A familiar story was played out
at the One Call Stadium as Barnsley let a 2-0 lead slip for a staggering FOURTH
time this season and the second time against Mansfield.
This slip up joins the games at
Wycombe to draw 2-2 on the 4th October, to lose 3-2 at home to
Mansfield on Boxing Day and to draw 3-3 at home to Wimbledon on Valentines Day.
It is the first time Barnsley
have been 2-0 up away from home in the league and not won on two separate
occasions since the 2010-2011 Championship season when they were 2-0 up at
Bristol City and drew 3-3 and also 2-0 up at Nottingham Forest but drew 2-2.
This is only the second time
this season Barnsley have had back to back league draws – that also included a
2-2 away draw after being 2-0 up, at Wycombe.
It does mean the Reds are
unbeaten in three league outings, a sequence they have only managed to produce
on four occasions in 2025-2026.
The Reds took the lead through
the almost now inevitable source of David McGoldrick, his 17th goal
of the season and 12th in nine appearances.
Of the 12 different games he
has scored in, 11 of them have seen him net Barnsley’s first goal of the game
with eight the opening goal of the game.
This effort also makes him
Barnsley’s top scorer this season, going one clear of the departed Davis
Keillor-Dunn (16) and simultaneously seeing him become the Reds league scorer
with this the 14th league goal compared with DKD’s 13.
He has also equalled his goal
tally of last season for Notts County, with the last time he scored more coming
in 2022-2023 when he scored 25 for Derby.
There are now only four players
(Leyton Orient’s Dom Ballard (18) Stockport's Kyle Wootton (17), Reading's Jack
Marriott (16) and Exeter's Jayden Wareham (16) Lorent Tolaj) who have scored
more League One goals than the 38 year old this season.
Scott Banks had doubled
Barnsley’s lead, becoming the fifth player to net in back to back games for the
Reds after DKD, Reyes Cleary, Adam Phillips and McGoldrick (all comps). It is
the first time Banks has netted in back to back appearances since April 2023
for Bradford in League Two.
Banks goal was set up by
Patrick Kelly, his fourth assist of the season, a tally only bettered by the 14
achieved by Cleary – Banks himself, Phillips and Luca Connell also have four.
Mansfield’s comeback started
with a penalty, the first time the Reds have conceded from 12 yards in 17 games
(all comps) since….. the home meeting with Mansfield.
It is the 12th successive
spot kick converted against Barnsley (excluding shootouts), Charlton’s Chuks
Aneke was the last player to fail from 12 yards against Barnsley back in April
2024.
Stephen
McLaughlin then rescued a point in injury time, only the third time the Reds
have conceded after 90 minutes in the league this season and two of those
occasions have seen them surrender a 2-0 away lead (also at Wycombe) the other
occasion was a 1-0 defeat at Blackpool September.
He becomes the fourth player to
have scored in both league meetings with Barnsley this season
after Exeter’s Jayden Wareham, Bolton’s John McAtee and Reading’s Jack
Marriott.
Corey
O’Keeffe was substituted after 39 minutes, the change made before by half time
by Conor Hourihane in 11 games since Reyes Cleary was replaced after 31 minutes
of the 4-0 defeat at Cardiff on the 27th January.
Mael
de Gevigney was booked after only seven minutes, the fourth time this season
Barnsley have received a yellow card in the opening ten minutes of a game, all
of which have come within the last 11 outings.
O’Keeffe
followed the Frenchman into the book after 27 minutes, the first time in 23
league matches they have received two first half yellows and it is the earliest
in a match they have received two since the 7th December 2024
against Birmingham (23 minutes with O’Keeffe again of of those carded)
For
the second successive year Barnsley faced Mansfield on this weekend at the One Call
Stadium (15th March 2025 last year) and on both occasions the Reds
conceded twice with the second coming in the 90th minute or later.
This
was Barnsley’s tenth league draw of the season, equalling their total from
2024-2025.
Barnsley
have now scored 58 league goals with this the 20th time (from 35
league games) in which they have scored two or more goals. Only the division’s
top two sides Cardiff (73) and Lincoln (69) have netted more League One goals
this season.
They
have though also conceded 58 league goals with this the 18th time
they have conceded two or more goals. Only three teams Blackpool (61), Leyton
Orient (60) and Doncaster (59) have conceded more League One goals this season.
Barnsley
have now gone 21 league games without a clean sheet, their longest run since a
streak of 22 games between 31st August 2002 and 18th
January 2003.
This result ended a run of three successive defeats for Barnsley
against Mansfield but they have now won only one of the last six (D1 L4)
stretching back to 2002.
At least one team has scored twice in each of the last four
meetings with the home side doing so in each of the last three.
Neither side has kept a clean sheet in either of the last four
meetings with a shutout last occurring, back to back, in 2002-2003 when both
sides won the away meeting 1-0.
Barnsley have won only two of their last nine trips to Mansfield
with each of the last three trips ending in a Win, Loss, Draw.
This is the third 2-2 draw between the two sides with the others
occurring in 1960 and 1973.
It is the 12th draw overall just behind Barnsley wins
(14) and Mansfield wins (13)
There were 30 shots in this game, the most in eight Barnsley
matches when there were 33 at Bolton on the 7th February.
At least one side has had exactly four shots on target in each of
Barnsley’s last three matches and in five of the last six.
Both Barnsley and Mansfield had four in this game, the first time
Barnsley and their opponents have had the same amount of shots on target since
the 13th September against Reading (five each)
Barnsley Team:
1. Owen Goodman
7. Corey O’Keeffe
6. Mael de Gevigney
15. Eoghan O’Connell
5. Jack Shepherd
10. David McGoldrick
48. Luca Connell
22. Patrick Kelly
45. Vimal Yoganathan
18. Scott Banks
9. Tom Bradshaw
Substitutes:
27. Tennai Watson (for O’Keeffe
39)
8. Adam Phillips (for Kelly 69)
30. Jonathan Bland (for Banks 69)
19. Reyes Cleary (for Bradshaw
86)
Unused
Substitutes:
51.
Kieren Flavell, 14. Nathanel Ogbeta, 20. Charlie Lennon.
Mansfield Team:
1. Liam Roberts
2.
Kyle Knoyle
23.
Adedeji Oshilaja
20.
Frazer Blake-Tracy
7.
Lucas Akins
40.
George Abbott
25.
Louis Reed
3.
Stephen McLaughlin
8.
Aaron Lewis
19.
Victor Adeboyejo
18.
Rhys Oates
Substitutions:
4. Elliott Hewitt (for Knoyle 45)
24. Regan Hendry (for Lewis 45)
11. Will Evans (for Adeboyejo 45)
22. Nathan Moriah-Welsh (for
Abbott 56)
44. Oliver Irow (for Reed 87)
Unused
Substitutes:
9. Jordan Bowery, 28. Joe
Gardner.
League One Results
Saturday 14th March
Lincoln City (1st) 3-1 Stockport County (7th)
Moylan 10
Diamond 60
Darikwa 87
Lloyd 90+4
Rotherham United (22nd) 2-2 Bolton Wanderers (3rd)
Nombe 39
Nombe 42
Forino
51
Dalby 83
Doncaster Rovers (17th) 2-1 Blackpool (21st)
Bailey 21
Adelakun 83
Fletcher
88
Exeter City (18th) 0-4 Cardiff City (2nd)
Colwill 31
Colwill 34
Robertson 67
Robinson 86
Leyton Orient (19th) 2-1 Peterborough United (14th)
Simpson 44
Bakinson 81
Morgan
85
Mansfield Town (15th) 2-2 BARNSLEY (12th)
McGoldrick
19
Banks 49
Akins pen 57
McLaughlin 90+4
Northampton Town (23rd) 0-2 Burton Albion (16th)
Beesley
32
Lofthouse
89
Port Vale (24th) 0-0 Huddersfield Town (6th)
Reading (8th) 2-2 Plymouth Argyle (10th)
Williams 3
Mitchell 6
O’Connor 18
Watts 67
Stevenage (5th) 1-0 AFC Wimbledon (13th)
Reid pen 10
Wigan Athletic (20th) 2-0 Bradford City (4th)
Vickers 20
Taylor 78
Wycombe Wanderers (8th) 1-2 Luton Town (11th)
Naismith
21
Palmer
39
Quitirna 90+7
Barnsley lie in 12th
place in Sky Bet League One with 49 points from 35 games. We are 7 points off the
Play-Offs, 27 points off the Automatic Promotion Places, 31 points off First
Place and 11 points above the Relegation Zone.
Up to 15/3/26
Next Up:
At
Oakwell:
Sky Bet League One Matchday Thirty Six: Barnsley v Wigan Athletic, Tuesday 17th March 2026. Kick-Off: 8pm
On
The Road:
Sky Bet League One Matchday Thirty Eight: Northampton Town v Barnsley, Saturday 28th March 2026. Kick-Off: 3pm
