Barnsley made it three successive win and started 2025 with a 2-1 home victory over high-flying Wrexham.

The Reds surged into an early 2-0 lead through goals by Davis Keillor-Dunn and Adam Phillips during a first half in which they dominated.

Wrexham were much improved in a second half which saw both sides miss chances before the visitors pulled one back late on but could not level.

The win took Barnsley into the play-offs in sixth and was a first at home in almost two months.

It continued a superb turnaround after the 4-0 home loss to Leyton Orient in the previous home game 11 days earlier.

Josh Earl returned from injury and came in for Donovan Pines, which was the only change from the win at Peterborough on Sunday. The Reds are thought to be keen to manage Pines’ minutes after he has played regularly in recent weeks. Conor McCarthy played in middle of back three.

Wrexham started well and had a goal ruled out on two minutes when Oliver Rathbone scrambled in after Ollie Palmer met a cross by Ryan Barnett.

The Reds soon settled and McCarthy headed well off target from a Corey O’Keeffe corner.

The Reds took the lead in the tenth minute when, after Luca Connell won the ball near halfway, Phillips switched the ball from the right wing to the left of the box where Keillor-Dunn controlled it before expertly finding the bottom right corner against his old club.

The second goal saw Max Watters rob Eoghan O’Connell of the ball on the left wing and power into the box before stopping and pulling it back to Phillips on the edge of the area who skipped past O’Connell and curled beautifully into the top left corner.

Barry Cotter then curled well over on the left box after a good move involving Watters and Jon Russell.

Early in the second half, Killip made a good save diving low to his right to keep out a shot from Stephen Fletcher who met a left-wing corner.

Wrexham striker Paul Mullin then latched onto a long pass on the right but his shot from a tight angle hit the side netting. He was played through again by an O’Connell pass and went one on one with Killip who made a fine block then Fletcher’s effort was turned off the line by Corey O’Keeffe.

Phillips should have made it 3-0, latching onto a cross from the right with only the goalkeeper to beat but volleying well wide of the bottom left corner.

Killip then touched George Dobson’s header onto the cross bar from a left wing cross before also pushing away a header by Max Cleworth.

Keillor-Dunn saw a shot from the right of the box, after a Phillips pass, turned out of the bottom right corner by the goalkeeper then Fletcher almost scored an own goal from O’Keeffe’s corner but it went just wide.

Cleworth eventually pulled one back on 80 minutes when, after a short corner on the right went through to the unmarked Mullin on the left, his scuffed low cross evaded a crowd of Barnsley players and was smashed in.

Mullin headed wide deep in injury-time then Fletcher volleyed off target.

Barnsley (3-5-2): Killip; de Gevigney, McCarthy, Earl (Pines 53mins); O’Keeffe, Phillips, Connell, Russell, Cotter (Gent 90+4); Watters (Humphrys 53), Keillor-Dunn (Cosgrove 85).

Unused: Smith, Yoganathan, Nwakali.

Yellow cards: Killip.

Goals: Keillor-Dunn 11, Phillips 24.

Wrexham (3-5-2): Howard; Cleworth, O’Connell (Bodvarsson 90), O’Connor; Barnett, James, Dobson (Cannon 73), Rathbone, McClean; Mullin, Palmer (Fletcher HT).

Unused: Okwonko, Revan, Mendy, Scarr.

Goals: Cleworth 80.