For the first 20 minutes last night, I was beginning to wish I had saved £24 and the petrol money down to Derby as the Reds kept up the form from the first six league games of the season. Giving the ball away and not looking like even entering the Rams' penalty area, never mind scoring.
It was looking like same old story, not enough creativity in midfield with Hugo Colace being outplayed by Robbie Savage and Jake Livermore, while Jacob Butterfield was subdued and the supply to the wing was poor.
One plus point from that first half midfield display was the performance of Icelandic international Emil Hallfredsson. He oozed quality, with numerous fantastic turns and surging runs. And nothing changed in the second half on that score either.
Derby were on the front foot and 27 minutes in they made their superiority pay. A corner from the left wasn't entirely dealt with and Kozluk headed out to the wing where Lee Croft picked the ball up and whipped a fine cross smack onto the head of Rob Hulse who scored his first of the season.
Hulse missed a guilt-edged chance for a second and minutes later the Reds were back on level terms. A pass out to the left found Adam Hammill who looked up, cut infield and bent a beautiful shot into the far corner.
Hallfredsson began his reign of superiority in the middle of the park and it was him who provided an inch perfect pass to Andy Gray, who seemingly beat the Rams offside trap and took a touch before clipping the ball over Bywater to send the Reds fans into absolute raptures.
The Reds were then in the ascendancy and Colace struck over after a bizarre throw out by Bywater which, if Andy Gray had been looking at, would've gifted the Reds a third. Hallfredsson though, had to be stretchered off with 10 minutes left with a knee injury.
That elusive third did come though three minutes into the outrageous eight minutes of added time given. A header away from a Derby cross fell to Andy Gray who played a staggering ball over the top to sub Anderson de Silva who advanced on goal.
Now, we all know Anderson can't usually finish for toffee but this was just sheer cheek. He shaped himself as if he was going to go across Bywater but instead rounded the keeper, sauntered between him and Connolly and rolled the ball in.
But this is Barnsley, nothing is ever ensured. In the 97th minute a Derby corner was headed in by Shaun Barker, cue a horrible last minute and a half, which the Reds coped with well and held on to the 3-2 win much to the delight of the 748 strong away following.
Player Ratings.
David Preece - Looked a bit shaky at first but improved and made some crucial blocks. 7
Bobby Hassell - Quiet and unspectacular, did what he needed to do. 6
Darren Moore - Immense against his old club, one slip throughout the whole 90 minutes. 8
Stephen Foster - Solid. Made two or three crucial interceptions and was generally difficult to get past. 7
Rob Kozluk - Terrible in the first half, run ragged by Croft but must have had a firework up his backside at half time because he was a different player second half. Made several key tackles and good runs forward. 7.5
Adam Hammill - Scored a superb goal out of nothing and was a hive of activity. 7
Emil Hallfredsson - How on earth did we manage to get this fella? Looked quality in the middle of the park with calm passing, super turns and great runs. Shame he's out for a few weeks. Subbed for Anderson. 9
Hugo Colace - Not at his best but did get marginally better in the second half. Booked for a rugby tackle on Croft. 6
Jacob Butterfield - Assured on the ball, and gave Savage a real run for his money, despite being probably half his age! 7
Iain Hume - Struggled a bit but was his usual self, chasing balls down and generally making a nuisance of himself. Subbed for Macken. 6
Andy Gray - Class. You can see why Davey kept up that summer long pursuit of him. Was superb, won almost every header, scored a beautiful goal and set up Anderson's goal as well. 9
Subs
Jon Macken (for Hume, 63) - Held the ball up nicely and got things going up top. 7
Anderson de Silva (for Hallfredsson, 83) - Scored an outrageous goal after skinning Bywater and Connolly on the line. 7
Unused: Rusling, Devaney, Thompson, Coulson, Heslop.
TM's MOTM: Andy Gray and Emil Hallfredsson, can't split them. Gray for the goal and assist and general fine target man play. And Hallfredsson for the class in the centre of the pitch.
Ref: Nigel Miller - For giving near enough everything to us….8 J
Derby MOTM: Lee Croft - Tore Kozluk to pieces in the first half but on the second half display, he can tell us what the inside of Kozluk's pocket is like…