Coca-Cola Championship Matchday Eight: Barnsley 0-0 Swansea City

Barnsley avoided setting an unwanted record at Oakwell yesterday and kept their first clean sheet of the season, but the worrying home form that means they haven't won at Oakwell since March continued in a drab 0-0 draw with Swansea.

The Reds had lost their first three home games of the 2009-2010 season and defeat yesterday would have meant losing their first four for the first time in the club's history. Only a fine save from David Preece and a lack of a cutting edge from the men from South Wales stopped that record being "achieved".

Quite frankly the midfield was woeful. In Leon Britton and Nathan Dyer, Swansea had the two best players on the pitch. In Hugo Colace and Adam Hammill, Barnsley had arguably the two worst!

Colace may still be feeling his way back from an injury that forced him to miss the start of the season but yesterday the Argentine just didn't look interested. His tackles- when he could be bothered to make them- were half-heartened, he constantly played balls backwards and was often caught in possession. It's certainly a far cry from last season when a consistently excellent campaign saw him come third in the Player of the Year vote.

The rest of the midfield wasn't much better if at all. Anderson De Silva was completely subdued whilst Adam Hammill just doesn't look the same player that lit up the Championship when on loan from Liverpool last season. He hardly saw the ball and certainly didn't get into anywhere near the positions from where he scored his wonder goal at Pride Park.

The major positive from the game will probably be the back five. Having conceded 14 goals in the first seven games, they were pretty much rock solid yesterday, and only once was the defence breached when Dyer was denied by a superb reflex stop from Preece and then Cedric Van Der Gun somehow put the rebound wide.

Eight goals had been shipped in the three home defeats so it was certainly heartening to see the defence look solid yesterday. Even Rob Kozluk had a very good game- maybe due to the fact he was in his natural right back position.

This came about due to debutant Julian Gray being brought straight in at left back. It has to be said he was taken apart by Dyer in the first half but tightened up considerably after the break and also showed promise going forward.

Going forward is certainly looking the problem. It's very hard to blame Andy Gray and Iain Hume, especially when the midfield is not "pulling the strings" and both Gray and Hume gave everything yesterday. The facts, though, show four games at home and just one goal scored- a remarkable fact considering five have been hit on the road.

On Tuesday night, in the second half especially, The Reds looked capable of scoring every time they ventured forward, yesterday they never looked like hitting the net. The best chance fell to Hume on 62 minutes.

Anderson's ball released the little Canadian, but one on one with goalkeeper Dorus De Vries; he sliced his shot horribly high and wide.

A point will be accepted in a game of very few chances, but with the fact West Brom- who yesterday hit five at Middlesbrough- are the next visitors to Oakwell in the league, another below-par performance will most certainly not yield the same result as yesterdays did.

Let's hope the good away form can continue then at QPR on Saturday who are another team yet to win at home this season.

Player Ratings:

David Preece: Was only really called into action once and he produced a stunning stop to deny Nathan Dyer, which looking at the game, would probably have been a winner. 7

Rob Kozluk: Much better performance- being played in his natural right position could be a telling factor. Solid and tried to get forward. 7

Stephen Foster: Had a few nervy moments and certainly doesn't look at his best. But coped well most of the time. 6

Darren Moore: Beaten a couple of times for pace (but really a snail would beat him there) but his recovery was excellent. Always got back and made some great tackles. 7.5

Julian Gray: Struggled massively with Dyer in the first half and constantly got caught out of position. Much better after the break though. Would prefer to see him as a winger which to be honest looks to be his better position. 6

Adam Hammill: His performance at Derby looks a one-off. Totally off the pace, such a worry after last season's brilliant displays. 4

Hugo Colace: One thing any fan asks for his effort. Last season he gave it in abundance. Certainly didn't give it yesterday. Looked so uninterested. Poor careless "tackles" and passes. Shocking display from a player we all know has ability. 1

Jacob Butterfield: Our best midfielder, showed good intelligence on the ball and looked to make things happen. 7

Anderson De Silva: Another who is wasting considerable talent this season. Didn't get on the ball much and ambled around for most of the game. 4

Iain Hume: Was disgracefully elbowed in the head which required three stitches, but did well to come back and get on with the game. Has to be said, missed Barnsley's one outstanding chance. You just feel he needs that one goal to get back to his best. 6

Andy Gray: Another good game. Acted like a proper target man and gave Garry Monk a hard time. Had one half decent chance in the first game, but delayed his shot and De Vries pounced. 7.5

Substitutes:

Nathan Doyle (for Butterfield 59) With the midfield being over-run he was brought in to add some steel. Promising if unspectacular debut. 6

Martin Devaney (for Hume 90) Strange substitution. He was stood on the touchline from about the 80^th minute but didn't come on until injury time. N/A

Unused Substitutes:

Tom Rusling, O'Neil Thompson, Simon Heslop, Onome Sodje, Jon Macken.

Sponsors Man of the Match: Darren Moore

BarnsleyBoy's Man of the Match: Hard to pick one really, but Ill go for Preece for his save which earned the point.

SWANSEA CITY: De Vries, Williams, Tate, Britton, Dyer, Orlandi, Monk, Pintado (Beattie 86), Rangel, Gower (Bodde 68), Van Der Gun (Butler 76).

Subs: Cornell, Trundle, Lopez, Richards.

Most Impressed by Swansea's: Nathan Dyer & Leon Britton: Totally controlled the midfield with Dyer putting in a performance every Reds fan wishes Jamal Campbell-Ryce could do!

Ref Watch: Rob Shoebridge: Always knew we'd get a shocker after Tuesday's ref. Amazingly gave Swansea a free kick after Hume was elbowed! Poor poor referee. 2

Coca Cola Championship Results Saturday 19^th September 2009:

BARNSLEY 0-0 Swansea

Bristol City 1-1 Scunthorpe

Cardiff 0-2 QPR

Crystal Palace 1-0 Derby

Doncaster 3-3 Ipswich

Middlesbrough 0-5 West Brom

Newcastle 3-1 Plymouth

Nottingham Forest 0-1 Blackpool

Peterborough 3-2 Reading

Preston 3-2 Coventry

Watford 3-3 Leicester

Friday 18^th September 2009

Sheffield United 3-2 Sheffield Wednesday

Barnsley lie in 22nd place in the Coca-Cola Championship with 5 points from 8 games.

We are 8 points off the Play-Offs, 14 points off the Automatic Promotion Places, 15 points off First place and inside the Relegation Zone by 1 point.

Up to 20/9/09

Next Up:

At Oakwell:

Carling Cup Third Round: Barnsley v Burnley Tuesday 22^nd September 2009 Kick-Off 7:45pm

Tickets:

Adults - £15.00
Senior Citizens - £10.00
Juveniles (U18) - £10.00
Juveniles (U12) - £5.00

Current season ticket holders will have until close of business on Saturday September 12 to claim their seats for the game. All seats will go on general sale on Monday September 14, 2009.

On The Road:

Coca Cola Championship Matchday Nine: Queens Park Rangers v Barnsley Saturday 26^th September 2009 Kick-Off 3pm

Tickets:

ADULTS - £30.00
SENIOR CITIZENS (OVER 60) - £20.00
YOUNG ADULT - (16 - 21) - £20.00
JUVENILES (UNDER 16) - £20.00

Official Reds on the Road coaches will be making the trip to Loftus Road. Coaches will depart Oakwell at 9.30am on the day of the game and the fare is £23.00.

Man of the Match: David Preece