Wanderers suffered a further damaging blow to their play-off hopes on another potentially defining afternoon at Oakwell, writes Pete Oliver.
The Whites have played some pivotal games at Barnsley in recent seasons – including two play-off semi-final legs. However, their chances of reaching the end-of-season shoot-out for a third successive year were further diminished by a fifth defeat in seven games which leaves them three points outside the top six – and with a worsening goal difference – with just four games to play.
Some of those recent defeats have been arguably undeserved, and none have been by more than a goal, but Wanderers could have no complaints about this one in their worst performance since Steven Schumacher took over as head coach.
Schumacher has done his best to coax this team over the line and all is not quite lost. But this was a painful blow as two goals in each half – the first two making the real difference in a particularly poor 45 minutes – gifted Barnsley the double from a welcome win and gave the Whites everything to do in their final four games.
Wanderers had Ricardo Almeida Santos back on duty for the first time since mid-January as the only change to the side that had lost in mid-week to slide out of the top six and the former skipper quickly had to fill two different defensive roles in a tough start for the Whites.
Having kicked off with three central defenders, Wanderers switched to a flat back four and moved things around in front of them after being over-run in the opening stages and going behind after a quarter of an hour.
Barnsley looked nothing like a side which had failed to win in seven games and had managed only five victories at home all season as they attacked at will and deservedly went in front as Jon Russell ran un-checked to pick out the bottom corner from the edge of the penalty area.
Schumacher reacted immediately to try and stem the flow but Barnsley had their tails up and doubled their lead 10 minutes later.
Adam Phillips had already forced Baxter into one excellent save and when the Reds’ midfielder executed a well-worked free-kick, Josh Earl played the ball back across goal for the dangerous Fabio Jello to tap in.
It was a tough watch as Wanderers struggled all over the pitch and before half-time Schumacher had seen enough as he made a triple substitution, sending on Gethin Jones and Alex Murphy to fill the full-back roles and Jay Matete to replace the injured Aaron Morley, who was stretchered off with an apparent ankle injury.
The only consolation for the Whites was that they didn’t trail by more at the break and might have even pulled a goal back in stoppage time to give themselves hopes as they belatedly got into the contest.
Aaron Collins couldn’t take a chance from a John McAtee cross but McAtee then had a clearer opening against the club where he previously played on loan but from Matete’s pass slid his attempted finish wide of the target.
Another change followed at half-time with Josh Sheehan feeling a knock and Kyle Dempsey pitched in and from Dempsey’s free-kick McAtee headed wide as Wanderers looked for the goal that could still get them back into the game.
Jordi Osei-Tutu then fired the ball across the six-yard box and Alex Murphy had a shot blocked as the Whites looked to keep the pressure on and give the travelling fans behind the goal their side was attacking something to latch onto.
With half an hour still to go it was wide open and following a succession of corners captain George Thomason – who did his best to keep pushing his troops – poked the wide when Reds’ keeper Kieren Flavell spilled a Collins’ delivery.
But a goal needed to come at that point and after riding out the brief storm it was Barnsley who struck next to seemingly guarantee the points with 20 minutes to go. Jalo had looked a threat all afternoon and when he was released by Davis Keillor-Dunn showed the composure and confidence needed to cut back inside and fire his second goal of the game into the roof of the net.
That looked like game up for Wanderers, especially with Osei-Tutu carrying an injury that made him passenger and left the Whites with 10 men when he finally gave up the fight.
By then the deficit was at least down to two goals as Collins replied almost instantly by running onto Matete’s pass and rounding Flavell to move to 19 goals for the season.
But there was to be no real prospect of a comeback from there with Wanderers running on empty and Barnsley able to add a fourth and also a second for Russell as he rose to nod in a cross from Phillips.
Collins had one more chance and in stoppage time Baxter saved well from Dexter Lembiska but all the damage had been done in a dismal first half on a miserable afternoon for Schumacher’s men.
Wanderers: Baxter; Forino, Almeida-Santos (Lolos 67), Johnston (Murphy 39); Dacres-Cogley (Jones 39), Sheehan (Dempsey HT), Thomason, Osei-Tutu; Morley (Matete 39), Collins, McAtee. Substitutes: Southwood, Jones, Murphy, Mendes Gomes.
Booked: Dempsey, Lolos
Barnsley: Flavell; Bland, Roberts, McCarthy, Earl (Lembikisa 87); Connell, Russell; Jalo (Cotter 90+1), Phillips, Humphreys (O’Keefe 67); Keillor-Dunn. Substitutes: Hayton, Cotter, Lewis, Lembiska, Rodrigues, Nwakali.
Booked: Connell, Russell
Referee: Elliot Bell
Attendance: 13,685