The great irony from today was that Marc Richards missed TWO open nets at the Galpharm, whereas just up the road Dean Windass (on his return from a five game suspension and on his 37th birthday) grabbed a hat-trick for Bradford. This will have been firmly etched on the minds of the 3,500 loyal bunch that made the short trip across Yorkshire to see their beloved Reds dominate but fail to put the ball in the net and therefore lose to a deflected effort.
This was a game Barnsley really needed to win if they still harboured genuine hopes of automatic promotion and oh boy shouldn't they have.
Paul Hayes scampered away after just five minutes before playing in a much improved Chris Shuker but his effort was superbly cleared off the line.
Much of the talk leading up to this game was on how Barnsley's back-line would deal with the presence of Andy Booth. Matt Carbon's failure to recover from injury heightened these fears.
Yet he was superbly marshalled by Antony Kay and only escaped once in the whole match, a fine header from the lively Chris Brandon's cross met by an equally terrific stop from Nick Colgan.
The first half was generally scrappy and really cried out for a Jacob Burns type player to grab it by the scruff of the neck (The Reds have now gone 6 games without victory since his departure).
Barnsley though did have a great chance with 2 minutes to go to the break; Paul Hayes turned in the area but fired his shot over.
Second half was much improved and a half that Barnsley should have secured a much needed three points.
Before Barnsley could threaten though, Huddersfield grabbed a very fortunate lead after 55 minutes.
Andrew Holdsworth, delivered a low cross which, Gary Taylor-Fletcher (who grabbed the late leveller at Oakwell) stabbed towards goal, Colgan produced a good block but unluckily the ball rebounded back off the shins of Taylor-Fletcher and into the back of the net.
Instead of wilting though The Reds flooded forward, with Shuker finally finding something like his best form and within 3 minutes they should have been level.
Shuker produced a delightful effort that looped over Terriers keeper Phil Senior but came back off the underside the bar, it fell perfectly to Richards who from barely 3 yards controlled it and somehow managed to scuff it across the area, Hayes desperately tried to turn it in but the flag went up for offside. A true sitter from Richards.
Less than 10 minutes later Richards did it again.
Barnsley broke away through Shuker who played a superb ball through to Hayes who in turn delivered a fine ball across the area for Richards who was surging in, but with the goal gaping he side footed it wide! Truly amazing!
Hayes fired wide with two more efforts but any chance of an equaliser evaporated thanks to 5 minutes of madness from Daniel Nardiello.
After Richards 2nd awful miss, the away support bellowed for the introduction of Nads.
He arrived, got booked for kicking the ball away after been caught offside and was shown a second yellow minutes later for still arguing about the earlier decision.
Huddersfield nearly snatched a killer second two minutes later but after been thwarted in exactly the same way in the first half, Shuker denied Danny Schofield by knocking his effort over the bar from on the line.
Barnsley pushed forward once more at the death and Brian Howard turned a Robbie Williams cross over from 7 yards and Barnsley lost ground once again.
This is well and truly Barnsley's “bad run” as they have now gone 6 games without a win since beating Colchester 1-0 when everybody thought 2nd spot was ours for the taking. It has come at such the wrong time though and with ALL the strikers misfiring the lack of goals could ultimately cost Barnsley promotion this season.
The defence, Antony Kay in particular were superb, the midfield led once again by the excellent Stephen McPhail caused Town countless problems but the fact remains you can't miss two open nets like Marc Richards did if you want promotion.
I criticised Richards earlier in the season and then ate my words after his 2 superb goals against Forest, but he has failed to produce since then and his chances must surely be dimming. He wins very few headers and spends most of his time complaining to the referee and then misses gilt-edged chances like today.
6 games ago automatic promotion was very much a reality, now the play-offs are looking bleak.
The next three games are Chesterfield at home, Oldham away followed by champions elect Southend at home. A MINIMUM of 6 points realistically needs to be gained from these games, and if performances like today keep coming with just a little bit of luck then that target is easily manageable, if not then we will be looking over our shoulders at Forest and Donny ready to knock us into our favourite midtable position.
Ill finish how I started. Marc Richards missed TWO open nets at the Galpharm, whereas up the road Dean Windass (on his return from a five game suspension and on his 37th birthday) grabbed a hat-trick for Bradford. Your right Ritchie, you really do live and die by your strikers…
Player Ratings:
Nick Colgan: Produced one terrific save from Booth, was really unlucky with the goal and had NOTHING else to do. 7
Neil Austin: Impressed again but seemed to limp off when replaced straight after the goal. Subbed. 7
Antony Kay: Was terrific and barely gave Booth a sniff, can be proud of his performance. 9
Paul Reid: Along with Kay dealt with Huddersfield's aerial presence and was unlucky not to get to the ball before it crossed the line for the winner. 7
Paul Heckingbottom: Looked solid enough down the left, could possibly have been his best game for the club today. Subbed. Booked.7
Chris Shuker: His second half performance was the best he's played for months, so unlucky with the effort that hit the underside of the bar and put the ball on a plate for Richards to miss. 8
Stephen McPhail: Majestic again. He just seemed to know what to do and time and time again he bemused the Huddersfield midfield. 9
Brian Howard: Worked well with McPhail but doesn't offer the same bite that Burns did. That's not his fault though and always worked hard. Booked. 7
Martin Devaney: Showed a few glimpses of his skills but as I've said many times before, he's either majestic or miserly, I'm afraid it was a miserly today. Subbed.6
Paul Hayes: Deserved a better strike partner today. He ran the Huddersfield defence ragged from the first minute to the last, worked his socks off and laid on countless chances for his team-mates. 9
Marc Richards: Missed 2 open nets that would have given The Reds victory. Along with the referee cost Barnsley the game. Booked. 3
Substitutes:
Robbie Williams (for Austin 55) Worked well down the left wing and put in some decent crosses. 7
Daniel Nardiello ( for Devaney 70) Fans cried out for his introduction but 5 minutes of madness saw him disappear down the tunnel 15 minutes after. Booked. Sent Off. 4
Anthony McParland (for Heckingbottom 83) How are we supposed to judge this kid on 7 minutes Ritchie?!?!?. 6
Unused Substitutes: Scott Flinders, Nicky Wroe.
Barnsley Boy's Man of the Match. it's a joint award this week as I can't choose between Paul Hayes, Stephen McPhail and Antony Kay.
Impressed by: Huddersfield's Chris Brandon: Looked pacey and a threat.
Coca Cola League One Results Saturday 1st April 2006
Blackpool 2-0 Walsall
Bournemouth 1-1 Southend
Bradford 4-2 Scunthorpe
Bristol City 2-1 Yeovil
Chesterfield 1-3 Nottingham Forest
Colchester 1-1 Brentford
Doncaster 3-1 Rotherham
Huddersfield 1-0 Barnsley
Friday 31st March 2006
Hartlepool 1-1 Oldham
Tranmere 3-0 Port Vale
Barnsley lie in 7th place in League One with 62 points from 40 games. We are 1 point off the Play-Offs, 6 points off the Automatic Promotion Places and 19 points above the Relegation Zone
Next Up:
At Oakwell: Barnsley v Chesterfield Saturday 8th April 2006 Kick-Off 3pm
This match is a Category A match.
On the Road: Oldham Athletic v Barnsley Saturday 15th April 2006 Kick-Off 3pm
Tickets:
Purchased before the day:
Adults: £21
Senior Citizens: £11
Under 16s: £11
Under 12s: £3
Purchased on the turnstiles:
Adults: £22
Senior Citizens: £12
Under 16s: £12
Under 12s: £4
Official Reds on the Road coaches will be making the trip to Boundary Park.
Tickets: £9. The coach leaves Oakwell at 12:15pm on the day of the game.