Two games in and Barnsley have made their best start to a league season for seven years as they preserved a 100% winning start.
It is the first time Barnsley have won their opening two league games of a season since 2018-2019 when they defeated Oxford 4-0 and Bradford 2-0 in a League One campaign that ended in automatic promotion.
Indeed it has only occurred three times in the last 29 years and the Reds have won promotion on those two previous occasions (also winning their first five matches en route to Premier League promotion in 1996-1997)
It is only the 14th time in the club’s history that they have won their opening two games – 2025-2026 (2 so far), 2018-2019 (2), 1996-1997 (5), 1978-1979 (5), 1976-1977 (2), 1974-1975 (2), 1965-1966 (3), 1960-1961 (2), 1947-1948 (2), 1946-1947 (2), 1933-1934 (2), 1923-1924 (2), 1922-1923 (3) and 1921-1922 (5).
Of the previous 13 occasions Barnsley have gone on to win promotion on only four occasions (1933-1934, 1978-1979, 1996-1997, 2018-2019)
They made it 14 in sensational style coming from 2-0 down to win a match for the first time in 19 years almost to the day. It hasn’t occurred since the 8th August 2006 when they were 2-0 down at Hull after only 9 minutes before Michael McIndoe, Marc Richards and Paul Hayes had turned it around by 73 minutes.
This one took a little longer with the comeback not completed until the 93rd minute thanks to the first goal for David McGoldrick.
He is Barnsley’s latest match winner since Adam Phillips netted after 95minutes in a 2-1 win over Leyton Orient in February 2024.
Including the final game of 2024-2025 the Reds have won three successive league games for the first time since another run of three between 22nd February and 1st March. In between these two streaks they won only one of 11 games.
It is the first time they have won the final game of one season and first two of the next since beating Wimbledon on the final day of 1977-1978 and then winning the first five of 1978-1979.
This current streak has seen them score four (v Reading) and then three against both Plymouth and Burton, the first time they have won three games in a row by scoring three or more goals since February 2024 when they defeated Port Vale 3-1, Cheltenham 4-0 and Derby 4-1.
Burton had opened the scoring with a penalty after just four minutes, the first time a penalty has been the first goal conceded at Oakwell in a season since 2016-2017 against QPR when the first two were both spotkicks.
Remarkably this is the earliest in a game that Barnsley have conceded from a penalty since their Premier League season of 1997-1998 – Southampton’s Matt Le Tissier netting from 12 yards after three minutes of a 4-1 Barnsley defeat in November 1997.
Barnsley’s equaliser came from the ever lethal Davis Keillor-Dunn and thus he became the first Barnsley player to score in the opening two games of the season since Victor Adeboyejo in 2018-2019.
Two of the three goals were set up by Adam Phillips who becomes the first Red to assist two goals in a game since Josh Earl against Bolton on the 12th April.
Barnsley have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their last 16 league games, their longest run without a shut-out since a run of 18 between 15th September 2019 and Boxing Day 2019 in the Championship.
Barnsley have won 50% of the meetings with Burton (8/16) which includes four of the last five (D1)
The Reds have now beaten Burton via injury time goals in two of the last three meetings
This is only the second meeting in which both teams scored more than once (also Barnsley’s 4-2 win at Burton in October 2017)
Burton have won only once at Oakwell (from nine visits) with this the fifth defeat.
The Brewers did however manage to score for the first time in five trips.
Barnsley Team:
1. Murphy Cooper
30. Jonathan Bland
6. Mael de Gevigney
32. Josh Earl
14. Nathanel Ogbeta
7. Caylan Vickers
48. Luca Connell
8. Adam Phillips
45. Vimal Yoganathan
40. Davis Keillor-Dunn
10. David McGoldrick (Y)
Substitutes:
22. Patrick Kelly (for Yoganathan 86)
19. Reyes Cleary (for Vickers 72)
3. Jon Russell (for McGoldrick 90+5)
Unused Substitutes:
51. Kieran Flavell, 29. Connor Barratt, 33. Robson Woodcock, 27. Tennai Watson.
Burton Team:
21. Jordan Amissah
2. Udoka Godwin-Malife
6. Toby Sibbick
18. Jasper Moon
4. Kgaogelo Chauke
8. Charlie Webster
15. Kyran Lofthouse
19. Dylan Williams
11. Fabio Tavares
77. JJ McKiernan
9. Jake Beesley
Substitutions:
25. Ciaran Gilligan (for Chauke 58)
10. Tyrese Shade (for Tavares 71)
14. Nick Akoto (for Willians 87)
22. Julian Larsson (for McKiernan 87)
Unused Substitutes:
32. Harry Isted, 26. Finn Delap, 20. Jason Sraha.
Sky Bet League One Results
Thursday 7th August 2025:
Port Vale (17th) 0-0 Cardiff City (8th)
Saturday 9th August 2025
Peterborough United (21st) 0-2 Luton Town (4th)
Andersen 60
Clark 85
Reading (24th) 0-2 Huddersfield Town (1st)
Whatmough 74
Ashia 90+3
AFC Wimbledon (10th) 2-0 Lincoln City (14th)
Stevens pen 41
Asiimwe 77
BARNSLEY (2nd) 3-2 Burton Albion (11th)
Beesley pen 4
Tavares 35
Vickers 55
Keillor-Dunn 63
McGoldrick 90+3
Bolton Wanderers (13th) 2-0 Plymouth Argyle (23rd)
Toal 20
Burstow 60
Exeter City (9th) 4-1 Blackpool (22nd)
Cole 4
Fitzwater 15
Fletcher 22
Wareham 60
Cox 90
Leyton Orient (16th) 2-0 Wigan Athletic (12th)
Sessegnon og 18
Koroma 60
Mansfield Town (19th) 1-2 Doncaster Rovers (6th)
McLaughlin 76
Bailey 76
Bailey 90+6
Northampton Town (18th) 0-0 Bradford City (7th)
Stevenage (5th) 1-0 Rotherham United (15th)
Reid 40
Wycombe Wanderers (20th) 1-2 Stockport County (3rd)
Wootton 9
Diamond 51
Mullins 74
Barnsley lie in 2nd place in Sky Bet League One with 6 points from 2 games. We are 2 points inside the Play-Offs, Goals Scored inside the Automatic Promotion Places, Goal Difference off First Place and 6 points above the Relegation Zone.
Up to 10/8/25
Next Up:
At Oakwell:
EFL Cup First Round: Barnsley v Fleetwood Town, Wednesday 13th August 2025. Kick-Off: 7:45pm
On The Road:
Sky Bet League One Matchday Four: Peterborough United v Barnsley, Tuesday 19th August 2025. Kick-Off: 7:45pm
