Coca-Cola Championship Matchday Five: Barnsley 2-0 Scunthorpe United

Luck. Even the best managers in the game swear by it. And tonight Simon Davey will certainly be thanking his lucky stars that The Reds picked up three priceless points to move them within a whisker of the top half.

For 45 torturous minutes. Barnsley looked just like 11 players who had never met before. There was no cohesion, no movement, no chances.

And then just as the fourth official produced the board to indicate 2 minutes stoppage time Scunthorpe skipper Andy Crosby smacked the ball against the heels of former Reds target Marcus Williams and watched in horror as it looped backwards over goalkeeper Joe Murphy and into the net.

That one moment probably handed Barnsley the three points as Scunthorpe, who looked good value for 4^th place in that first half, never recovered.

Davey gave deadline day buy Jamal Campbell-Ryce his debut and there was no place for club captain Paul Reid or previously ever present midfielder Andy Johnson in the squad.

Loan signing Anderson De Silva looked far from comfortable alongside Brian Howard in midfield and neither did Grant McCann when the two interchanged.

This led to the midfield looking completely lost in a first half which Scunthorpe dominated with silky passing and great movement.

Marauding right-back Kelly Youga, showed his "dancing" skills and the 2,000 strong Scunthorpe support could have been licking their lips at 3 points.

They may well have got them if it wasn't for the outstanding Dennis Souza and one fine stop with his legs from Heinz Muller when Martin Paterson had escaped Steve Foster.

The best Barnsley could muster was a half chance from Brian Howard who saw his shot fly wide.

And then as the clock hit the 45^th minute disaster struck for Scunthorpe and changed both managers half-time team talks dramatically.

Scunthorpe were visibly stunned by this and simply weren't the same vibrant side in the second half and Barnsley began to press a lot more.

It so nearly was 2-0 on 54 minutes when a great right footed free kick from De Silva was met by the head of Istvan Ferenczi. But with Murphy stranded it agonisingly came back off the underside of the bar.

10 minutes later came the all important 2^nd goal, created and finished by the again impressive Kayode Odejayi.

The £200,000 summer buy finally bagged his richly deserved 1^st goal with a combination of pace, power and commitment.

A mistake in the middle of the park allowed Odejayi to control the ball with his head and then burst past Crosby to run almost 50 yards, into the area and produce a cool finish past the advancing Murphy.

A goal deliriously celebrated by Odejayi, his team-mates and the fans he dived into!

The goal was made even more satisfying as it came just after a spat between De Silva and the irritating Andy Butler which saw De Silva booked for raising his hands and Butler escape Scot free and had ignited rival chants between the two sets of fans.

Ex Red Paul Hayes saw two dipping efforts narrowly land over Muller's bar in the final 10 minutes but a lucky ricochet in first half stoppage time had done the damage and allowed Barnsley their first clean sheet since April and 3 extremely vital points to move up to nose-bleed territory of 14^th in the Championship.

Player Ratings:

Heinz Muller: Made one crucial block from Paterson in the first half and exuded confidence by coming for crosses and collecting them. Seems to have firmly displaced Nick Colgan as No.1. 7

Dominik Werling: Nearly knocked Jim Goodwin's head off with a pile-driver in the first half and his thrown-ins can be just as lethal. Flitted in and out of the game today. 6

Dennis Souza: Awesome! The only player to emerge from the first half with credit and continued in the second half. Whether in the air or on the floor he won EVERYTHING The new De Zueew! 10

Stephen Foster: A little shaky in the first half but Scunthorpe only had 1 real shot on target in the game so can be proud of his performance. 7

Rob Kozluk: Has to cut out the tendency to just hoof the ball up the field but formed a good partnership with Campbell-Ryce in the second half. 6

Jamal Campbell-Ryce. Very bright debut from the diminutive winger. Laughably credited with the opening goal by the PA announcer. He created havoc with his pace throughout. Subbed. 8

Brian Howard: Not at his best today. With no Johnson doing the dirty work he had his hands full. I'm not sure the captaincy helps him either as it seems to heap more pressure on his shoulders. 5

Grant McCann: Talked in the match programme about needing to start for Barnsley. Well he did and didn't impress. His arrival seemed to unbalance the midfield. 5

Anderson Da Silva: Definitely more suited to the wing than the centre. One terrific free kick nearly brought a goal for Ferenczi. Needs to learn how to pass rather than flick though. Booked. Subbed. 6

Istvan Ferenczi: Needs to look for the ball more rather than the ref. Only the crossbar denied him a goal but even the cult hero wasn't at his best. Subbed. 6

Kayode Odejayi: Another fine display upfront capped by his excellent first goal for the club. Holds the ball up well, has pace and looks like £200,000 very well spent. 8

Substitutes:

Sam Togwell (for De Silva 70) You know the games over when he comes on. Na only joking weren't that bad. 6

Kim Christensen (for Ferenczi 75) Posed more problems with his height even if his legs often don't come with him. 6

Martin Devaney (for Campbell-Ryce 89) The fact he came on with seconds to go shows him he has a fight for his place. 6

Unused Substitutes:

Nick Colgan, Miguel Mostto.

Sponsor's Man of the Match: Dennis Souza

BarnsleyBoy's Man of the Match: No questions in my mind, Souza all the way.

Impressed by Scunthorpe's: Kelly Youga. On loan from Charlton and although his skills are somewhat strange he still looks a good prospect.

Ref Watch: Nigel Miller: Wanted to be centre of attention yet seemed to be letting Goodwin ref the game. Had a habit of blowing virtually every 3.5 seconds!! 3

Coca-Cola Championship Results Saturday 15^th September 2007

BARNSLEY 2-0 Scunthorpe

Burnley 2-2 Blackpool

Colchester 2-2 Charlton

Coventry 0-3 Bristol City

Hull 1-1 Stoke

Leicester 1-1 QPR

Norwich 1-0 Crystal Palace

Plymouth 2-2 Cardiff

Preston 1-0 Sheffield Wednesday

Sheffield United 3-1 Wolves

West Brom 4-0 Ipswich