These wins at Hillsborough are like buses – you wait 11 years for one then two come along in a row!
It is only the third time Barnsley have won successive games at Hillsborough (from 41 visits) with the previous two occasions coming between 1938 and 1946 and between 1920 and 1921.
Prior to these two victories in 2020 and 2022 Barnsley had won only one of 16 visits (all comps) in 2009, losing 13.
It is though their first win at Hillsborough in front of fans for 14 years.
The Reds are though now on a run of only one defeat in their last four trips (W2 D1 L1)
2-0 is Barnsley’s biggest victory at Hillsborough since November 1979 (also 2-0) and is their joint biggest winning margin there, also winning 4-2 in September 1946.
This was only Barnsley’s second away win in 29 league games (including play-offs) and ended a run of nine away league games without a victory (W1 D2 L7)
Four away games into a season is the earliest Barnsley have secured their first victory since their last League One season, 2018-2019 when they won their opening two.
This was only the third time in 27 away league games that Barnsley have taken a 2-0 lead – doing so on two occasions last season, at QPR in August (which finished 2-2) and at Hull in February which finished 2-0.
It is only the fourth time Barnsley have scored 2+ goals in successive visits to Hillsborough (also doing so in 1921 and 1922, back to back 3-2 wins, in 1946 and 1947 winning 4-2 then losing 5-2 and 1979 and 1981 winning 2-0 then drawing 2-2)
This was the first South Yorkshire derby between the two sides in the third tier since 2005 and Barnsley’s first win against the Owls at this level since 1983.
Each of Barnsley’s last three away league wins have been accompanied by clean sheets (2-0 v Wednesday, 2-0 v Hull, 1-0 v Huddersfield spanning 17 months)
Barnsley have gone successive away league games without defeat for the first time since the opening two of 2021-2022 (draws v Cardiff and QPR)
It is the first time they have scored 2+ goals in successive away league games since March/April 2021 when they did it in four successive matches – 3-1 at QPR, 3-2 at Bournemouth, 3-1 at Wycombe and 2-1 at Luton)
Devante Cole opened the scoring, his second goal in five appearances – as many as he had scored in his previous 31 appearances for the club.
It is only Cole’s second away goal for the Reds and first since netting at Peterborough in October 2014.
James Norwood headed in the second straight from the bench to grab his first goal for the club and first in League One since netting for Ipswich on the 30th April.
His goal came from a Luca Connell corner which he had been brought on to attack, it was Barnsley’s only corner of the game.
This was the first league game two strikers have scored in for Barnsley since 3rd November 2021 when Aaron Leya Iseka and Victor Adeboyejo netted against Derby at Oakwell, it is the first occasion on the road since the 21st August 2021 when Dominik Frieser and Cauley Woodrow scored at QPR.
As mentioned before a Connell corner set up Norwood’s goal, he now has three assists in the last two league outings. He is the first Red to assist in successive league games since Carlton Morris against Hull and Middlesbrough in February.
Norwood is the first Barnsley substitute to score in a league game since Callum Styles at Huddersfield in April.
For the third successive game Barnsley made a first half change as Josh Benson came off after 32 minutes, it’s the second successive league game Benson has had to come off in the first half.
Barnsley had two substitutes booked (Norwood and Wolfe) for the second successive league game and on both occasions it has been Norwood and Wolfe.
Those two yellows came in the 80th and 82nd minutes respectively, seven of Barnsley’s 14 League One yellow cards have come in the last ten minutes.
Barnsley had 14 shots, their most on the road this season and most since Swansea away, eight away games ago (all comps)
Five were on target, the most away from home this season and most since Hull away in February, 12 away games ago (all comps)
Barnsley have won only one corner in three of their last four matches (all comps)
Wednesday’s total of 10 in this game is the most by a Barnsley opponent this season and since Preston won 10 at Oakwell in the final home game of 2021-2022.
Barnsley Team:
40. Brad Collins
24. Robbie Cundy
6. Mads Andersen
21. Conor McCarthy
2. Jordan Williams
10. Josh Benson
48. Luca Connell
5. Liam Kitching
16. Luke Thomas
44. Devante Cole
27. Jack Aitchison
Substitutes:
33. Matty Wolfe (for Benson 32)
14. Josh Martin (for Thomas 74)
9. James Norwood (for Aitchison 74)
31. Slobodan Tedic (for Cole 74)
8. Herbie Kane (for Connell 86)
Unused Substitutes:
3. Thomas Edwards, 20. Jamie Searle.
Sheffield Wednesday Team:
31. David Stockdale
6. Dominic Iorfa
20. Michael Ihiekwe
34. Mark McGuinness
2. Liam Palmer
14. George Byers
19. Tyreeq Bakinson
18. Marvin Johnson
10. Barry Bannan
11. Josh Windass
9. Lee Gregory
Substitutions:
7. Mallik Wilks (for Windass 64)
45. Alex Mighten (for Bakinson 64)
33. Reece James (for McGuinness 64)
24. Michael Smith (for Johnson 70)
Unused Substitutes:
4. Will Vaulks, 13. Callum Paterson, 25. Cameron Dawson.
Sheffield Wednesday manager Darren Moore said:
“We just weren’t where we needed to be today. It happens in football, you can’t put your finger on it, but the way you recover is to get back on the training ground and work.
“That’s what we will do, we will analyse the game, we will talk it through with the players and we will move on.
“I think today we had six or seven players not themselves and sometimes when you have one or two, you can carry that. But not six or seven.
“But I don’t want to take anything away from Barnsley and Michael Duff, they’ve come here, played well and taken the three points.
Match Reports:
SKY Bet League One Results
Saturday 3rd September 2022
Accrington Stanley (18th) 0-2 Ipswich Town (1st)
Chaplin 76
Burns 87
Bolton Wanderers (8th) 3-1 Charlton Athletic (12th)
Fraser 4
Bradley 9
Lee 41
Johnston 76
Bristol Rovers (16th) 2-2 Morecambe (22nd)
Weir 12
Loft 29
Phillips 53
Thomas 80
Cambridge United (5th) 2-0 Lincoln City (20th)
Ironside 24
Ironside 27
Derby County (9th) 2-3 Plymouth Argyle (3rd)
Collins 26
Mendez-Laing 38
Whittaker 56
Cosgrove 77
Cosgrove 90
Exeter City (7th) 1-0 Milton Keynes Dons (19th)
Diabate 66
Fleetwood Town (15th) 1-1 Wycombe Wanderers (14th)
Mehmeti 39
Muskwe 67
Forest Green Rovers (23rd) 0-2 Shrewsbury Town (13th)
Pyke 10
Shipley 48
Oxford United (11th) 2-1 Burton Albion (24th)
Brannagan 48
Joseph 71
Adeboyejo 77
Port Vale (17th) 2-2 Cheltenham Town (21st)
N’Lundulu 24
Odubeko 37
Perry og 40
Brown 90+2
Portsmouth (2nd) 2-1 Peterborough United (6th)
Marriott 5
Scarlett 38
Scarlett 70
Sheffield Wednesday (4th) 0-2 BARNSLEY (10th)
Cole 34
Norwood 74
Barnsley lie in 10th place in Sky Bet League One with 10 points from 7 games. We are 2 points off the Play-Offs, 7 points off the Automatic Promotion Places, 7 points off First Place and 5 points above the Relegation Zone.
Up to 03/09/22
Next Up:
At Oakwell:
Sky Bet League One Matchday Eight: Barnsley v Portsmouth, Saturday 10th September 2022 Kick Off: 3pm
On The Road:
Sky Bet League One Matchday Ten: Cambridge United v Barnsley, Saturday 17th September 2022 Kick Off: 3pm