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Its simple. If Barnsley had played against Blackpool how they played last night they would have easily been sat with six points from those two games. But now three successive home games have yielded just four points, and with six of the remaining nine games away from home, we will continue to sit an worry.
Last night after a very poor first half an hour which indicated a hangover from the Blackpool game, The Reds tore into a Crystal Palace side, that, on paper are a lot better than Blackpool. Indeed if Michael Mifsud knew how to beat an offside trap he and The Reds could have had more goals to their name.
Like all Barnsley matches, this wasn't done the easy way, and The Reds were behind with just eight minutes on the clock.
An innocuous ball forward from Anthony Stokes should have been dealt with comfortably by returning captain Stephen Foster, but Fozzie made a rare mistake, in standing on the ball and slipping. The ball spun to Victor Moses and as Bobby Hassell went to tackle him, he succeeded in only putting the ball into the path of Shefki Kuqi. The former Sheffield Wednesday man needed no second invitation to rifle in his fourth goal in his last seven appearances against Barnsley, as he sent an unstoppable effort past Heinz Muller.
At this point the knives were beginning to sharpen and Palace looked quicker and stronger than The Reds with Neil Danns posing a real problem with his pace and trickery. He went on one mazy run in the first half which took him past about four despairing Barnsley challenges. It was certainly a surprise when the man Reds fans love to hate- Neil Warnock, took him off with over 20 minutes still to go and the score only at 2-1.
Palace did nearly make it 2-0 with 20 minutes gone. Moses went down under barely a touch from Hugo Colace and Lee Hills free kick was met by Kuqi, but Muller did well to turn his effort over.
The save was made more important three minutes later as Barnsley levelled with a goal that, as simple as it was, was still full of quality. Jon Macken's finishing leaves a lot to be desired at present, and he is still struggling to get into good areas, but his footwork is second to none and he did brilliantly to control a ball on the halfway line before playing a lovely pass that dissected the Palace defence and left Jamal Campbell-Ryce free to run half the length of the pitch unhindered, and the Jamaican winger kept his cool to slot the ball under the on-rushing Julian Speroni. It was one of those occasions we've seen Kayode Odejayi in many times. Campbell-Ryce showed him how to finish.
It has to be said the midfield looked miles better with Anderson De Silva back in there. The side seemed more inclined to keep the ball on the floor, but the Brazilian had two glorious opportunities at the end of the half to put The Reds in front. The fact he didn't probably shows why he has only one goal to his name.
Both efforts were almost identical. On 42 minutes, Adam Hammill, who was again excellent, put in a wonderful corner and Anderson had a free header which he sent straight at Speroni. Two minutes later he did it again. Another Hammill corner landed perfectly on Anderson's head but again Speroni was stood in the perfect position to catch it. In-between Palace were close to going back in front when Muller sprawled full length to deny Stokes.
The second half pretty much belonged to The Reds, and mirrored the QPR game a couple of weeks ago. Hammill was a joy on the wing, forever foraging forward, and displaying his tricks, but Mifsud continued to let the team down by straying into offside positions. The one time he did get through on 48 minutes after another good Macken pass, his first time effort was easily blocked.
The crucial second goal arrived on 53 minutes though after a touch of class from a certain Rob Kozluk.
The full back burst forward, produced a great piece of skill to get inside two defenders and then went to spear the ball across the six yard area for Hammill to tap in. He never got the chance as Hills got there first and turned the ball into his own net.
Palace's one real chance to get something from the game arrived on 71 minutes and again it was Kuqi. Ex red Jon Oster delivered a right wing cross which the big Kuqi looked to just head in, but Hassell made a fantastic block to head the ball off the line. Palace hearts sank after this and two minutes later Mifsud put the game to bed. He looked suspiciously offside as Johannes Ertl inadvertently flicked on Muller's goal-kick, but the Maltese striker controlled it superbly with his right foot before rifling home with his left.
James Comley had a stinging effort turned away by Muller at the death, but Reds boss Simon Davey already knew he would live to fight another day.
Player Ratings:
Heinz Muller: Produced a couple of fantastic saves, but again distribution was poor. 7
Rob Kozluk: Outstanding skill to set up the second goal and was solid in defence. Booked. 7
Stephen Foster: Made an uncharacteristic error for Palace's goal but as always redeemed himself. 7
Darren Moore: I'm going to be quiet about his kicking now because everybody knows how bad it is. Was actually given a rough time by Kuqi but came out on top after a couple of clatterings. 6
Bobby Hassell: Back at full-back and although he inadvertently set up Kuqi, he was unflappable again. Produced a great block to stop Kuqi equalising. 8
Adam Hammill: If only he was ours permanently. Has bags of talent and was again the creator of most attacks. Subbed. 8
Anderson De Silva: We've certainly missed him and he was excellent in the middle. Continually beat his man. Should have scored at least one of the two great chances that came his way in the end of the first half though. 8
Hugo Colace: Always seems to play better when Andersons alongside him and it was again the case last night. Another neat and tidy performance. 7
Jamal Campbell-Ryce: I still stand by my opinion, being played in the middle is destroying him, but he scored a wonderful solo goal. It was worth the admission fee. 7
Jon Macken: Still doesn't look like scoring and very rarely has a chance but his partnership with Mifsud might be the best one. His link-up play was excellent. Subbed. 7.5
Michael Mifsud: I've always said when he gets the service he'll be brilliant. Well he got it last night and…. He wasn't! Like Nardiello, is continually offside BUT when he does get free, he has that wonderful instinct of knowing how to finish. Subbed. 6
Substitutes:
Daniel Bogdanovic (for Macken 75): Has a better chance of scoring than Macken, but knows he has to start playing better for an entire game to get back in. 6
Martin Devaney (for Hammill 79) Minimal impact, now seems to just be a bench warmer. 5
Mounir El Haimour (for Mifsud 89) Probably unlucky to lose his place from Saturday. Didn't have time to do much here. 6
Unused Substitutes:
Luke Steele, Marciano Van Homoet.
Sponsor's Man of the Match: Anderson De Silva
BarnsleyBoy's Men of the Match: Adam Hammill and Anderson De Silva: After the first 30 minutes, these two ran the midfield.
CRYSTAL PALACE: Speroni, Hill, Derry, Fonte (Ertl 45), Carle (Comley 78), Moses, Hills, Danns (Oster 67), Kuqi, Stokes, Clyne.
Subs: Ifil, Fonte.
Most Impressed by Palace's: Neil Danns & Shefki Kuqi: Danns' pace was a constant problem whilst on another day Kuqi would have had a hat-trick.
Ref Watch: Graham Salisbury: Very poor. I missed count of the amount of fouls he missed. 2
Coca Cola Championship Results Tuesday 17th March 2009:
BARNSLEY 2-1 Crystal Palace
Doncaster 0-1 Reading
Ipswich 1-1 Burnley
QPR 1-0 Swansea
Barnsley lie in 19th place in the Coca-Cola Championship with 43 points from 37 games.
We are 17 points off the Play-Offs, 28 points off the Automatic Promotion Places, 31 points off First place and 2 points above the Relegation Zone.
Up to 17/3/09
Next Up:
On The Road:
Coca-Cola Championship Thirty Eight: Derby County v Barnsley Saturday 21st March 2009 Kick-Off 3pm
Tickets:
Adults: £21.50
Senior Citizens (60 and Above): £12.75
Juvenile (16 and Under): £7.75.
Official Reds on the Road coaches are making the trip to Pride Park. Tickets: £12. Coach leaves Oakwell at 12.30pm on the day of the game.
At Oakwell:
Coca-Cola Championship Matchday Thirty Nine: Barnsley v Derby County Saturday 4th April 2009 Kick-Off 3pm.
Tickets:
East Stand and West Stand Upper Tiers
Adults £21.00
OAP/Juvenile £12.00
Juveniles (U11) £6.00
Barnsley Chronicle Family Area
Adults £21.00
OAP £12.00
Juvenile £12.00
Juveniles (U11) £6.00
East Stand Lower and West Stand Lower
Adults £20.00
OAP/Juveniles £11.00
Juveniles (U11) £5.00
CK Beckett Stand (Pontefract Road End)
Adults £19.00
OAP/Juveniles £11.00
Juveniles (U11) £5.00
All Disabled Areas £19.00
Helpers FREE OF CHARGE
To book tickets for forthcoming matches simply phone the Oakwell Box Office on 0871 2266777. Alternatively call at the Box Office in person; contact the Box Office by fax on 01226 211444 or e-mail boxoffice@barnsleyfc.co.uk. Please note that Juvenile U11 tickets must be purchased in advance from the Oakwell Box Office and this price will not be on sale on the turnstiles under any circumstances.