Barnsley failed to equal the club record of six successive away league victories but fought back from a goal down to continue their unbeaten start on the road in 2023-2024.
Their 17 point haul is still comfortably the best away tally in League One (four points more than the next best Derby County) and indeed only Championship leaders Leicester have a better record on the road (18) in the EFL.
This draw (only the Reds second of the season, which have both come away from home) extends their unbeaten start on the road to seven matches (W5 D2), their longest unbeaten start away from home since the Premier League promotion season of 1996-1997 when they did not lose until their eighth away match (W4 D3)
Joe Pigott’s penalty opener was only the third goal the Reds have conceded on their travels this season, only Ipswich (2) have conceded less on the road this season in the EFL however they have only played five away matches (League Two AFC Wimbledon have also conceded three but from eight)
Only Barnsley and Portsmouth remain unbeaten on the road in League One in 2023-2024 however the current League One leaders have played only five matches away from Fratton Park (W3 D2)
The Reds are now unbeaten in their last 11 League One away matches (W6 D5) – last suffering defeat at Burton on the 7th April. They have lost only two of the last 19 (W10 D7)
It is their longest unbeaten away run since a run of 15 which spanned two seasons and eight years. The run started on the 27th December 1938 with a 2-0 victory at Accrington Stanley which kick-started a run that saw them remain unbeaten in their final 10 Division Three North away matches of 1938-1939 (a season in which they won the league and promotion) before continuing at the start of the 1946-1947 Division Two season where they were unbeaten in their opening five away games. This run encompassed eight years due to the Second World War which meant there were no regular league matches played after the 29th April 1939 until the 31st August 1946.
Barnsley are the current League One top scorers having netted 26 goals in 13 games (two more than the next most – Oxford)
Leyton Orient’s goal came from the penalty spot, four of the 13 league goals Barnsley have conceded this season have come from this source – the Reds only conceded from five penalties in the whole of the 2022-2023 League One campaign.
It was the first time this season Barnsley have not lost when conceding the first goal and indeed the first time in 18 league matches (including play-offs) that they have rescued something from being 1-0 down, the last occasion being a 1-1 draw at Portsmouth in February.
Remarkably it the first time since the Championship Play-Off Semi-Final Second Leg at Swansea in May 2021 that Barnsley have been losing at half time in a league match and not gone on to lose, and the first time in a regular season game since April 2021 against Reading (both games finished 1-1)
Sam Cosgrove received two late yellow cards to become the first Barnsley player to be sent off in 2023-2024 and first since the play-off final.
Three of Barnsley’s last six red cards since the start of last season have been for strikers (Norwood, Watters, Cosgrove)
It was Barnsley’s first red card in the 90th + minute of a game since Ben Williams was dismissed at Wigan in August 2019.
Barnsley are unbeaten in five meetings with the Os however the five games do stretch over 42 years (W3 D2)
The two sides have drawn back to back meetings for the fourth time.
The Reds are unbeaten in their last two trips to this part of London (W1 D2) but have now won only three of 28 visits in total.
Both sides had 50% ball possession, the first time this has occurred in a Barnsley match since the final home league game of 2022-2023 v Peterborough and the first in an away game since March 2021 at Wycombe.
There were only 13 fouls in the game, the lowest in a Barnsley match since December 2021 v Huddersfield (12)
Barnsley Team:
23. Ben Killip
26. Jamie McCart
2. Jordan Williams
6. Mael de Gevigney
22. Corey O’Keeffe
10. Josh Benson
3. Jon Russell
8. Herbie Kane
7. Nicky Cadden
36. Max Watters
44. Devante Cole
Substitutes:
17. Barry Cotter (for O’Keeffe 45)
30. Adam Phillips (for Benson 59)
45. John McAtee (for Watters 59)
29. Owen Dodgson (for Cadden 77)
9. Sam Cosgrove (for Cole 77)
Unused Substitutes:
50. Kieran Flavell, 41. Jack Shepherd.
Leyton Orient Team:
1. Sol Brynn
12. Brandon Cooper
5. Daniel Happe
32. Rob Hunt
24. Jordan Graham
22. Ethan Galbraith
8. Jordan Brown
15. Idris El Mizouni
11. Theo Archibald
9. Joe Pigott
10. Ruel Sotiriou
Substitutions:
16. Aaron Drinan (for Pigott 68)
17. Shaq Forde (for Galbraith 88)
14. George Moncur (for Sotitriou 89)
Unused Substitutes:
13. Sam Howes, 4. Ed Turns, 2. Tom James, 3. Jayden Sweeney.
League One Results:
SATURDAY 21ST OCTOBER 2023:
Bolton Wanderers (4th) 2-1 Northampton Town (19th)
Charles 8
Williams 16
Hoskins 66
Burton Albion (9th) 4-1 Bristol Rovers (17th)
Evans 7
Lubala 26
Lubala 43
Powell 81
Baah 84
Charlton Athletic (10th) 4-0 Reading (23rd)
Aneke 54
Campbell 68
May 74
Leaburn 90+4
Cheltenham Town (24th) 1-0 Cambridge United (18th)
Sercombe 5
Exeter City (16th) 0-2 Wigan Athletic (21st)
Godo 8
Aimson og 90+7
Fleetwood Town (22nd) 0-1 Lincoln City (12th)
Mitchell 6
Leyton Orient (13th) 1-1 BARNSLEY (3rd)
Pigott pen 27
Kane 69
Oxford United (2nd) 1-1 Blackpool (7th)
Leigh 36
Rhodes 90+2
Peterborough United (5th) 2-2 Wycombe Wanderers (8th)
Hanlan 35
Randall 40
Mason-Clark 45+1
Mason-Clark og 61
Portsmouth (1st) 1-0 Carlisle United (20th)
Shaughnessy 90+3
Shrewsbury Town (15th) 1-0 Derby County (11th)
Hourihane og 56
Stevenage (6th) 0-0 Port Vale (14th)
Barnsley lie in 3rd place in Sky Bet League One with 23 points from 13 games. We are 3 points inside the Play-Offs, 5 points off the Automatic Promotion Places, 8 points off First Place and 15 points above the Relegation Zone.
Up to 22/10/23
Next Up:
At Oakwell:
Sky Bet League One Matchday Fourteen: Barnsley v Shrewsbury Town, Tuesday 24th October 2023. Kick Off: 7:45pm
On The Road:
Sky Bet League One Matchday Sixteen: Derby County v Barnsley, Saturday 11th November 2023. Kick Off: 3pm