently sort out a leaky defence, poor midfield and scoreless attack. We can only hope rumours of Nyatanga. Anderson and Macken's return come to reality. Without them all we can focus on is getting to 50 points as quickly as possible!
Player Ratings:
Heinz Muller: Had very little to deal with in the first half and then had no answer to Norwich's second half onslaught. 6
Marciano Van Homoet: Played at right back and suffered a bit. Kept going to the end. 6
Dennis Souza: Snuffed out Dublin in the first half but when Croft and company came racing his way in the second half he crumbled. Not one of his best days. 5
Stephen Foster: Suffered a nasty elbow from Dublin just before half time but the only one of the defence holding the side together. Two excellent challenges on Croft stopped Norwich running away with the game. 7
Bobby Hassell: Looked calm and assured in the first half. But lost out badly to Fotheringham after the break. Can you see a pattern emerging here? 6
Martin Devaney: Has to be applauded for a well taken goal but that was the sum total of his contribution. Continually gave the ball away a shocking choice for Man of the Match. 5
Brian Howard: Hasn't had a good game for two months now. The game totally bypassed him today. He offered nothing. 4
Grant McCann: Why played in the centre Ill never know. Although I suppose when Togwell's the only other option it doesn't leave much choice. Two mistakes led to Norwich scoring and somehow missing when Croft hit the post. Needed for his free kicks and that about it. £200,000 from Scunthorpe? We should have snapped their hand off! 4
Jamal Campbell-Ryce: Lively in the first half but as the game centred mostly on Barnsley's area after halftime he rarely saw the ball. Always tried to get The Reds moving forward. One bright spark. 7
Miguel Mostto: Davey said give him time. He's had six months now and still looks like the biggest waste of £400,000. Odejayi's flickons were dreams for most strikers, but not Mostto who was miles behind play every time Odejayi won the ball in the air. Plays with a smile but no skill! 3
Kayode Odejayi: Looked a different player to recent weeks. A real menace with his strength and pace. Gary Doherty didn't know what had hit him. He quietend up second half when we failed to use him. 7.5
Substitutes:
Michael Coulson (for Mostto 68) I think we expected too much after his previous two cameos. Didn't have much chance to get in the game. Had one shot blocked. 6
Diego Leon (for Campbell-Ryce 73) First of all I was surprised it was JCR who was withdrawn but Leon showed signs of quality. One neat turn was the best action we saw in that dreadful second half. Another glove-wearer! 6.5
Istvan Ferenczi (for Devaney 79) His first action was to be penalised for backing in. actually that was his only action. 5
Unused Substitutes:
Rob Kozluk, Sam Togwell
Norwich: Marshall, Otsemobor, Doherty, Shackell, Bertrand, Croft (Huckerby 72), Fotheringham, Camara, Russell, Dublin (Ryan Jarvis 90), Evans (Cureton 79).
Subs Not Used: Gilks, Cave-Brown.
Sponsors Man of the Match: Martin Devaney
BarnsleyBoy's Man of the Match: Stephen Foster: Without him it could have been a rout!
Impressed by Norwich's: Lee Croft: Best player on the park! We couldn't deal with him in the second half!
Ref Watch: Rob Shoebridge: Obviously doesn't know the advantage rule. Yet another poor, poor, poor referee!