Barnsley suffered their heaviest defeat under Gerhard Struber which has put a major dent in their hopes of avoiding relegation.
Following defeat to the side who started the day just one place above them in the table Barnsley fell four points from safety with only five games to go.
The Reds made an awful start to the game, falling behind after just eight minutes, the earliest goal they have conceded since Boxing Day (fifth minute v West Brom)
It is also the second time this season they have conceded against Stoke in the eighth minute.
Then just two minutes later a woeful back header from Mads Andersen led to Stoke doubling their advantage – the second time this season they have been 2-0 behind inside the opening 10 minutes after being 2-0 down after just four minutes at home to Luton in August.
It is the first time they have been two goals down inside the first ten minutes on two separate occasions in a season since 2006-2007 when they fell 2-0 down at Hull (6mins, 9mins) however came back to win 3-2 and 2-0 down against Colchester (3mins, 10mins) in a game they would eventually lose 3-0.
Two became three after 38 minutes, and they were 3-0 down at the break for the THIRD time this season, the most in a campaign since the Premier League season of 1997-1998 when they were at least three goals behind at the break on four occasions.
To try and spark a change in fortune, Gerhard Struber made three changes at the break, the most at half time since Paul Heckingbottom made all his allotted three at Reading in November 2017 (Barnsley were 2-0 down at the time and lost 3-0)
Tyrese Campbell scored two of the four goals – the seventh different player to score at least two goals in a game against Barnsley this season also Tom Barkhuizen, Luke Amos, Bradley Dack, Sam Clucas, Daniel Johnson, and Ollie Watkins, the latter scoring a hattrick. The most in a season since 2016-2017 (8)
This was Barnsley’s heaviest defeat by a side who were in the relegation zone prior to kickoff since 23rd place Crawley defeated the Reds 5-1 in League One in February 2015.
This was Barnsley’s heaviest defeat under Gerhard Struber but the fourth time they have conceded at least four goals this season (all comps) the most in a season since 2013-2014 (5)
Barnsley were Michael O’Neill’s first opponents as Stoke manager back in November and are the first side the Potters have completed a league double over under the Northern Irishman.
They have scored four goals in both games against Barnsley – with the total of eight the most they have netted against the Reds in a single campaign.
Stoke have netted 11 goals in their last three meetings with Barnsley (3-3, 4-2, 4-0)
Stoke are the first team to score four goals against Barnsley home and away in a single season since Coventry City in 2007-2008 (4-1 at Oakwell, 4-0 at the Ricoh Arena)
Barnsley have now failed to win any of their last 55 Championship matches in which they have conceded the first goal, (D11 L44) since defeating Leeds 3-2 three years ago (21st January 2017)
Tom Ince scored his fourth career goal against Barnsley, and he has scored these goals with three different clubs – Blackpool (2), Derby, Stoke.
Stoke have achieved a league double over Barnsley for the first time since 1957-1958 – they have met in league competition in 12 seasons in-between.
Barnsley’s two defeats against the Potters in 2019-2020 came on the back of a four match unbeaten run against them (W1 D3) and they are two of only six defeats in the last 21 meetings (all comps)
Despite this thumping defeat Barnsley had 63% ball possession, their most away from home since the 1-0 defeat at Middlesbrough in November.
Despite this Barnsley only mustered five shots in total, their lowest amount of the season and lowest since Wycombe away in December 2018 – also 5.
Barnsley Team:
13. Jack Walton
3. Ben Williams
6. Mads Andersen
7. Jacob Brown
9. Cauley Woodrow
11. Conor Chaplin
14. Kilian Ludewig
16. Luke Thomas
17. Marcel Ritzmaier
18. Michael Sollbauer
27. Alex Mowatt
Substitutes:
2. Jordan Williams (for Ben Williams 45)
20. Callum Styles (for Ritzmaier 45)
28. Elliot Simoes (for Brown 45)
22. Clarke Oduor (for Ludewig 55)
19. Patrick Schmidt (for Woodrow 71)
Unused Substitutes:
40. Brad Collins, 10. Mike Bahre, 24. Aapo Halme, 37. Aiden Marsh.
Stoke Team:
1 Jack Butland
6. Danny Batth
9. Sam Vokes
11. James McClean
12. James Chester
14. Tom Smith
15. Bruno Martins Indi
22. Sam Clucas
24. Jordan Cousins
25. Nick Powell
26. Tyrese Campbell
Substitutions:
7. Tom Ince (for Campbell 71)
19. Lee Gregory (for Vokes 71)
33. Lasse Sorensen (for Powell 85)
18. Mame Biram Diouf (for McClean 89)
34. Jordan Thompson (for Clucas 90)
Unused Substitutes:
3. Stephen Ward, 16. Adam Davies, 17. Ryan Shawcross, 37. Nathan Collins.
Stoke manager Michael O’Neill said:
"I am delighted with the result. We had the right intensity in our play that was the message we hammered home during the week.
"We have done a lot on set-pieces and we capitalised on that. We deserved to win the game.
"We were pleased with our play; it was a great result after a difficult week. It is a step in the right direction but nothing else.
"We had a higher intensity to our play and scored some very good goals. We need to carry this forward over the next five games, or we will be in the relegation zone."
Sky Bet Championship results
FRIDAY 3RD JULY 2020
Charlton Athletic (19th) 0-1 Millwall (9th)
Cooper 81
SATURDAY 4TH JULY 2020
Derby County (7th) 1-1 Nottingham Forest (5th)
Lolley 12
Martin 90+7
Blackburn Rovers (11th) 1-3 Leeds United (1st)
Bamford 7
Phillips 40
Armstrong 48
Klich 53
Stoke City (18th) 4-0 Barnsley (23rd)
Vokes 8
Campbell 10
Campbell 38
Ince 87
Brentford (3rd) 3-0 Wigan Athletic (16th)
Benrahma 19
Benrahma 57
Benrahma 66
Bristol City (12th) 0-1 Cardiff City (6th)
Ward 85
Fulham (4th) 1-0 Birmingham City (17th)
Onomah 90+5
Huddersfield Town (20th) 0-0 Preston North End (10th)
Luton Town (24th) 0-5 Reading (14th)
Meite 17
Meite 18
Meite 35
Puscas 57
Meite 62
SUNDAY 5TH JULY 2020
Swansea City (8th) 2-1 Sheffield Wednesday (15th)
Brewster 52
Ayew pen 66
Nuhiu 90+4
Middlesbrough (22nd) 0-1 Queens Park Rangers (13th)
Hugill 32
West Bromwich Albion (2nd) 4-2 Hull City (21st)
Austin 4
Stewart 24
Hegazi 37
Wilks 48
Grosicki 49
Diangana 76
Barnsley lie in 23rd place in the Sky Bet Championship with 41 points from 41 games. We are 23 points outside the Play-Offs, 36 points outside the Automatic Promotion Places, 37 points outside First Place and 4 points inside the Relegation Zone.
Up to 5/7/20
Next Up:
On The Road:
Sky Bet Championship Matchday Forty Two: Luton Town v Barnsley, Tuesday 7th July 2020. Kick-Off: 6pm
At Oakwell:
Sky Bet Championship Matchday Forty Three: Barnsley v Wigan Athletic, Saturday 11th July 2020. Kick-Off: 3pm