Relegation now feels like a formality as an injury time goal at bogey side Coventry cut Barnsley NINE points adrift of safety following Reading’s win at Preston.
This defeat at the CBS Arena coupled with Derby’s victory over fellow relegation rivals Peterborough also means Barnsley are FOUR points adrift at the bottom of the league.
This was Barnsley’s sixth defeat in their last seven league games with four of those being by a 1-0 scoreline.
The winning goal was scored in injury time, the first time Barnsley have lost a match in this manner since December 2019 when they lost 3-2 at Cardiff.
It is the first time a goal this late has been the only goal to consign Barnsley to defeat since March 2014 and a 1-0 home defeat to Bournemouth.
It is however the SIXTH goal conceded by Barnsley in the 90th minute or later in their last nine visits to a Coventry home ground.
Barnsley remain on their longest wait for an away win in a season for 46 years following an 12th defeat in 16 Championship games on the road in 2021-2022.
The Reds are the only club in the EFL yet to win away from home this season with this their longest wait since the 1975-1976 Division Four campaign when it took until the 19th away match to register a victory (at Huddersfield in March 1976) – one of only two away successes that season.
In all competitions they have gone 20 away matches without a victory which includes Championship, Playoffs and EFL Cup, their longest winless run on the road since another run of 20 in the aforementioned 1975-1976 season.
This result continued Barnsley’s horrendous record at Coventry (and the many different stadiums they have played at) They have failed to win an away game with the Sky Blues for 99 years now! Last doing so in August 1923 this was the 20th defeat in 27 visits since.
They have also lost each of their last four away games with Coventry and 13 of the last 15.
This was the third successive away meeting with Coventry in which Barnsley have failed to score, last doing so in a 4-3 defeat in 2015.
Barnsley failed to have a shot on target in this game, the second time this season they have failed to test a goalkeeper, also v Bournemouth in September.
Barnsley Team:
40. Brad Collins
2. Jordan Williams
30. Michal Helik
6. Mads Andersen
7. Callum Brittain
21. Romal Palmer
17. Claudio Gomes
26. Remy Vita
4. Callum Styles
14. Carlton Morris
28. Domingos Quina
Substitutes:
10. Josh Benson (for Palmer 71)
44. Devante Cole (for Vita 77)
15. Jasper Moon (for Brittain 82)
Unused Substitutes:
1. Jack Walton, 23.Will Hondermarck, 24. Aapo Halme, 33. Matty Wolfe
Coventry Team:
1. Simon Moore
15. Dominic Hyam
5. Kyle McFadzean
3. Jake Clarke-Salter
20. Todd Kane
14. Ben Sheaf
8. Jamie Allen
18. Ian Maatsen
10. Callum O'Hare
17. Viktor Gyökeres
9. Martyn Waghorn
Substitutions:
30. Fabio Tavares (for Waghorn 84)
23. Fankaty Dabo (for Kane 90+6
Unused Substitutes:
4. Michael Rose, 13. Ben Wilson, 26. Jordan Shipley, 27. Jake Bidwell, 34. Ricardo Dinanga.
Coventry manager Mark Robins said:
"They made the game the way that it was, but the goal from Dominic was a really good finish and something we needed. You could see the relief.
"But for a little bit of tiredness or lack of quality at times we could have hurt them a lot more and put them to the sword a lot earlier.
"I'm grateful for the three points. I thought the performance was good - there were some really good performances and better performances from players, so you put the three points in your back pocket and move on."
Match Reports:
Official Website
BBC
Sky Sports
Sky Bet Championship Results
SATURDAY 19TH FEBRUARY 2022
Fulham (1st) 1-2 Huddersfield Town (5th)
Ward 31
Holmes pen 43
De Cordova-Reid 82
Bristol City (16th) 2-1 Middlesbrough (7th)
Weimann 7
Semenyo 68
Crooks 90
Cardiff City (19th) 1-1 Blackpool (15th)
Ekpiteta 11
Bagan 49
Coventry City (10th) 1-0 BARNSLEY (24th)
Hyam 90+3
Derby County (22nd) 1-0 Peterborough United (23rd)
Sibley 90+2
Luton Town (8th) 2-0 West Bromwich Albion (11th)
Jerome 55
Campbell 82
Preston North End (12th) 2-3 Reading (21st)
Lucas Joao 2
Lucas Joao 19
Swift 55
Johnson 57
Archer 74
Queens Park Rangers (4th) 1-1 Hull City (20th)
Forss 26
Chair 75
Sheffield United (6th) 4-0 Swansea City (17th)
Gibbs-White 14
Baldock 17
Sharp 38
Gibbs-White 78
Stoke City (13th) 2-2 Birmingham City (18th)
James 12
Campbell 25
Campbell 52
Gardner 58
Barnsley lie in 24th place in the Sky Bet Championship with 17 points from 31 games. We are 33 points off the Play-Offs, 41 points off the Automatic Promotion Places, 47 points off First Place and 9 points inside the Relegation Zone.
Up to 20/02/22
Next Up:
On The Road:
Sky Bet Championship Matchday Thirty Two: Hull City v Barnsley, Tuesday 22nd February 2022. Kick-Off: 7:45pm
At Oakwell:
Sky Bet Championship Matchday Thirty Three: Barnsley v Middlesbrough, Saturday 26th February 2022. Kick-Off: 3pm