280. That number may not mean much to many people, but that is how many football minutes have elapsed since Barnsley goal-keeper Luke Steele last had to pick the ball out of his own net. Some critics may argue that the three successive clean sheets that have been earned since the 3-1 victory at Ipswich have all come at home and indeed on the road, The Reds have managed just three shutouts in their last 16 journeys, but the scale of this achievement of triple shutouts cannot be underestimated. The last time they achieved such a feat was exactly three years ago this month.
A lot of the credit must go down to the superb summer capture of Jason Shackell. Despite Mark Robins excellent tactical and motivational skills, his dealings in the transfer market since coming to Oakwell have been questionable to say the least. Shackell is an exception.
He immediately deposed Stephen Foster as captain and it has become clear why. Strong in the air and a touch that belies his position as a no-nonsense defender, he has made Foster up his game, something which was evident in yesterday’s long awaited derby victory when both centre backs were outstanding.
Alongside those two are arguably two of the best full backs The Reds have had in many years. Kieran Trippier is becoming more like Nicky Eaden every week and it is only a shame that he is only on loan from Manchester City and is set for better things than Championship football. Then of course there’s Bobby Hassell. The guy’s a legend and will go down as one of Oakwell’s greats as he comes to the half way point of his seventh season at the club. It is testament to all four of them that Steele has not actually had a proper save to make in the last two matches.
It is also thanks to this formidable foursome that one goal has been enough to win two of the last three matches and would have been in all three but for the width of the post against Watford. Admittedly goals have been hard to come by for The Reds this season. They have managed just 25 -along with Millwall the lowest total out of the top 14 teams in the division. Adam Hammill is top scorer with seven goals, but the next highest are Andy Gray and Garry O’Connor on three, and O’Connor will now be missing until he moves permanently at the start of January. But one goal was all it took to beat Sheffield United for the first time in nine years.
The first half was a pretty turgid affair, with neither side wanting to make a mistake in a derby, especially the Blades who came into the match with just 22 points and 16 goals to their name. It was clear to see why. This could be the worst Blades team to visit Oakwell since the 1996-1997 season. Gone are the days when Billy Sharp and James Beattie ran riot, yesterday the Blades had Ched Evans on his own upfront- albeit because suspension and injury robbed them of Darius Henderson and Daniel Bogdanovic. But the £3m striker has managed just three goals all season and he never got a sniff. Gary Speed’s side marginally improved when another Oakwell hate figure Jamie Ward came off the bench, but not by much.
If any side was going to win this it was Barnsley as long as they could convert their chances. Those chances were few and far between in the first half, with the best chance being Shackell’s miss kick at a well worked Adam Hammill free kick… until they took the lead on 37 minutes. And it really came out of nothing. Jim O’Brien turned on a quick Trippier throw in and with the United defence asleep, the Scottish winger drilled in a low cross which Hugo Colace gleefully turned in. The Argentine struck eight times last season but this was his first goal since the final day of the last campaign. He celebrated by revealing a birthday message to his daughter.
This seemed to wake United up and they came close to an equaliser three minutes later when Mark Yeates dipping 40 yard volley clipped the top of the crossbar. That though would be as good as it got for the 2,005 travelling support as The Reds took the game by the scruff of the neck in the second half but were continually let down by the final pass or shot. They did come close to a clinching second when Hassell hit a thunderbolt that substitute keeper Steve Simonsen managed to beat away- incidentally this was the second time in a row that United have had to substitute their keeper at Oakwell, with Mark Bunn replacing Ian Bennett at half time last season.
United won a flurry of corners in the final stages but they never looked like breaching the impregnable Barnsley backline. Four wins from five, three successive clean sheets. Now if they can keep that resurgent away form going at Millwall on Saturday, it will be a very Happy Christmas!
Player Ratings:
Luke Steele – Must be loving life at the moment because he has had nothing to do for two games. Looked a lot better claiming crosses too. 7
Bobby Hassell – The fans song for him sums it up. This guy will go down in Oakwell folkfore. Produced some terrific tackles. 8
Stephen Foster – Seems to be improving with Shackell alongside him. Made one superb last ditch tackle to deny Evans a clear run on goal. 8
Jason Shackell – Keep saying the same things about him week after week. The defence has improved immeasurably since his arrival. 8
Kieran Trippier – The most attacking of the defenders in the mould of Nicky Eaden. Got forward whenever possible and always solid at the back. Booked. 8
Jim O’Brien – Probably his best display of the season. Improved A LOT on the Watford match, and produced a great cross for the game’s only goal. 7
Hugo Colace – It is a good job he scored because there was really nothing else to say about his performance. Summed it up when he chased for a 50-50 ball and then backed out at the last minute. Booked. 5
Nathan Doyle – Not his biggest fan as you all know but I’ll give credit where credits due. He had a good game. Sharp in the tackle and his passing was also much improved. 7
Adam Hammill – Again massively underused. Maybe his teammates are realising if they give him the ball, he will go on a solo mission rather than pass it. Struggled to get into the game. 5
Goran Lovre – Again an enigma. Showed some decent touches, but doesn’t offer anything in an attacking sense. Subbed. 4
Garry O’Connor – Such a shame we have to wait until next month to see him again. He never looked like scoring yesterday but his performance was exceptional. His heading, link-up play, runs, caused problems all afternoon. He dragged Nyron Nosworthy across the pitch and he couldn’t handle it. Booked. 8
Substitutions:
Paul Hayes (for Lovre 90) – Didn’t have the time to make an impact. Was a strange decision to wait until the 90th minute for the first substitution, but who are we to doubt Robins right now? N/A
Unused: David Preece, Jeronimo Nuemann, Steven Bennett, Diego Arismendi, Jacob Butterfield, Andy Gray.
Sponsor’s Man of the Match: Nathan Doyle
BarnsleyBoy's Man of the Match: The entire back four: Although Doyle’s performance was much improved, the entire defence are just awesome at the moment.
SHEFFIELD UNITED: Wright (Simonsen 53), Nosworthy, Montgomery, Ertl (Lawton 64), Britton, Evans, Yeates, Calve (Ward 75), Taylor, Bartley, Reid.
Subs: Kozluk, Batth, Quinn, Slew
Most Impressed by Sheffield United’s: Nick Montgomery: The Blades captain was the only one who looked like he knew what he was doing. This is a very poor Sheffield United team.
Ref Watch: Michael Jones: Despite it being a local derby, he did not have any controversial decisions to make. Was a bit quick with the yellow card though. 6
Npower Championship results: Saturday 11th December 2010:
BARNSLEY 1-0 Sheffield United
Bristol City 2-0 Derby
Burnley 2-3 Leeds
Crystal Palace 0-0 Hull
Leicester 5-1 Doncaster
Middlesbrough 1-0 Cardiff
Norwich 0-2 Portsmouth
Preston 1-0 Ipswich
Reading 0-0 Coventry
Friday 10th December 2010
QPR 1-3 Watford
Swansea 1-1 Millwall
Barnsley lie in 10th place in the Npower Championship with 29 points from 20 games.
We are 4 points off the Play-Offs, 8 points off the Automatic Promotion Places, 13 points off First place and 8 points above the Relegation Zone.
Up to 12.12.10
Next Up:
On The Road:
Npower Championship Matchday Twenty One: Millwall v Barnsley Saturday 18th December 2010
Tickets:
Adults - £22.00
Senior Citizens (Over 60) - £13.00
Juveniles (Under 16) - £13.00
Juveniles (Under 12) - £8.00
Disabled Supporters - Contact the Box Office For More Information
At Oakwell:
Npower Championship Matchday Twenty Two: Barnsley v Burnley Sunday 26th December 2010 Kick-Off 3pm.
Tickets:
Adults - £25.00
Senior Citizens (Over 60) - £13.00
Juveniles (Under 18) - £13.00
Juveniles (Under 12) - £7.00