Barnsley
City boss Mark Hughes played most of his big guns, as Emmanuel Adebayor, Kolo Toure, and Robinho all started. Only Carlos Tevez, Roque Santa Cruz and Gareth Barry were missing from what is expected to be City's first choice line-up.
After chasing shadows for the first 10 minutes The Reds more than matched their more illustrious opponents and will be disappointed they didn't come away with victory.
Granted, The Reds rode their luck at times, with the excellent Luke Steele pulling off a number of saves, the most extraordinary after 23 minutes when he beat away Craig Bellamy's effort and then somehow made an incredible one handed stop from Adebayor's close range effort on the rebound. The woodwork came to The Reds rescue in the second half, first when Robinho played Adebayor clear and he lifted the ball over the onrushing Steele. It looked all the way like the game's opening goal and Adebayor had even stopped following it. But at the last second it clipped the post and the African striker couldn't react quick enough to get the rebound. On 55 minutes Robinho hit a superb stop that cracked the angle of post and bar.
It was not all one way traffic however as The Reds also spurned some glorious chances of their own. In the first half, Martin Devaney drilled a low right wing cross to Jacob Butterfield- who had a fine game in the absence of Anderson De Silva- but the youngster's left footed sidefoot cracked back off the bar and when the rebound fell to Jamal Campbell-Ryce,
The exciting action continued into the second half with Jon Macken shaving a post and Kayode Odejayi breaking clear, but as usual, lost his nerve and had to lay the ball across to Macken whose shot was blocked.
Odejayi should have had a penalty on the hour mark, when Campbell-Ryce jinked past Shaun Wright-Phillips- a player who will still have nightmares of Oakwell after his last visit as a
Bellamy lost his nerve by firing into the side-netting when clean through and Devaney was denied a goal by a fantastic block, and the game looked to be somehow heading for a goal-less draw before two goals in the final five minutes.
Firstly on 85 minutes, a long clearance from the
That looked to have sealed nine wins out of nine in pre-season but with just two minutes left, The Reds Achilles heel struck. Conceding late goals stopped The Reds enjoying a comfortable mid-table finish last season, and on the 88th minute mark, Stephen Ireland drilled a ball across the six yard box for Martin Petrov to side-foot in.
It soured the day slightly, but there were far, far more positives than negatives to take into next weekend's BIG one at Hillsborough.
* Just down the road in
Player Ratings:
Luke Steele: Excellent display that mirrored his debut at Anfield. Pulled off some stunning stops including an incredible double-stop to deny Bellamy and Adebayor. 8
Rob Kozluk: Committed as ever. Stuck to his defensive tasks well. 7
Stephen Foster: What he lost to Bellamy in pace, he made up for in tigerish tackling. Also produced one great header to stop Adebayor scoring. 8
Darren Moore: More Davey mind games after claiming
Bobby Hassell: Struggled with Robinho at first but as the game progressed he got the hang of the £32m Brazilian and even dribbled past him in the first half! 7.5
Martin Devaney: Apart from a couple of decent crosses, he looked the one player out of depth. This may be the final season for a player signed in 2005. Subbed. 5
Jacob Butterfield: This could be the season Butterfield makes the break into the first team and he was excellent against a star-studded City side. Controlled the midfield beautifully in the first half and was so unlucky to see his cute effort smack the bar. 9
O'Neil Thompson: Tough game for him to make his debut in English football in but he performed very well. A giant of a man, he protected the back four well and made some timely interceptions. I'd certainly sign him to cover for Colace as none of the youngsters coming through can be classed as defensive midfielders. 7
Jamal Campbell-Ryce: Had the type of game where he disappeared for long spells but then came alive. Tried to outdo Robinho in the showboating stakes but produced a couple of very good crosses and had the beating of Wright-Phillips..again. Came close with one curled effort in the first half. Subbed. 7
Kayode Odejayi: Certainly had the beating of Richards, Nedum Onuoha and Ben Haim, especially in the air. Only looked like adding to his five pre-season goals once, but was cruelly denied by Ben Haim's shove that went unpunished. Subbed. 7
Jon Macken: Link up play was as good as ever but looked uncomfortable partnering Odejayi. Shaved the post with one effort but never really got into the game. Subbed. 5
Substitutes:
Iain Hume (for Odejayi 71) Received a tremendous reception as he made his first playing appearance at Oakwell since that horrible afternoon in November when his skull was cracked by Chris Morgan. Showed that the mental scars, if the not the physical ones, have healed by competing for every high ball. 6
Daniel Bogdanovic (for Macken 71) Staked his place for the team next week by scoring a cracking goal to give The Reds the lead. Maybe too similar to Odejayi to partner him though. 7
Reuben Noble-Lazarus (for Devaney 83) Showed flashes but coming on late he didn't get the chance to make the same impact as he did against Ferencvaros. 6
Onome Sodje (for Campbell-Ryce 87) N/A
Unused Substitutes:
David Preece, Mounir El Haimour,
Sponsor's Man of the Match: Jacob Butterfield
BarnsleyBoy's Man of the Match: Jacob Butterfield: Very good game. A lot of excitement about Butterfield who showed no fear against City's superstars.
Subs: Taylor, Vidal, Etuhu.
Most Impressed by
Ref Watch: Michael Oliver: Did well for the majority of the game. Probably had only one big decision to deal with.. and he got it wrong- the push on Odejayi in the area. 7
Pre-Season Games:
Aldershot 4-1 Chelsea XI
Arsenal 2-1 Atletico
Bournemouth 1-2 Charlton
Bristol City 3-1 Wycombe
Burnley 1-2 Leeds United
Celtic 1-2 Sunderland
Falkirk 1-0
FC Halifax 3-1 York
Goole 0-4 Lincoln City
Kidderminster
QPR 3-0 Southampton
Rangers 1-0 PSG
Rotherham 2-0 Man City XI
Rushall Olympic 3-2
Scunthorpe 0-2 Brighton
Swansea 4-1 Kilmarnock
Tranmere 1-1 Shrewsbury
Watford 3-2
Wrexham 1-3 Huddersfield
Yeovil 3-0 Tiverton
Next Up:
On The Road:
Coca-Cola Championship Matchday One:
Tickets:
Adults - £21.00
Juveniles (Under 18) - £12.00
Senior Citizens (Over 60) - £12.00
Students (with valid NUS) - £12.00
Official Reds On The Road coaches will be making the trip to Hillsborough. Coaches will depart Oakwell at
The Oakwell Box Office will sell tickets our massive season-opener at
Tickets will not be available on the turnstiles at Hillsborough.
Supporters without a ticket are strongly advised not to travel to the game.
Carling Cup First Round:
Tickets:
2009/10 Season Ticket Holders
Adults: £10
Concessions: £5
Under 16s: £5
Non-Season Ticket Holders
Adults: £15
Concessions: £10
Under 16s: £5
Official Reds On The Road coaches will be making the trip to
At Oakwell:
Coca-Cola Championship Matchday Two:
Tickets are priced at:
East Stand and West Stand Upper Tiers
Adults £21.00
OAP/Juvenile £12.00
Juveniles (U12) £6.00
Family Area
Adults £21.00
OAP £12.00
Juvenile £12.00
Juveniles (U12) £6.00
East Stand Lower and West Stand Lower
Adults £20.00
OAP/Juveniles £11.00
Juveniles (U12) £5.00
CK Beckett Stand (
Adults £19.00
OAP/Juveniles £11.00
Juveniles (U12) £5.00
All Disabled Areas £19.00
Helpers FREE OF CHARGE
Please note that Juvenile U12 tickets must be purchased in advance from the Oakwell Box Office and this price will not be on sale on the turnstiles under any circumstances.