Barnsley are still waiting for a player in red to open his account this season but they managed to grab a victory at the 13th attempt thanks to Patrick McCarthy’s own goal. It was The Red’s first victory since March and the first time they had secured three points in their first home match of the season since they were playing League One football in 2005.
After all the doom and gloom of the opening week when the Reds were thumped at QPR and dumped out of the Carling Cup by Rochdale, this was a refreshing performance from a team, which in my opinion, is only missing a top striker to be a very good team. Nathan Doyle was dropped from the starting line-up for the first time in seven matches and replaced by Diego Arismendi- the loanee from Stoke who was making his first appearance after missing all the pre-season friendlies and the 6ft2 midfielder gave an assured performance to help gel the team together. On the wings, Adam Hammill looked closer to the form he showed whilst on loan in 2008-2009 rather than as a permanent player in 2009-2010, but Kieran Trippier, picked on the left of midfield rather than full-back was clearly the man of the match with some excellent control and dangerous crosses. Reds fans hadn’t seen enough of the 19 year old in the three appearances he made last season before injury curtailed his loan spell, but if today is anything to go by the England U19 international could be a real asset in the first half of the season.
In defence the side looked more solid than it has in a long time with Bobby Hassell again magnificent, and Jason Shackell giving the back line the assurance and confidence that Darren Moore, at 36 years old, never could. In fact the defence was so strong that keeper Luke Steele, who had made gaffes in the opening two games, didn’t have a save to make the whole 90 minutes.
That just leaves the attack. Whilst Goran Lovre and Andy Gray worked hard, there was very little goal threat from either, something not surprising in Gray’s case as he has notched just six goals in 33 Barnsley appearances- one being a penalty and another after his initial spot kick was saved. Gray was originally brought into the club as a target man and he certainly won a fair share of his aerial duels this afternoon, but when you’re the only player up there, there isn’t actually anybody to flick the ball on to- the Oakwell faithful will have noted the absence of Iain Hume from the entire squad and judging by the fact the £1.2m Canadian has only started 16 of Mark Robins 46 games in charge, it can be presumed he will not be a prominent figure in this campaign.
Due to the lack of options “up top”, most of the Reds play came via the wings with Hammill and Trippier seeing a lot of the ball. So it came as no surprise when it was wing play that delivered the opening goal after 35 minutes. Arismendi released Jay McEveley down the left flank and his stinging low cross was turned home by the despairing lunge of McCarthy.
It should have been two right on the stroke of half-time when the Reds were denied an absolute stonewall penalty. Hammill jinked his way into the area and was barged to the ground by David Wright. You will never see a clearer penalty in your life but amazingly referee Neil Swarbrick who was perfectly placed, waved the appeals away.
The goal though seem to have reinvigorated Barnsley from their awful week and they were all over Palace at the start of the second half. Lovre and Hugo Colace combined well to release McEveley down the left, he drove into the area but was denied by the legs of Palace stopper Julian Speroni, before Trippier curled a beautiful left footer that just dropped wide of the post.
Another penalty claim was turned down after 65 minutes when Colace’s chip clearly clipped Claude Davis on the arm. Once again the referee was perfectly placed, once again he enraged three sides of Oakwell by pointing to his chest. It clearly struck Davis’ arm, the only question being if it was intentional or not.
Dangerous balls fizzed across the Palace area without anybody there to get a touch before the Eagles nearly stunned Oakwell with seven minutes remaining. An awful back pass from Stephen Foster sent Neil Danns into the area but Steele got his challenge spot on to flick the ball away rather than Danns’ legs.
The one moment of concern for The Reds arrived deep into stoppage time when Darren Ambrose’s free kick smashed into the face of Lovre and the Serbian had to be stretched off after a lengthy delay. The midfielder cum striker is currently being checked over in hospital but after a dreadful first week, there are smiles back on the face of Barnsley folk, and despite all the panic emitting from the results against QPR and Rochdale, this is the first time Barnsley have had this many points from two games since their first season back in the Championship! Heres to nine months of ups and downs!
Player Ratings:
Luke Steele – Has gaffed for goals in the opening two games of the season so will have been relieved to have had practically the afternoon off. Palace hit three goals in the first 41 minutes of their first game of the new season but threatened nothing today. 6
Bobby Hassell – Now in his seventh season with the club and seems to get better every year. Pushed forward at every opportunity and wasn’t beaten at the back all afternoon. 8
Stephen Foster – Good for most of the game but nearly gifted Palace an undeserved equaliser with a woeful backpass. Has to cut out these silly lapses to become a top Championship defender. 7
Jason Shackell – Offers so much confidence and looks completely composed on the ball. Never missed a challenge. 8
Jay McEveley – Another who never put a foot wrong, attacked well and his wicked cross was turned in by McCarthy for the winner. 7.5
Kieran Trippier – On this showing, harshly judged from last season. His ball control was excellent and he put in some terrific crosses that were begging to be finished. 9
Hugo Colace – Certainly looks better without Doyle alongside him but never really got into the game. Sent one effort just over. 6
Diego Arismendi - A promising start from the on loan Uruguayan. Showed composure and some nice touches before his lack of match action took its toll. 7
Adam Hammill – One of his better games and we can only hope he’s put a poor 2009-2010 season behind him. Always wanted the ball, ran at the Palace defenders and was a constant menace. Just needs to improve his crossing. 7.5
Goran Lovre – Worked hard and was a very good link-up man to bring Gray, Trippier and Hammill into the game. Suffered a worrying head injury right at the end of the game. 7
Andy Gray – Worked his socks off as we know he always does, but didn’t really offer much of an attacking threat. Needs a quicker, smaller striker alongside him. 6
Substitutions:
Nathan Doyle (for Arismendi 68) Well we managed 68 lovely minutes without the sight of Doyle. Then he came on, ran about a bit, thumped a few aimless balls and generally got in the way! 4
Martin Devaney (for Trippier 76) – Made one terrific turn and run to win a corner. Certainly looks like he still has a future at Oakwell, in his sixth season at the club. 6
Jacob Butterfield (for Colace 80) – Still must wonder what he has to do to start after impressing in pre-season. Didn’t see much of the ball. 5
Unused: David Preece, Luke Potter, Jeronimo Neumann, Liam Dickinson.
Sponsor's Man of the Match: Kieran Trippier.
BarnsleyBoy's Man of the Match: Kieran Trippier: No arguments with the sponsors, Trippier could be a class act at this level.
C Palace: Speroni, Wright, McCarthy, Davis, Clyne, Ambrose, Garvan, Dorman ( Djilali, 81 ) , Cadogan ( Danns, 46 ) , Lee, Zaha
Subs not used: Price, Andrew, Bennett, Barrett, Pinney,
Most Impressed by Crystal Palace’s: Neil Danns: Palace fans will have wished he had started because he was by far their best player. Kept Shackell and Foster alert the entire second half and nearly profited from a Foster error.
Ref Watch: Neil Swarbrick: Missed two blatant penalties. Obviously the standard of refereeing hasn’t changed for the new season. 4
Npower Championship results Saturday 14th August 2010:
BARNSLEY 1-0 Crystal Palace
Derby 1-2 Cardiff
Doncaster 1-1 Bristol City
Ipswich 1-1 Burnley
Leicester 0-0 Middlesbrough
Millwall 4-0 Hull
Portsmouth 1-1 Reading
Scunthorpe 0-1 Norwich
Sheffield United 0-3 QPR
Swansea 4-0 Preston
Watford 2-2 Coventry
Barnsley lie in 15th place in the Npower Championship with 3 points from 2 games.
We are 1 point off the Play-Offs, 3 points off the Automatic Promotion Places, 3
points off First place and 3 points above the Relegation Zone.
Up to 14.8.10.
Next Up:
On The Road:
Npower Championship Matchday Three: Bristol City v Barnsley Saturday 21st August 2010 Kick Off 3pm.
Tickets:
Adults - £25.00
Senior Citizens (Over 65) - £20.00
Students (With valid NUS) - £20.00
Juveniles (Under 16) - £10.00
Family Ticket (Two adults and two juveniles) - £60.00
Disabled Supporters - Contact the Box Office For More Information
At Oakwell:
Npower Championship Matchday Four: Barnsley v Middlesbrough Saturday 28th August 2010 Kick-Off 3pm
Tickets:
Adults - £25.00
Senior Citizens (Over 60) - £13.00
Juveniles (Under 18) - £13.00
Juveniles (Under 12) - £7.00