Barnsley’s winless run at Oakwell is now at ten games in all competitions after they lost a 2-0 lead late on in a 2-2 draw with Northampton Town.

Max Watters ended his goal drought with the opener midway through the first half then Adam Phillips doubled the lead seconds after the break.

But Northampton netted in the 73rd and 78th minutes to salvage a point.

Darrell Clarke made two changes from the side that won at Lincoln City a week earlier. Conor Hourihane and Georgie Gent came into the side for Matty Craig, who was not in the squad, and Donovan Pines who was on the bench along with 18-year-old Vimal Yoganathan who netted twice in midweek in the EFL Trophy.

The visitors started the brighter with Luke Mbete heading wide from a fourth-minute corner by Samy Chouchane.

Northampton goalkeeper Lee Burge then pushed away a free-kick from the right, taken by Luca Connell, and kept out a 20-yard strike by Adam Phillips with Sam Cosgrove putting the rebound from a tight angle across the face of goal.

Northampton opened the right side of Barnsley’s defence up after 15 minutes but Mbete’s loss cross was somehow turned over his own bar by Gent a yard out.

Barnsley made the breakthrough when Phillips was played clean through on the right by a ball over the top. He controlled it and squared to Cosgrove who laid it off for Watters to find the bottom left corner from ten yards out. It was his first goal since December.

Northampton could have levelled soon after when Tariqe Fosu surged down the left of the Barnsley box and pulled the ball back to Mitch Pinnock whose effort from the edge of the area was scuffed badly wide.

Phillips almost doubled the lead but his header from a Barry Cotter long throw dropped just wide of the bottom left corner.

Sam Hoskins then shot over from 20 yards for the visitors before Jack Baldwin’s header from a Chouchane free-kick on the stroke of half-time was impressively clawed out of the bottom right corner by Slonina.

The second goal arrived just 14 seconds into the second half when Baldwin gifted the ball to Phillips who ran through to beat the goalkeeper and find the bottom right corner.

Cosgrove then saw a header from a right-wing cross fumbled onto the bar by the goalkeeper.

Slonina easily saved Callum Morton’s scuffed effort form just inside the ox.

Cosgrove almost made it 3-0 but headed wide from close-range when meeting a cross by substitute Kyran Lofthouse at the back post.

The deficit was halved when Liam McCarron charged into the Barnsley half after a decent move and shot into the bottom right corner from the edge of the box.

Lofthouse almost replied immediately when he cut in from the left of the box and shot powerfully but it was straight at the goalkeeper who kept it out.

It was 2-2 on 78 minutes when Slonina rushed out to meet a left-wing free-kick at the back post but was beaten to it by Baldwin whose header floated in.

Barnsley (3-5-2): Slonina; de Gevigney, Roberts, Earl; Cotter (Marsh 88mins), Hourihane (Russell 56mins), Connell, Phillips, Gent (Pines HT); Watters (Lotfhouse 66), Cosgrove.

Unused: Killip, O’Keeffe, Yoganathan.

Goals: Watters 27, Phillips 46.

Northampton (4-2-3-1): Burge; McGowan, Willis (Baldwin 33mins), Guthrie, Mbete; McGeehan, Chouchane (Hondermarck 70); Pinnock, Hoskins, Fosu (McCarron 65); Morton. Unused: Tzanev, Wilson, Koiki, Odimayo.

Goals: Morton 73, Baldwin 78.