I may have to eat my words tonight.
After weeks of lambasting Marc Richards and asking for him to be kicked out for Dean Windass, he turns up trumps with two absolutely fantastic goals to grab Barnsley’s first victory at the City Ground since 1948! ( This was also the first double over Forest since that particular season)
The feeling among Barnsley fans right now is “Can we play on Sky every week”
After great performances on the box against Bradford and Luton this was certainly up with it.
The game did have a pretty sluggish start to it on what for a fantastic stadium had a very poor pitch.
The Reds though started the game with some wonderful slick football that Richards finished after 14 minutes.
The ball bounced off Commons leg in midfield and fell straight to Paul Hayes. His flick released Richards and surprisingly the Forest defence didn’t chase after him at a strong pace. Richards then cantered into the area, drew keeper Paul Gerrard and smashed the ball home.
This failed to rouse Forest and Barnsley were really buzzing around the Forest area.
On 31 minutes Barnsley were in dreamland thanks to a goal that I didn’t know Richards had in his locker.
First he charged down an attempted clearance from Wes Morgan, then muscled him out of the way before curling an absolute beauty past a flat-footed Gerrard from fully 25 yards. Magnificent.
It could have been 3 when Chris Shuker ( who had a far far better game than against The Dons) cut inside and his strike flew just wide of the post.
The second half was to be inevitably quieter but not before a lovely one-two between Hayes and Richards within a minute of the second half released Hayes but his strike crashed agonisingly back off the cross bar.
This was the signal for Forest to bring men forward, but Paul Reid and Matt Carbon were simply imperious although Carbon did pick up his 5th booking of the season.
The closet Forest came was on 56 minutes when Nick Colgan comfortably tipped a Nicky Southall effort over the bar.
Unfortunately though the gloss was taken slightly off the victory with both Stephen McPhail, who ran the midfield, and Chris Shuker limping off, McPhail’s injury in particular leaving cause for concern.
Still this was a crucial game and for at least 24 hours we are up to 4th within 4 points of second, even the title isn’t out of reach ( ok maybe not)
The most pleasing aspect for me was the resilience the team showed when they were put under pressure in the second half, Reid and Carbon didn’t let anything past them. Last season we would have conceded at least one if not two. We were strong in all areas, we just need more of those and less of the Walsall performances and a trip to Cardiff could very well be in the cards. Nottingham Forest have the best home record in the league ( although they have only picked up one more home point than us) and to inflict on them their first home defeat since September is something to be extremely proud of.
COME ON YOU REDS!!!
Player Ratings:
Nick Colgan: Fairly untroubled but dependable and solid when called upon. 7
Neil Austin: Tigerish as ever. Tyson’s frustration saw him sent off for bringing him down. 7
Matt Carbon: Mirrored the performance he gave against Forest at Oakwell. Simply awesome and Tyson and Holt got nothing out of him. Booked. 9
Paul Reid: Just as good as Carbon. On this form there isn’t a better defensive partnership in the league. 9
Bobby Hassell: Produced some terrific tackles, especially in the second half. Starting to put in consistently good performances. 7
Chris Shuker: Got to give him credit tonight because he gave his all and we even saw flashes of the Shuker that relished taking people on. A heavy knock forced him off. Subbed. 7
Jacob Burns: Solid partnership with McPhail tonight. He did all the dirty work that let McPhail roam. 7
Stephen McPhail: Ran the midfield all night his passing was spot on and he just seemed so at ease. Big worry when he was injured after a poor tackle. Subbed. Booked. 8
Martin Devaney: Poor tonight put his team-mates to shame with his lacklustre display. The clips Sky showed in the build up were all him. Failed to show up on the night though. 5
Paul Hayes: Great showing from Hayesy again tonight. So unlucky that his effort hit the bar. Subbed. Booked. 8
Marc Richards: Ridiculed for weeks, terrific tonight, two excellent goals, more of the same please Marc. 9
Substitutes:
Brian Howard ( for McPhail 69) Got stuck in well, helped the defence see the game out. 7
Daniel Nardiello ( for Hayes 77) Anonymous again but to be fair the ball was rarely up his end second half. 6
Paul Heckingbottom ( for Shuker 86) Came on for injured Shuker and saw out last 4 minutes. 6
Sky’s Man of the Match: Marc Richards
Barnsley Boy’s Man of the Match: Could have been a number of people, Carbon and Reid especially but after all the criticism he’s took from yours truly I’ll happily hand it to Mr Marc Richards!
Coca Cola League One Results Friday 27th January 2006
Nottingham Forest 0-2 Barnsley
Southend 2-0 Swindon
Barnsley lie in 4th place in League One with 48 points from 29 games. We are in the Play-Offs by 4 point, 4 points off the Automatic Promotion Places and 16 points clear of the Relegation Zone.
Next Up:
At Oakwell: Barnsley v Bristol City Saturday 4th February 2006 Kick Off 3pm
This is a Category B Match
On The Road: Doncaster Rovers v Barnsley Saturday 11th February 2006 Kick Off 3pm
Tickets:
Seating: Adults: 18.00 Concessions 12.00 Standing: Adults 15.00 Concessions 8.00
Note: This match is ALL TICKET NO TICKETS WILL BE AVAILABLE FROM DONCASTER
Coach Tickets: 8.00 The coach will leave Oakwell at 1pm on the day of the game
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