A bittersweet night for Barnsley as a first stalemate in 10 outings confirmed a play-off place but severely harmed their chances of an automatic promotion spot.
The Reds are now 10 points clear of seventh place Derby and the Rams only have three games remaining which means they can only gain 81 points and fourth place Barnsley have 82.
This was only Barnsley’s second draw in 15 league outings (W11 L2) and only their seventh of the season in total, only Peterborough (4) have had less in League One this season.
Three of those seven stalemates have been 0-0 (all away from home) – the same amount of goal-less games as they had last season.
It is their most goal-less away games since also drawing three 0-0 on the road in 2018-2019.
Whilst Barnsley are the second lowest “drawers” in the division Lincoln have had the most with this their 20th, three more than any other club.
This was Barnsley’s ninth away league clean sheet of the season, their most in a season since achieving 11 in 2018-2019.
Barnsley failed to score for the first time in 10 outings, which was also a 0-0 draw, at Bristol Rovers.
Barnsley now have 82 points, since victories changed from two points to three points they have only once bettered this total – in 2018-2019 when they gained 91. They also gained 82 points in 1999-2000 in the second tier.
They have the exact same amount of points after 42 games as they did in the aforementioned 2018-2019 campaign.
Mads Andersen picked up his 12th booking of the season – the joint most with Liam Kitching and five of those have come in his last eight appearances.
This was the third time Barnsley have faced Lincoln this season and they have failed to win any of those or even score a goal (D1 L2)
It was the first league meeting in Lincoln for 38 years and the Reds have now failed to win any of the last four.
In all competitions the last four meetings have seen either nobody or only one team score with the away team keeping clean sheets in all four meetings.
This was the fourth goal-less meeting between the two sides however the other three came between 1900 and 1903.
There were only two shots on target in the game (one for each side) the lowest in a Barnsley match since February 2022 against Cardiff (also 2) - it was though only one less than in the Oakwell league meeting.
Barnsley’s total of one shot on target is their lowest in a league game since the season opener against Plymouth (also 1)
Barnsley Team:
1. Harry Isted
12. Bobby Thomas
6. Mads Andersen (c)
5. Liam Kitching
2. Jordan Williams
8. Herbie Kane
48. Luca Connell
30. Adam Phillips
26. Ziyad Larkeche
44. Devante Cole
9. James Norwood
Substitutes:
16. Luke Thomas (for Kane 67)
47. Max Watters (for Cole 67)
31. Slobodan Tedic (for Norwood 68)
10. Josh Benson (for Larkeche 82)
Unused Substitutes:
3. Jon Russell, 24. Robbie Cundy, 40. Brad Collins.
Lincoln Team:
29. Jordan Wright
2. Regan Poole (c)
5. Adam Jackson
15. Paudie O'Connor
21. Lasse Sorensen
26. Matty Virtue-Thick
12. Ethan Erhahon
3. Harry Boyes
28. Dylan Duffy
9. Luke Plange
11. Olamide Shodipo
Substitutions:
8. Tashan Oakley-Boothe (for Duffy 71)
24. Sean Roughan (for Shodipo 71)
32. Jovon Makama (for Plange 90+2')
Unused Substitutes:
6. Max Sanders, 22. Timothy Eyoma, 31. Sam Long.
Match Reports:
Sky Bet League One Results:
TUESDAY 18TH APRIL 2023:
Accrington Stanley (23rd) 1-2 Peterborough United (5th)
Clarke-Harris 23
Mason-Clark 43
McConville 87
Bristol Rovers (15th) 1-2 Sheffield Wednesday (3rd)
Bannan 28
Famewo 41
Collins 46
Burton Albion (16th) 1-1 Bolton Wanderers (6th)
Adeboyejo 5
Walker 59
Cambridge United (21st) 1-2 Wycombe Wanderers (8th)
Tafazolli 33
Wheeler 44
Smith 62
Exeter City (14th) 1-2 Derby County (7th)
McGoldrick 52
McGoldrick 76
Sparkes 78
Forest Green Rovers (24th) 0-0 Fleetwood Town (13th)
Ipswich Town (2nd) 2-1 Port Vale (18th)
Benning 45+2
Broadhead 53
Broadhead pen 84
Lincoln City (11th) 0-0 BARNSLEY (4th)
Milton Keynes Dons (19th) 0-1 Charlton Athletic (10th)
Payne 61
Oxford United (20th) 1-1 Portsmouth (9th)
Pack 26
Long 37
Shrewsbury Town (12th) 1-2 Plymouth Argyle 1st)
Phillips 53
Edwards 68
Wright 90+6
Barnsley lie in 4th place in Sky Bet League One with 82 points from 42 games. We are 10 points inside the Play-Offs, 6 points off the Automatic Promotion Places, 7 points off First Place and 42 points above the Relegation Zone.
Up to 20/4/23
Next Up:
At Oakwell:
Sky Bet League One Matchday Forty Three: Barnsley v Oxford United, Saturday 22nd April 2023. Kick Off: 3pm
On The Road:
Sky Bet League One Matchday Forty Five: Milton Keynes Dons v Barnsley, Saturday 29th April 2023 Kick Off: 3pm