Catman

Byfield, a 85th-minute replacement for Ivan Sproule, netted from 12 yards out after Marvin Elliott had headed Michael McIndoe's free-kick into his path.

It looked like the game was heading for a draw after Enoch Showunmi had twice pegged back Barnsley.

Jonathan Macken scored for the first time since he arrived on loan from Derby at the start of November to give Barnsley the lead after 33 minutes.

Macken collected a pass by Martin Devaney before unleashing a thunderous 25-yard shot into the bottom corner.

But the hosts were level within two minutes when Showunmi steered home a low left-foot shot after City captain Louis Carey had headed McIndoe's centre back across goal.

Dennis Souza restored Barnsley's lead in the 40th minute with only his second goal for the club - his first came against Bristol City in the Tykes' 3-0 win in the reverse fixture at Oakwell on October 2.

Adriano Basso got caught underneath Brian Howard's corner to leave his fellow Brazilian with the simple task of heading into an empty net from inside the six-yard box.

But Barnsley's joy was once again short-lived as Showunmi equalised on the stroke of half-time.

This time Tykes goalkeeper Heinz Muller made a mistake as he came to collect a cross by former Barnsley midfielder McIndoe. Showunmi pounced to head home from 10 yards out.

Muller had kept Barnsley in the game with a string of fine saves prior to Macken's opening goal.

The giant German prevented Lee Trundle from giving City the lead in the 10th minute when he reacted quickly to parry a curling 18-yard effort. McIndoe put the rebound wide.

Muller then produced two superb saves in the space of as many minutes just before the half-hour mark.

He plucked a 20-yard drive by Trundle out of the air before getting a hand on Sproule's shot to tip the ball around the post.

A flurry of goalmouth activity ensued with four goals coming in the final 12 minutes of the first half.

Barnsley started the second half positively with Devaney twice going close with shots from the edge of the area and Anderson De Silva stinging Basso's palms from long-range.

But their momentum was severely halted in the 54th minute when Jamal Campbell-Ryce, who was booked at the end of the first half for a foul on McIndoe, collected his second yellow card of the game and was sent off. The winger was booked for simulation by referee Keith Hill.

Both sides created little after that. The hosts struggled to break down Barnsley's 10 men while the Tykes could only muster a couple of long-range efforts from Howard and Macken.

Showunmi curled a 25-yard shot wide for City with two minutes remaining before Byfield snatched all three points for Gary Johnson's side with his sixth goal of the season.

 

Catman

Barnsley v Stoke
The Potters were heading for their first defeat in seven games but were handed a lifeline when Stephen Foster was dismissed for a foul on Ricardo Fuller.

Lawrence stepped up to convert and Lawrence grabbed his second penalty of the game, and complete his hat-trick.

It was the home side who had the first chance of the game when from a free-kick Grant McCann forced a save from Steve Simonsen from 35 yards in the opening two minutes.

Stoke were soon into their stride though and Lawrence was proving to be the dangerman - the winger forcing a clearance from Sam Togwell while his corner forced Heinz Muller to punch the ball to safety.

Barnsley's chances in the opening 20 minutes were few and far between, with the only opportunity falling to Jon Macken, who blasted Howard's cross over the crossbar.

Lawrence tried his luck again with a right-footed volley but after 23 minutes a foul by Richard Cresswell on McCann gave Barnsley a penalty and Brian Howard stepped forward to convert and give the home side a shock lead.

Stoke pushed forward and this time Lawrence's cross found Ryan Shawcross, who headed the ball wide.

Barnsley went close to increasing their lead when McCann forced Simonsen into action but their advantage was short-lived.

On the stroke of 30 minutes, the visitors levelled the scores with a penalty. Dennis Souza was adjudged to have fouled Ricardo Fuller and Lawrence stepped up to coolly converted the spot-kick.

Stoke could have added more with Lawrence again causing the Tykes' defence problems while Mamady Sidibe also went close with his header.

Barnsley almost re-established their lead in the opening minutes of the second half.

Shawcross blocked Istvan Ferenczi's 25-yard shot and the resulting corner from McCann forced a clearance from John Eustace and eventually a save from Simonsen.

At the other end, Stoke had their chances of going ahead. Togwell's foul on Rory Delap and the resulting free-kick from 25 yards saw Lawrence's effort hit the bar.

It was a missed chance that ended up costing the Potters as Barnsley grabbed their second goal thanks to a headed effort from Macken, who latched onto a cross from Martin Devaney.

Both sides pushed forward, Fuller and Lawrence going close for Stoke, while Barnsley tried to increase their lead through Ferenczi and Devaney was unlucky not to have increased the Tykes' lead further when he forced a fine save from Simonsen.

And Simonsen was called into action again to deal with a curling shot from Howard. But the Tykes were left to rue their missed chances as Lawrence popped up to grab his second of the game and draw Stoke level with a six-yard shot on 82 minutes.

The Potters barely had time to celebrate their goal when Barnsley re-established their lead.

Martin Devaney's initial shot was fumbled away by Simonsen, straight into the path of Macken who made no mistake in sending the ball into the back of the net.

A foul on Fuller by Foster, who was sent off for his second bookable offence, earned Stoke a penalty and Lawrence made no mistake in converting.

 

Catman

Barnsley V Southampton
The Tykes were 2-0 up at half-time and in total control after stunning strikes from midfielder Sam Togwell and winger Jamal Campbell-Ryce.

But Wright-Phillips replaced the ineffective Stern John on the hour mark and slipped a neat shot past Barnsley goalkeeper Heinz Muller with his first touch.

In the 70th minute, the former Manchester City striker applied another lethal finish to haul Saints level and cap an impressive fightback from George Burley's men.

Barnsley, despite their second-half surrender, will go into 2008 with their play-off ambitions firmly intact.

Simon Davey's cosmopolitan outfit are commanding respect and their potential was illustrated during an opening half played out amid driving rain and a swirling wind.

With just 21 seconds on the clock, Campbell-Ryce swung in a high cross from the right flank.

Saints could only clear the ball as far as Togwell, who fired a sweetly-struck half-volley into the top corner from 20 yards for his first goal of the season.

It should have been 2-0 soon after when Campbell-Ryce delivered another teasing cross from the right which Kayode Odejayi narrowly failed to connect from six yards.

Southampton, despite the adverse conditions, soon gained a foothold on the game and their customary passing game threatened to deliver an equalising goal.

One such sequence in the 18th minute culminated in Adam Hammill curling a shot agonisingly wide from the edge of the 18-yard box.

But 11 minutes before the break Barnsley claimed a second goal.

Istvan Ferenczi cleverly set Campbell-Ryce racing clear down the right flank and he produced a stunning diagonal finish which flew into the top corner.

Odejayi then beat the offside trap a minute later but fired hopelessly wide to spare Southampton further embarrassment.

Burley made a much-needed change at the break, replacing centre-back Darren Powell with Phil Ifill.

The switch gave Saints renewed impetus in attack but it was the introduction of Wright-Phillips for John which changed the game.

Within seconds of his arrival he latched on to a neat pass from Grzegorz Rasiak and clipped a crisp shot beyond Muller.

And the same combination produced Southampton's equaliser nine minutes later when Rasiak headed down and Wright-Phillips turned on a sixpence to rifle a low shot into the net from eight yards for his seventh goal of the season.

Wright-Phillips and Rasiak continued to dovetail effectively as the game wore on but a series of half-chances failed to bear fruit as Barnsley refused to buckle again.

 

Barnsleylad

Yeah got soaking wet!...was disappointed to lose a two goal lead (should have been more as well)...but in the end we were hanging on as Southampton found the cutting edge and decent football they strangely lacked in the first half!

At least we had a reasonable ref this time, as the last two we have had have been shocking!

 

Catman

Barnsley V Scunthorpe
Apart from Grant McCann's 74th minute goal, the Tykes had done little to warrant coming back from the two-goal deficit handed them by goals from Ian Morris and Kelly Youga.

But, with just seconds of injury-time remaining, referee Clive Oliver adjudged that Scunthorpe captain Andy Crosby had handled the ball inside the box following a scramble and Howard duly dispatched his eighth goal of the season.

It was rough justice for Nigel Adkins' Scunthorpe side, who had been by far the better side and looked set to record their first home win in 10 games and move out of the Championship relegation zone.

The Iron had been excellent value for their lead, although the first half had been a story of frustration for them until Morris' goal, as they constantly found their path to goal blocked by Heinz Muller.

The highly-rated German goalkeeper twice produced acrobatic saves to palm away long-range efforts from Morris and he also saved well from Jim Goodwin, while Jack Cork dipped an effort over the bar from the edge of the area.

Martin Paterson could also have broken the deadlock, firstly when he could only place an awkward volley into the hands of Muller when free in the box and secondly when he paused for too long when one-on-one with Muller, allowing Lewin Nyatanga to recover and make a superb tackle.

Scunthorpe were completely dominant by this stage and fully deserved the lead given to them by Morris' first goal of the season just five seconds shy of the end of the half.

An opening was worked on the edge of the box and Paterson and Cork combined well to play Paul Hayes in and the former Barnsley man did well to drag the ball back to the waiting Morris, who made no mistake in firing home past a stranded Muller.

The goal could not have come at a worse time for Barnsley - and things did not get any better for them when Youga doubled the lead just two minutes into the second period.

Kevan Hurst had already seen a good effort blocked when Youga drifted in down the right-hand side of the area, allowing him to almost pass a left-footed shot under the body of Muller - who should have done better.

To Barnsley's credit, they did rally somewhat afterwards and were worthy of McCann's 74th minute goal.

Howard and Kayode Odejayi had already spurned good chances by slicing effort wide of the goal, before McCann's strike.

After Odejayi proved to be too strong for Ian Baraclough, forcing the defender to give away a free-kick, McCann saw his initial 20-yard effort thump into the wall, before standing his ground to superbly volley home the rebound.

To underline their growing role in the game, Barnsley were soon going close again when Jamal Campbell-Ryce forced a superb save from Joe Murphy and Michael Coulson had an effort blocked by Baraclough.

Then, when it looked as though Scunthorpe had seen the game out following a superb saving tackle from Marcus Williams on Odejayi, the penalty was awarded and Howard ensured a spectacular finish.

 

Catman

FA cup 3rd Round Barnsley V Blackpool
Blackpool had looked like they would hold onto a 33rd-minute lead given to them by David Fox.

The former Manchester United midfielder scored his second goal of the season after Gary Taylor-Fletcher had headed the ball into his path following a cross from the left-hand side.

Fox was left with the simple task of steering the ball into the net at the back post from six yards out.

Foster's first goal for Barnsley brought the hosts level in the 78th minute.

Blackpool failed to clear a corner and the ball dangerously ricocheted around the six-yard line, where Foster backheeled it past Paul Rachubka.

Three minutes later Barnsley completed the turnaround. Top scorer Brian Howard broke brilliantly from midfield before slipping the ball beyond Blackpool's defence for Coulson, who hit a low first-time shot underneath the advancing Rachubka from just inside the area.

It put Barnsley into the fourth round of the competition for the first time since 1999.

Barnsley edged the territorial battle in the first half without really threatening but felt they should have been awarded a penalty after six minutes when Jamal Campbell-Ryce went down under a challenge from John Hills.

However, referee Michael Jones waved away the appeals.

Taylor-Fletcher flashed a right-foot effort across the face of the goal in the 12th minute after he had neatly brought the ball down and worked a shooting opportunity on the right-hand side of the box.

Soon after Blackpool went close again when Ben Burgess met Hills' left-wing cross but his diving header narrowly cleared the crossbar.

Barnsley's best chance came midway through the first half. A long punt forward was not dealt with by Blackpool's defence and the ball broke to Miguel Mostto 30 yards out.

He took one touch to steady himself before unleashing a left-foot shot that had Paul Rachubka scrambling across his goal as the ball whistled just wide.

Both sides made changes at the break. Blackpool boss Simon Grayson took off Taylor-Fletcher and replaced him with Claus Jorgensen.

Barnsley's substitution was less predictable as Kyle Letheren replaced Heinz Muller in goal.

And it was not long before Letheren was called into action, parrying a low shot by Fox in the 50th minute.

Barnsley started the second half brightly and went in search of an equaliser with some gusto.

Bobby Hassell collected the ball midway inside Blackpool's half and surged towards the edge of the area but his low shot was held by Rachubka.

Soon after Hassell was involved again. His cross from the left-hand side was met on the run by Mostto but his glancing header at the near post went agonisingly wide.

Jorgensen was presented with a glorious chance to double Blackpool's lead midway through the second half but the substitute poked the ball wide from inside the six yard box.

It was an opportunity Jorgensen would rue when Barnsley's quickfire goals put them, and not the Seasiders, into the fourth round.

 

Catman

Barnsley V Norwich
Norwich produced a second-half masterclass as they won 3-1 at Barnsley on Saturday to move closer to Championship safety. Martin Devaney scored a spectacular 18th-minute opener to put the Tykes ahead at the break, but Glenn Roeder's men were a side transformed after the restart.

Goals from on-loan Manchester City striker Ched Evans, midfielder Mark Fotheringham and veteran forward Dion Dublin sealed an impressive win and extended the Canaries' unbeaten run to nine games.

Last week's miserable 1-1 FA Cup home draw against League Two side Bury hinted at Norwich's shortcomings, and Barnsley exposed those failings in the opening period.

Simon Davey's men, whose previous home defeat came on the opening day of the season, were aiming to reignite their play-off hopes after failing to win any of their previous six Championship games.

They threatened to score within the opening 20 seconds when powerhouse striker Kayode Odejayi almost barged his way through.

Three minutes later, Barnsley winger Jamal Campbell-Ryce struck a vicious shot which flew inches over the visitors' crossbar.

Kayode Odejayi, who has struggled to win support among Barnsley fans, then rifled wide from distance after Norwich defender Gary Doherty failed to cut out a long punt forward.

Campbell-Ryce, whose pace caused Norwich problems down their left flank, whipped in a teasing delivery in the 15th minute which Odejayi failed to connect with on the edge of the six-yard box.

Norwich did not heed the warning signs and three minutes later Devaney was afforded far too much room to cut in from the left flank and fired a low 25-yard shot into the bottom corner.

Canaries goalkeeper David Marshall got a hand to the ball but he could not prevent it from nestling in the back of the net.

The goal served to inject some urgency into Norwich's play and on-loan forward Evans was a menace.

In the 24th minute, he forced Barnsley goalkeeper Heinz Muller into a smart stop with a low shot from 18 yards and then Fotheringham headed Lee Croft's right-wing cross wide moments later.

Evans, who made a surprise return to Norwich on an emergency loan on Thursday, almost raced clear from a Croft pass but Dennis Souza's excellent last-ditch tackle halted his progress.

Norwich hit back strongly after the break and were level within minutes of the restart.

Fotheringham, a driving force in the centre of midfield, slipped a neat pass into Evans' path and the teenager did the rest with a low left-foot finish from 10 yards.

The Canaries began to dominate and with 20 minutes remaining they edged ahead, albeit in fortuitous fashion as Fotheringham's ambitious shot from 25 yards was deflected past Muller by Tykes defender Stephen Foster.

Better was to come from the visitors four minutes later as 38-year-old Dublin rose highest to head home a left-wing corner from Fotheringham.

Norwich further opportunities to add to their tally but they were spurned, though it did not matter as the visiting supporters were left to toast victory.

 

Catman

Barnsley V QPR
Goals from Patrick Agyemang and Rowan Vine secured a 2-0 win for QPR in their Championship clash against Barnsley at Loftus Road. Agyemang latched on to Dexter Blackstock's cross to head home from six yards early on, before Vine netted from close range in the closing stages of the half to put the hosts into a commanding position at the break.

And despite the best efforts of a resilient Tykes after the restart, Rangers, who have spent in the region of £5million in the transfer window, held on for victory to put some breathing space between themselves and those in the drop zone.

Resurgent Rangers went into the clash looking for their third win in four league games while Barnsley, in contrast, had not tasted victory in their last seven.

And the encounter was merely five minutes old when Agyemang handed the hosts a dream start, converting Blackstock's left-wing cross to register his second goal for the club since his move from Preston.

Rangers nearly doubled their advantage eight minutes later when Fitz Hall headed Akos Buzsaky's corner narrowly wide from 12 yards.

But Barnsley weathered the early storm and Brian Howard came close to his 11th goal of the season when he drilled a 35-yard free-kick the wrong side of keeper Lee Camp's post after 18 minutes.

Yet it was Michael Coulson who wasted the best chance to draw the visitors level when he headed wide from six yards shortly after.

Howard again tried his luck from distance midway through the half but the Tykes could not find their way past a bullish home defence.

And they were made to pay when former Birmingham marksman Vine converted Agyemang's inviting cross in injury time to hand Rangers a comfortable half-time lead.

But the visitors showed their determination to get back into the game almost immediately after the restart as Jamal Campbell-Ryce saw his drilled effort superbly tipped around a post by Camp.

Barnsley boss Simon Davey decided a new approach was also needed and introduced strikers Istvan Ferenczi and Kayode Odejayi for Diego Leon and Coulson.

Yet it was Mikele Leigertwood who almost put the game beyond their reach with a great shot from the edge of the penalty area that Tykes keeper Heinz Muller did well to push away to safety.

Odejayi almost made the desired impact for the visitors shortly after his introduction, but he could only watch as his

close-range header drifted narrowly wide of a post.

Both sides looked capable of adding to the scoreline as the game entered the closing stages and it was Rangers midfielder Martin Rowlands who almost added a third for the hosts with a long-range effort that flew just wide.

Campbell-Ryce tried his luck with six minutes remaining but it was to no avail as the hosts held on to move within one point of their opponents.

 

Catman

Barnsley v Colchester
New signing Jon Macken celebrated his return to Barnsley by bagging the only goal as the Tykes defeated Colchester 1-0 at Oakwell. Macken's strike in first-half stoppage time clinched Barnsley's first league win in nine matches against the Us, but his new side made hard work of it against the division's bottom club.

The former Manchester City striker, signed on a permanent basis on Monday for an undisclosed fee from Derby, rifled home a loose ball 12 yards out, low into the bottom corner.

It was his fourth goal in three appearances for Barnsley after endearing himself to the home faithful with three in the last two games of his loan spell in December.

But Barnsley's long-awaited win was as much down to goalkeeper Heinz Muller as it was Macken's solitary strike, with the big German providing more heroics for Simon Davey's side despite sustaining a debilitating knee injury in the first period.

Tykes manager Davey was looking for his side to get their season back on track with a first win in nine league matches, but it was Geraint Williams' strugglers who created the better goalscoring chances.

Muller injured himself when rescuing his side with one of several key saves, but struggled gamely on for the full 90 minutes.

Colchester went close to taking an eighth-minute lead when Mark Yeates' fine cross was met with a towering header from Clive Platt that flew inches wide.

Barnsley had to wait until the 12th minute before they first threatened from successive corners, but relied on Muller to prevent the visitors taking the lead.

The highly-rated goalkeeper first kept out Luke Guttridge's powerful drive and required several minutes' treatment after hurting himself when blocking the subsequent corner.

Referee Nigel Miller infuriated the home crowd on the half-hour mark when he deemed Barnsley skipper Brian Howard had dived when nearly all of Oakwell felt a penalty was in order following Phil Ifil's challenge.

Muller was again at his best to keep out a thumping low shot from Ifil in the 33rd minute before Macken struck in the time added on by referee Miller for Muller's treatment.

Muller hobbled out for the restart and in the 57th minute watched as Kevin Lisbie's shot beat him only to roll agonisingly wide.

Barnsley midfielder Diego Leon, a free signing from Grasshoppers Zurich before Christmas, settled into his rhythm after the break and from his telling cross Stephen Foster headed wide in the 65th minute.

Home defender Tininho, on loan from West Brom, then blazed wide from the edge of the penalty area after marauding down the left.

But with just a one-goal advantage Barnsley supporters had good reason to feel anxious, with Muller pulling off another outstanding save to keep out Adam Virgo's stinging volley in the 71st minute.

Leon scampered forward to fire an angled shot high and wide soon after, before the home bench breathed a huge sigh of relief at the final whistle.

 

Catman

Barnsley v Coventry
Best had been on the bench for the last two matches since handing in a transfer request last month after discovering that his home-town club Nottingham Forest had expressed an interest in signing him.

Coventry rejected two bids from the League One side and the transfer deadline passed with Best still at the Ricoh Arena.

He was only recalled to Iain Dowie's starting line-up after the City boss sold strike pair Kevin Kyle and Dele Adebola, and he justified his selection with possibly his best performance since joining the club in a £650,000 deal from Southampton in the summer.

Best opened the scoring and completed the rout, as well as having a hand in the goals scored by Julian Gray and Jay Tabb in between.

Best's first arrived after Julian Gray's cross was flicked on by Tabb and the ball dropped at his feet 10 yards out.

The former Southampton forward took one touch to control before turning on a sixpence and firing the ball past Tony Warner for his first goal in nine games.

It was just reward for Best who had made a nuisance of himself for much of the first half.

Best had seen earlier goalbound efforts blocked by Miguel Tininho and Dennis Souza and seen a header shave the crossbar before finally breaking the deadlock.

Best turned provider in the 70th minute when his low, driven cross from down by the corner flag was steered home at the far post by Gray.

Five minutes later Best crashed a header against the crossbar and the ball broke for Tabb who had the simple task of tapping the ball into an unguarded net from inside the six-yard box.

Tabb returned the favour in the 84th minute when his cross was flicked on by substitute Liam Davis and Best coolly finished from 12 yards out for his sixth goal of the season.

Michael Mifsud tested Warner with a fierce left-foot shot in the 14th minute and Gray extended him again five minutes before the break with a low strike that was parried by the on-loan Fulham keeper.

Barnsley's only effort of note in the first half was a 25-yard shot by Diego Leon that flashed across the face of the goal.

The Tykes were forced into a change at half-time with Martin Devaney replacing the injured Jamal Campbell-Ryce.

Simon Davey made his second substitution just after the hour mark by bringing on Istvan Ferenczi for Daniel Nardiello, but it failed to inspire a comeback.

Just like the first half, Barnsley lacked creativity and could only muster a long-range effort from Jon Macken that went side.

Best continued to torment the visitors and he had a hand in both Gray's and Tabb's goals before rounding off a superb performance with his second of the game six minutes from time.