A cold, wet murky afternoon was met by a similar performance from a Barnsley side who are once again enduring a miserable second half to a season as they slip towards midtable mediocrity.
Today’s uninspiring 2-0 home defeat to bogey side Norwich was the 12th time in the last 15 outings that the Reds have failed to register a three point haul- a far cry from the run of four wins in five in the run up to Christmas that took them to 10th in the Championship.
We have been here before. Whilst the first three campaigns back in the Championship were spent desperately trying to avoid the trapdoor back to League One, Barnsley looked in a comfortable position going into the latter stages of the 2009-2010 campaign as they sat 11th exactly a year ago. But a horrible run of one win in the final 13 matches saw them finish 18th. It looks like happening again, and could end up being even worse considering that the club are actually three points worse off than at this stage last season, and have won less, scored less and conceded more!
A major injury crisis is also developing at the back. Stephen Foster is out for around five weeks with a torn thigh muscle and The Reds lost both captain Jason Shackell and Bobby Hassell in the first half. Shackell who lost both his front teeth in a challenge with Henri Lansbury, should be fit enough for the trip to Derby County next weekend but the prognosis on Hassell- who had been moved into midfield because of injury to Nathan Doyle- is less clear after he limped off after just 22 minutes with a calf strain.
It is fair to say Hassell’s replacement did not fare any better. Much fanfare surrounded the loan arrival of striker Marlon Harewood and he received a rapturous reception from the largely muted Oakwell crowd when he replaced Hassell, but apart from missing a golden opportunity within seconds of coming on, he looked largely off the pace and well short of match fitness- surprising considering that he has had Premier League action with Blackpool this month.
His one chance came almost straight away. Goran Lovre shrugged off the attentions of Russell Martin, and cut the ball back from the by-line for a totally unmarked Harewood. But from seven yards out he skewed his side footed effort horribly wide.
It was Serbian Lovre who had Barnsley’s best chance of the game on 18 minutes. Jacob Butterfield- who had a shocking game by his normal standards- fired in a shot from 30 yards and Lovre flung his head at the ball forcing a fantastic reaction stop from Norwich keeper John Ruddy to turn it over the bar. If Ruddy thought he was in for a tough afternoon after that he was mistaken, as apart from a couple of routine crosses in a woeful second half, he had nothing to do.
Norwich, who are strong contenders for a second successive promotion were much brighter in every department and fully showed why they have been defeated just three times on their travels all season. Wes Hoolahan showed The Reds midfield up whilst the Canaries top scorer Grant Holt made Garry O’Connor and Harewood look like fools with his ability to trouble a defence and hold the ball up. If it was not for some excellent defending from Paul McShane, Holt would really have run riot and had more opportunities than the one he made for himself when he broke through the Reds offside trap in the dying seconds and forced a smart stop from Luke Steele’s shoulder.
The first goal was always going to be crucial and for the fourth time in the last five games it went to the opposition.
David Fox was given too much time by Matt Hill on the right and his low cross was met by a diving header from Andrew Crofts that nestled in the bottom corner. Seven minutes later the 26 year old hit an even better one. Collecting the ball on his chest just inside the area with his back to goal, he swivelled superbly and half volleyed it across Steele into the far corner.
The two first half substitutions probably did not help Barnsley but the second half was a real non-event and only the pace of Danny Haynes down the left gave The Reds hope of a comeback, but all too often his final ball let him down and it was Norwich who looked more likely to extend their lead with Crofts and Holt sending efforts narrowly wide.
Out of the final 11 games of the season, only five are against sides currently above Barnsley in the table but six are away from home. It promises to be a tough if not intriguing end to 2010-2011.
Player Ratings:
Luke Steele – No chance with either goal but his catching was again suspect with one fumble nearly gifting Holt a goal. 6
Matt Hill – Beaten too often down his flank but did get forward whenever possible. 6
Paul McShane - Barnsley’s Man of the Match by a country mile. Put his body on the line and kept Norwich out on his own most of the time. 8
Jason Shackell – Had been his usual assured self until a clash with Lansbury saw him lose two teeth and forced his withdrawal. Subbed. 7
Bobby Hassell – Was solid until his calf tightend up after just 22 minutes and was forced off. 6
Kieran Trippier – Got forward a lot in the first half and went close with a free kick right on half time. Faded after the break. 6
Diego Arismendi – Barnsley’s best central midfielder on the day. Broke up a lot of Norwich attacks, but his distribution was poor. 7
Jacob Butterfield – Had a stinker! Can usually place the ball on a sixpence, but today his passing was atricous! Constantly gave the ball away and seems to be adding credibility to Mark Robins opinion that he only performs when coming off the bench. 4
Danny Haynes – Barnsley’s best attacking option and his pace caused problems down the left hand side. His final balls were poor however and many of his crosses sailed straight in the arms of Norwich keeper John Ruddy. 7
Goran Lovre – Had Barnsley’s best chance when his instinctive header was well saved by Ruddy but apart from a couple of neat flicks he again flattered to deceive. 6
Garry O’Connor – Something is fundamentally wrong with this guy at the moment. Looked way off the pace, and although was strong in the air, the Norwich defence easily kept him quiet. 5
Substitutions:
Marlon Harewood (for Hassell 22) Produced a terrific reaction when he came on, but set the tone for a languid debut when he side footed a glorious chance wide within seconds of replacing Hassell. Looked well short of match fitness. 5
Jim O’Brien (for Shackell 42) Below mediocre is probably the best way to describe his debut season in England and that summed up his performance today. Never got into the game. 4
Andy Gray (for O’Connor 77) Followed the theme of Barnsley’s strikers today. Off the pace and totally nullified. The Norwich defence had an easy afternoon. 5
Unused: David Preece, Frank Nouble, Connor Branson, Danny Fearnehough.
Sponsor’s Man of the Match: Paul McShane
BarnsleyBoy's Man of the Match: Paul McShane – No qualms with the sponsors. Was head and shoulders above his team mates and ensured Norwich didn’t score more than twice.
NORWICH: Ruddy, Martin, Surman, Whitbread, Crofts, Holt, Lansbury, Hoolahan, Fox, Tierney, Ward.
Subs: Rudd, Drury, Gill, Edwards, Jackson, Smith, Wilbraham
Most Impressed by Norwich’s: Wes Hoolahan: Ran the show in midfield and had too much pace and trickery for the Reds midfield. Only surprise was he did not add to the nine goals he already has this campaign.
Ref Watch: Eddie Illderton: Handled the game well, but there were no nasty challenges from either side.
Npower Championship results: Saturday 26th February 2011:
BARNSLEY 0-2 Norwich
Bristol City 2-0 Scunthorpe
Crystal Palace 3-3 Reading
Doncaster 1-1 Watford
Hull 0-2 Cardiff
Ipswich 0-2 Portsmouth
Leicester 1-1 Coventry
Middlesbrough 0-3 QPR
Millwall 0-0 Nottingham Forest
Preston 1-2 Burnley
Sheffield United 0-1 Derby
Swansea 3-0 Leeds
Barnsley lie in 15th place in the Npower Championship with 42 points from 34 games.
We are 12 points off the Play-Offs, 20 points off the Automatic Promotion Places, 25 points off First place and 11 points above the Relegation Zone.
Up to 26.2.11
Next Up:
On The Road:
Npower Championship Matchday Thirty Five: Derby County v Barnsley Saturday 5thMarch 2011 Kick-off 3pm.
Tickets:
Adults - £25.00
Senior Citizens (Over 60) - £14.50
Juveniles (Under 18) - £9.50
Disabled Supporters - Contact the Box Office For More Information
At Oakwell:
Npower Championship Matchday Thirty Six: Barnsley v Scunthorpe United Tuesday 8th March 2011 Kick-Off 7:45pm.
Tickets:
Adults - £26.00
Senior Citizens (Over 60) - £14.00
Juveniles (Under 18) - £14.00
Juveniles (Under 12) - £7.00
Disabled Supporters - Contact Box Office for more information.