Lack Of Cutting Edge Denys Reds All The Points…Again

Men of the Match: Dennis Souza & Rob Kozluk

At half-time the game was shaping up as a good contest between two evenly-matched sides who were intent on playing attractive football to keep the 11,551 fans in attendance warm on a bitterly cold and rainy afternoon.

Bristol City looked by far the better side in the opening 20 minutes and it looked as no surprise why last season's surprise package were in the play-off mix again this campaign.

But they did not ever really threaten Heinz Muller's goal due in no small part to another outstanding defensive display from Dennis Souza and Darren Moore.

The closest City came to the lead was on six minutes when Gavin Williams struck a great volley from 35 yards that flew into the side-netting with Muller stranded.

It was Barnsley who should have taken the lead on 12 minutes when a much improved Anderson De Silva shrugged off ex-red Michael McIndoe to slip Iain Hume in behind the defence but the hit-man who bagged the opener against Sheffield Wednesday on Tuesday hit a poor connection and could only hit the ball against the legs of City keeper Adriano Basso.

In terms of chances that was about it in the opening 45 minutes but that certainly doesn't mean it was a dour game.

The midfield battle was a keenly fought one as Jamal Campbell-Ryce continued his great form with some brilliant runs (if he sometimes tried to do too much) whilst in the left-back role Rob Kozluk was having a fine game.

City were also slick movers even though their most recognisable play-makers McIndoe and Lee Trundle were quiet.

The pace of Brian Wilson was a major threat and it was terrific to see him and Campbell-Ryce chasing down the wing for the ball.

Right on half-time Hume was unlucky not to win a penalty. Jamie McCombe tried to shepherd the ball out of play for a goal kick but Hume sneaked in around the back of him to get there and McCombe blatantly hauled Hume to the ground but referee Mike Russell (another shocking referee) gave nothing.

The second half though completely went to Barnsley, and Bristol- fourth before kick-off- simply could not get out of their own half. But once again Barnsley's prolifigacy in front of goal reared his ugly head.

The only way City seemed to be able to stop The Reds was with foul play and Anderson went berserk with the referee and physio Matt Konopinski after Russell missed Lee Johnson stamping all over the Brazilian's shoulders after a challenge.

The Reds nearly took the lead in bizarre circumstances on 53 minutes. Basso handled Liam Fontaine's back pass to hand The Reds an indirect free kick in the penalty area.

Hume laid it off to Campbell-Ryce who smashed the ball towards goal but Basso redeemed himself by somehow flicking the effort onto the bar and the ball dropped perfectly to Anderson but his strike was somehow blocked on the line.

Three minutes later Jon Macken showed why he has hit just one goal in his last 15 appearances as after he had been released superbly by Anderson, Macken took a touch to compose himself but somehow with only Basso to beat and with the keeper having committed himself, Macken side footed his effort wide.

Anderson and Hume also had half chances before Bristol boss Gary Johnson totally changed his strike force by bringing off Trundle and Dele Adebola for Stern John and Nicky Maynard. It was to no avail as Muller was NEVER troubled.

The Reds thought they had won it deep into injury when Kozluk surged into the area and appeared to be clipped by Fontaine. Russell though booked Kozluk for diving.

As the final whistle blew the Oakwell faithful gave a standing ovation. Over the last five days they have over-powered teams who were fourth and fifth respectively. The disappointing thing though is it could have been maximum points as well. The point does lift Barnsley out of the drop zone for the first time in a month with the grudge re-match with Doncaster Rovers up next… A repeat Oakwell performance would be very welcomed!

Player Ratings:

Heinz Muller: May never have a quieter game. Could have nodded off in that totally one-sided second half. 6

Rob Kozluk: Brilliant performance. His tackling was spot on and made some great runs forward. Unlucky not to win a penalty at the death. Booked. 9#

Dennis Souza: Immense again. Kept the supremely talented Trundle totally quiet and then nullified the pacey John when he came on. Won absolutely everything. 10

Darren Moore: Another very solid game. Totally unruffled and got involved in all the set-pieces. 8

Stephen Foster: Played with the "Terry Butcher look" (head bandaged) and was rarely troubled defensively. This enabled the skipper to get forward on the over-lap. 7

Martin Devaney: Not as good as Tuesday night but did cause problems. His crossing was very poor though. 7

Hugo Colace: Great again. So solid and composed. Nothing seems to faze him. 8

Anderson De Silva: Still not at his best but is improving game on game after that terrible display at Palace. Produced two great balls to release Hume and Macken and both should have taken their chances. Also came desperately close to his first goal for the club when his effort was blocked on the line. 8

Jamal Campbell-Ryce: Genius again but sometimes just tries to take on one man too far as he proved in the second half when he beat his man but then in attempting to beat the same player again he was disspossed. Still looked the most likely player to make something happen. 8

Jon Macken: Missed a real sitter in the second half and looked a bit jaded after a great display on Tuesday. Didn't quite happen for Jon. 6

Iain Hume: Missed a chance in the first half that he normally would have gobbled up. Denied a cast-iron penalty and again gave his all. 7

Substitutes:

Kayode Odejayi (for Macken 75) Added height up front but couldn't really get involved. 5

Maceo Rigters (for Devaney 81) Still yet to have a real impact since arriving on loan. 5

Unused Substitutes:

Luke Steele, Bobby Hassell, Diego Leon.

Sponsor's Man of the Match: Dennis Souza

BarnsleyBoy's Man of the Match: Cannot choose between Souza and Kozluk. They can both share the accolade this week.