Doncaster 0-1 Barnsley

It is plain to see why Doncaster have only taken 1 point from a possible 30, haven't scored in six home games and sit bottom of the Coca-Cola Championship.

I'm not saying Barnsley are much better, but at least we can sort of put away our chances. Jon Macken was the man to grab the Reds' only goal on a night which if we'd been playing Wolves or Birmingham we would have been hammered.

Doncaster were their own worst enemies due to squandered chances by the unusually coiffured Jason Price. He spurned possibly four chances and messed up one cross and proceeded to have a screaming tantrum in front of the amused Barnsley fans.

The 3,151 fans that made the trip certainly had a good evening, with the Reds having the better of the first half, with a couple of Anderson shots going over, Macken had a shot saved and Hume had a shot blocked.

Price wasted a couple of good chances, Coppinger went close, as did Wilson but on the night, Muller had very very little to do indeed.

It was to be the 42nd minute when the Reds made the breakthrough. A throw in found Anderson who powered through the static Rovers defence and cut the ball across for Jon Macken to prod the ball through Sullivan's legs, cue mad celebrations amongst the masses in the away end.

Now, I'm no football manager, but I just wonder what Davey's half time team talk was. The reason for the enquiry is that what the hell were the Reds doing in the second half?

It seemed like Davey had said "Right boys, I want all of you in your own half for the whole of the second half". Well, they did just that. It's just a good job the defence were on top of their game or it could've been a cricket score.

Darren Moore and Rob Kozluk played particularly well, the latter making very good runs forward. Moore played as he knows how, won absolutely everything in the air and hoofed it up field towards Macken and Hume, who both were very good in the air last night.

A couple of comical moments last night. Firstly, early on, after a long clearance, Darren Moore stripped off his shorts and then his next layer of shorts and ended up in his underpants. He tossed the under shorts onto the pitch, put his kit shorts back on and resumed playing, with the other garment layed on the pitch. God bless the person who had to dispose of them!!

Secondly, was the portly referee Alan Wiley, tripping over a Doncaster player and ending up in a heap on the deck. He then got up and called the Donny player over and gave him a talking to!

Doncaster began launching long balls into the Reds box, but either Moore or Souza dealt with Heffernan, Hayter or Price, or Muller came out and caught. A chance for Donny came when a ball from the left came across and Price tried to flick the ball in with his back to goal but Muller was having none of it and blocked the shot before catching Moore's header back.

Reds hearts were well and truly in mouths when another long ball was only partially cleared and Heffernan absolutely hammered a shot against the bar but ref Wiley had already blown for a foul on Souza.

So, all in all a good night, despite the match being very poor. It's all three for the Reds which ends a good month, with 10 points from a possible 15, including three derby wins. Onwards and upwards.

Barnsley Player Ratings:

Heinz Muller: Was a spectator really. Had only one or two saves to make, everything else Donny produced was wayward. His handling was absolutely exemplary, however. 7

Stephen Foster: Still in the style of Terry Butcher or Paul Ince, the skipper was sound last night. Unspectacular but did his job well. 7

Darren Moore: Immense! Let nothing past him and provided all the 13,251 fans inside the Keepmoat with a bit of underpant tom-foolery with his shorts antics. 8

Dennis Souza: Complimented Moore fantastically. Really helped the cause with some faultless defending. Him and Moore are slowly but surely forming a good defensive partnership. 8

Rob Kozluk: Very good as well. Defended well and got forward very well too. Made a crucial tackle when Coppinger was in as well. A good performance from Kozzie. 8

Martin Devaney: Poor. Couldn't beat his men, lacks pace and not prepared to muck in. Having said that, he made one absolutely crunching tackle that won the ball in our half. Subbed. 5

Anderson de Silva: Shooting needs to be worked on but apart from that very good from Anderson. Passing range is very impressive indeed. Set up Macken's goal and did well in the centre of midfield. 8

Hugo Colace: Lost the ball a few times and Anderson had to dig him out of a few holes. Not bad, but needs to improve on that performance. Also booked for handball. Booked. 6

Jamal Campbell-Ryce: Surprisingly quiet. O'Connor had him in his pocket most of the game. Looked at his most dangerous in the first half hour. 6

Iain Hume: Worked his socks off again. Made some good chances and looked dangerous on the left side of midfield in the first half. He faded second half, but then again all the midfield and front two did. Subbed. 7

Jon Macken: Got himself on the scoresheet and looked really good. He was good in the air and his control and touch was very impressive indeed. Subbed. 8

Subs:

Bobby Hassell (for Devaney 79): Replaced the disappointing Devaney to shore the defence up. He's only little but he wins his headers does Bobby. 6

Kayode Odejayi (for Hume 79): Odejayi is not fit to lace Hume's boots at the moment. He was lazy and his touch is absolutely dreadful. Needs goals to avoid being shipped out in January. 4

Miguel Mostto (for Macken 87): Didn't get much time but made a good tackle at the back when things were looking dodgy. He needs goals too, hopefully he will produce soon. 6

Reds MOTM: Between Moore, Macken and Kozluk. I'd give it to Moore because of his flawless defensive work.

Chant Of The Night: When a stadium announcement told people to move their cars a song of: "Shift yer caravan, shift yer caravan!!" went up. Very good indeed.