Barnsley went into a three week
break without a league game with a positive point against former Premier League
champions Leicester who were still playing in the top flight as recently as May
2025.
It is coincidentally Barnsley’s
first league point against a side who has won the Premier League since a 0-0
draw with Blackburn in September 2021.
The prospect of that looked
bleak after only seven minutes when the Foxes opened the scoring – it is the
first time Barnsley have conceded a goal inside the opening ten minutes of
successive league games since February when it occurred against Northampton and
Bolton.
It is the earliest the Reds
have conceded in 16 home games (all comps) since Northampton’s Nesta
Guinness-Walker scored after three minutes on the 3rd February.
It also extended a club record
run without a home clean sheet (all competitions) to a 22nd game and
they have incredibly only had one home shutout in 43 outings stretching back to
February 2025.
This was the eighth time the
defence has been breached at Oakwell in the league this season, only Bromley
(9) have conceded more home League One goals in 2026-2027.
It went from bad to worse when
Luca Connell was shown a straight red card after 26 minutes, the Reds earliest
sending off since Vimal Yoganathan was dismissed after just eight minutes
against Bradford in April.
Remarkably Barnsley have now
drawn each of their last four matches in which they have had a man sent off.
In addition to referee Seb
Stocksbridge dismissing Connell he also brandished eight yellows, the joint most
in a Barnsley game this season (at Leyton Orient) and most in a game at Oakwell
for a year since Elliot Bell brandished eight when the Reds met Reading on the
13th September 2025.
Two of the yellows were for
Barnsley substitutes (Jonathan Bland and Clayton Taylor), the first time this
has occurred in 18 matches since Marc Roberts and Leo Farrell were booked after
coming on from the bench. It is the first time it has occurred at Oakwell since
the 4th January 2025 against Crawley.
Bland and Taylor’s yellows
arrived in injury time (90+1 and 90+6) – the sixth and seventh bookings in the
90th minute or later this season from 10 games (all comps), that is 42% of the
24 cards they have received so far this season.
Reyes Cleary made the chance of
a January move become more likely by smashing home the equaliser, his fifth
goal of the season which means he is only two behind his total for 2025-2026.
This was the 11th
different game Cleary has scored in for Barnsley and they have lost only one (W6
D4)
He has now scored in successive
games on three occasions.
Arley Kay set up the goal which
means he is the first Barnsley player to assist in successive games since Scott
Banks against Northampton and Bolton in February.
Boosted by a large away
contingent there were 13,665 in attendance, the highest Oakwell crowd since the
penultimate home game of last season v Bradford (14,906) and the highest
against a non Yorkshire opponent since April 2025 against Bolton (13,685)
Barnsley have now only lost two
of their last 11 games to kick off at 12:30pm however this was the seventh draw
which includes each of the last three.
Barnsley have now kept only
three clean sheets in their past 40 League One games
This
was the first meeting between Barnsley and Leicester for 12 years and Barnsley
have now won only two of the last 19.
This
was the fifth draw in that sequence and ended a run of successive defeats
against the Foxes.
Of
the 34 meetings to end in a stalemate this was the 12th end 1-1.
Each
of the last three Oakwell meetings have seen a WLD for Barnsley and they have
won only four of the last 14 clashes here dating back to 1991.
Barnsley had only 21.3% ball possession, their
lowest for a staggering 262 matches in all competitions since registering 21%
in a 2-0 Championship home defeat to Swansea on the 24th November
2021.
There were 13 shots on target, the most in a
Barnsley league game this season.
There were also 31 fouls, the most in a league
game for 12 months since 34 freekicks were awarded in the match against Reading
on the 13th September 2025.
Barnsley:
25. Rogan Ravenhill
4. Sam Gale
6. Connor O’Riordan
5. Jack Shepherd
2. Arley Kay
17. Amani Richards
22. Patrick Kelly
8. Cameron McGeehan
48. Luca Connell
19. Reyes Cleary
10. Ben Toure
Substitutes:
11. Tyrese Noslin (for Richards 34)
30. Jonathan Bland (for Toure 54)
45. Vimal Yoganathan (for McGeehan 67)
13. Clayton Taylor (for Gale 67)
Unused
Substitutes:
51. Kieren Flavell, 9. Makenzie Kirk, 36. Luke
Alker.
Leicester
Team:
29. Alex McCarthy
32. Olabade Aluko
16. Warren O’Hora
3. Wout Faes
33. Luke Thomas
25. Louis Page
11. Liam Cullen
37. Sammy Braybrooke
6. John Lundstram
37. Will Alves
17. Emil Riis
Substitutions:
26. Woyo Coulibaly (for Aluko 45)
23. Tom Watson (for Braybrooke 62)
7. Wes Burns (for Cullen 62)
20. Harry Howell (for Page 81)
14. Bobby De Cordova-Reid (for Alves 86)
Unused
Substitutes:
21.
Franco Ravizzoli, 15. Harry Souttar.
Sky Bet League One Results
Thursday 17th September:
AFC Wimbledon (7th) 0-0
Milton Keynes Dons (22nd)
Saturday 19th September:
BARNSLEY (18th) 1-1
Leicester City (13th)
Cullen
7
Cleary 61
Burton Albion (12th) 2-2
Mansfield Town (17th)
Oshilaja og 16
Armer 28
Smith
40
Akins
70
Blackpool (15th) 2-4
Plymouth Argyle (3rd)
Brown 30
Irow
36
Irow
52
White
57
Yates 70
Pepple
89
Bromley (19th) 2-1
Huddersfield Town (4th)
McKiernan 9
Fletcher
45+3
Miller 71
Leyton Orient (10th) 1-0
Stevenage (11th)
Gilbert 79
Luton Town (16th) 0-1
Bradford City (1st)
Pointon
4
Oxford United (6th) 1-1
Cambridge United (5th)
Dembele 15
Knight
57
Peterborough United (23rd)
0-2 Doncaster Rovers (21st)
May
15
Hutchinson
88
Reading (8th) 2-0 Notts
County (20th)
Marriott 49
Marriott 72
Sheffield Wednesday (2nd)
0-0 Stockport County (9th)
Wigan Athletic (24th) 0-1
Wycombe Wanderers (14th)
Casey 68
Barnsley lie in 18th place in Sky Bet League One with
8 points from 7 games. We are 3 points off the Play-Offs, 6 points off the
Automatic Promotion Places, 7 points off First Place and 2 points above Relegation
Zone.
Up to 20/9/26
Next Up:
At Oakwell:
EFL Trophy Group Stage: Barnsley v Leeds United Under 21s, Tuesday 22nd September 2026. Kick-Off 7pm
On The Road:
EFL
Trophy Group Stage: Fleetwood Town v Barnsley, Tuesday 6th October
2026. Kick-Off 7pm
