Barnsley’s battle to finish in the play-offs will go down to the final day after conceding a 98th minute equaliser to already relegated Colchester. If The Reds had clung on for just a couple more seconds then they would have ended Gillingham’s chances of a top six finish and would have (more than likely) only required a point to finish above Scunthorpe.
Now they must either better or equal the Iron’s result (who are on the same points and only two goals worse off). Gillingham will finish sixth if they win and both Barnsley and Scunthorpe lose.
It continued Barnsley’s bitty home form; despite winning four of their last seven on the road they have won only two of the last six at Oakwell.
This was the ninth time they have conceded at least twice at home this season, it has only happened 10 times on their travels.
Both teams have scored at least twice in four of the last six meetings between the two clubs.
Ashley Fletcher bagged a brace for The Reds, the first two-goal haul of his career and he now has seven goals in 12 starts for Barnsley.
The 98th minute equaliser the fourth post 90th minute strike Barnsley have conceded this season.
This was Barnsley’s third draw in four outings; prior to this they had had just two stalemates in 21. However they have drawn only eight of their 45 matches, only Peterborough (6) have drawn less.
There were 12,021 in attendance at Oakwell, the club’s second biggest home league crowd of the season, only bettered by Sheffield United’s short visit in November when 13,571 turned up.
Barnsley were behind at half time for the first time in 10 league matches- 2-0 defeat to Southend. Each of the three previous outings had been goal-less at the break.
Barnsley have now gone five games without scoring in the first 45 minutes of a game (Sam Winnall’s first goal v Oldham was in the 49th) their longest such run in 2016.
Ivan Toney replaced Ashley Fletcher in the 95th minute; one has replaced the other in each of Barnsley’s past SIX league matches now and in both of the last two it has been in injury time.
Just like earlier in the season, Barnsley follow a league clash with Colchester with one against Wigan. Back in December they won 3-2 away at Colchester but were defeated 2-0 at home by Wigan to sit just inside the relegation zone. Following that match Barnsley went on to win their next seven in a row and have lost just three times since.
Barnsley Team:
Adam Davies
Josh Scowen
Marc Roberts
Alfie Mawson
George Williams
Adam Hammill
Josh Brownhill
Conor Hourihane
Lloyd Isgrove
Ashley Fletcher
Sam Winnall
Substitutes:
Harry Chapman (for Isgrove 70)
Shaun Tuton (for Winnall 92)
Ivan Toney (for Fletcher 95)
Unused Substitutes:
Nick Townsend, Lewin Nyatanga, Callum Evans, Jak McCourt.
Match Reports:
Sky Bet League One results:
Saturday 30th April 2016:
Blackpool 0-4 Wigan
McCann 60, Wildschut 70,72, Grigg 85
BARNSLEY 2–2 Colchester
Fletcher 57,80 Moncur 42, Lapslie 90+8
Burton 2–1 Gillingham
Akins 44 McDonald 49
Naylor 90+2
Chesterfield 3-0 Bury
O’Shea 29pen
Novak 45
Gardner 71
Coventry 3–1 Sheffield United
Fortune 4 Sharp 58pen
Rose 8
Lameiras 87
Crewe 3–1 Doncaster
Ainley 43 Rowe 28
Haber 57
Inman 89
Millwall 3–0 Oldham
Webster 5,
54
Ferguson 40
Rochdale 2–2 Swindon
Allen 45 Obika 2, Thompson 45
Lund 67
Scunthorpe 1–0 Port Vale
Madden 61
Shrewsbury 3–4 Peterborough
Akpa-Akpro 74 Baldwin 42, Angol 46, 69, Taylor 90+4
Mangan 85
Grimmer 89
Southend 0–1 Bradford
Evans 12
Monday 2nd May 2016:
Walsall 3-1 Fleetwood
Bradshaw 2 Cole 84
Downing 18
Sawyers 58
Barnsley lie in 6th place in the Sky Bet League One with 71 points from 45 games.
We are Goal Difference inside the Play-Offs, 13 points off the Automatic Promotion Places, 16 points off First place and 25 points above the Relegation Zone.
Up to 2/5/16
Next Up:
On The Road:
Sky Bet League One Matchday Forty-Six: Wigan Athletic v Barnsley, Sunday 8th May 2016 Kick-Off 12:30pm.
Tickets:
Adult: £20
Over 65: £17
Under 18: £10
Under 11: £5
Under 5: £2