A Barnsley team minus departing captain Brian Howard put in arguably their best performance of the season against "bogey" team Norwich but all too familiar failings in front of goal stretched The Reds goal-less drought to four matches- the worst run without a goal since September 2005 when they also went four games without a goal, yet ended up promoted in May.
A similar feat is highly unlikely this season but victory yesterday would have propelled Barnsley out of the Championship relegation zone.
It should have happened as well. Jon Macken's poor penalty- the first penalty The Reds have missed in three years- was the main talking point but there were ample opportunities to consign that miss as little more than an irrelevance.
Barnsley should have been in front in the opening minute. Spaniard Diego Leon saw that Norwich keeper David Marshall was off his line and produced an outrageous yet brilliant effort from fully 50 yards that Marshall just got back to on the line to tip the ball over the bar. From the resulting corner Darren Moore saw a header blocked on the line.
Defender on the line came to Norwich's rescue again on 12 minutes. Iain Hume's cross found Jamal Campbell-Ryce and his effort was blocked by Matty Paterson.
After failing to even muster an effort on target in the previous two games against Southampton and Cardiff, this felt like Christmas!
Anderson De Silva was simply brilliant in midfield producing an array of runs and tricks that totally bamboozled the Norwich midfield and he was ably assisted by Hugo Colace who put in some magnificent challenges and broke up play to allow Anderson to get forward.
But creating chances and taking them is something completely different and it was never better illustrated than after 14 minutes when Colace's header struck Patterson on the arm and referee Nigel Miller pointed to the spot.
After 31 consecutive successful penalties (including 100% successes in three penalty shootouts) confidence was high that The Reds would go 1-0 up for only the third time this season. With regular penalty taker Howard in the stands, Jon Macken who scored a penalty at old club Preston in April and was captain for the day, stepped up.
But he displayed all the confidence of a striker without a goal in 10 games and his effort was tame and easily repelled by Marshall.
Such was Barnsley's dominance it took until the 28th minute for Norwich to muster an effort but goalkeeper Heinz Muller who a great reception on his return to the side, was again at his best to beat away Antoine Sibierski's header after he was found by former Chelsea youngster Ryan Bertrand.
The second half was more even but still largely bossed by The Reds. Stephen Foster nearly handed Norwich the lead though with what would have been Own Goal of the Season if it had gone in.
Muller played the ball out to Foster who then proceeded to give the German it back but too much height and power in his pass and it flew over Muller's head but luckily landed the wrong side of the post.
Davey threw on Martin Devaney and Kayode Odejayi but in all honesty the goal never really looked like coming.
We can only hope rumours of Dean Windass arriving are proven true because just as it looks like Simon Davey has got his defence and midfield sorted, the attack is faltering badly.
Player Ratings:
Heinz Muller: Made two good stops either side of half-time but it was a quiet afternoon for the returning German. Two clean sheets out of two. 7
Rob Kozluk: Still needs to calm down with those rash challenges but was spot-on defensively. Produced a great header on the line in the second half. 7
Dennis Souza: Outstanding! Won absolutely everything! Was a rock. 9
Darren Moore: There's still a long way to go but he seems to be getting better. Like Souza was never beaten. 8
Stephen Foster: A pretty poor afternoon. Nearly scored a comical own goal and offered nothing with his crosses. 5
Diego Leon: Bundle of energy in the first half and Norwich simply couldn't deal with him. Nearly scored a Beckham-esque 50 yard goal in the first minute. Tired towards the end. 8
Anderson De Silva: Boy is it good to see him back. A ball playing midfielder is what we have being missing and with him there we saw a massive cut in hoof-balls. One move in the first half where he flicked the ball back and then through the legs of a Norwich player was brilliant. 9
Hugo Colace: Has the makings of a great partnership with Anderson. Sat in front of the back four and didn't put a foot wrong Great performance. Anderson suffered when Colace was subbed. Booked. Subbed. 9
Jamal Campbell-Ryce: Always a threat and tried to work his way into goal-scoring positions. Tried to take too much on though at times. 7.5
Jon Macken: Worked his socks off and actually one of his best games for the club but the poor penalty miss will have hit his confidence. Subbed. 7
Iain Hume: Ran his blood to water throughout the game. Looked absolutely shattered near the end but never really had a sniff of goal. 7
Substitutes:
Martin Devaney (for Colace 69) Injected some fresh pace but his crossing was poor. 6
Kayode Odejayi (for Macken 73) Unfortunately his introduction led to the team resorting back to long balls. Norwich were far more comfortable from then on. 5
Unused Substitutes:
Luke Steele, Bobby Hassell, Miguel Mostto.
Sponsor's Man of the Match: Jamal Campbell-Ryce
BarnsleyBoy's Man of the Match: Hard to pick one from a very good team performance but Anderson was simply class.
NORWICH CITY: Marshall, Otsemobor, Stefanovic, Croft (Hoolahan 75), Grounds, Fotheringham, Russell, Bertrand, Omosuzi, Patterson (Cureton 61), Sibierski.
Subs: Drury, Koroma, Nelson.
Most Impressed by Norwich's: Lee Croft: The only Norwich player who looked to have anything about him.
Ref Watch: Nigel Miller: Good. Got most things right and let the game flow. A nice change. 8
Other Reports:
FootyMad
Official Website:
BBC
Coca-Cola Championship Results: Saturday 27th September 2008:
BARNSLEY 0-0 Norwich
Blackpool 1-1 Coventry
Burnley 3-1 Preston
Cardiff 1-2 Birmingham
Charlton 1-2 Sheffield Wednesday
Doncaster 0-2 Southampton
Ipswich 1-1 Crystal Palace
Plymouth 1-0 Nottingham Forest
QPR 0-2 Derby
Reading 4-0 Swansea
Sheffield United 2-1 Watford
Wolves 2-0 Bristol City
Barnsley lie in 24th place in the Coca-Cola Championship with 5 points from 8 games.
We are 7 points off the Play-Offs, 14 points off the Automatic Promotion Places, 15 points off First place and 2 points inside the Relegation Zone.
Up to and including 27/9/08
Next Up:
On The Road:
Coca Cola Championship Matchday Nine: Ipswich Town v Barnsley Tuesday 30th September 2008 Kick-Off 7:45pm:
Tickets:
Adults - £28.00
Senior Citizens (60 and Over) - £19.50
Students (With Valid NUS Card) - £19.50
Youngsters (16 - 19) - £19.50
Juvenile (16 and Under) - £10.00
Please note that there will be an increase of £2.50 on tickets if purchased from Portman Road on the day of the game.
Official Reds on the Road coaches will be making the trip to Portman Road. Price: £23. The coaches leave Oakwell at 2:15pm on the day of the game.
At Oakwell:
Coca-Cola Championship Matchday Ten: Barnsley v Doncaster Rovers Saturday 4th October 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.
