MORE than 300 days have passed since Barnsley last won back to back home games but the Reds will be hoping Saturday's 3-0 win against Crawley Town will kickstart their Oakwell form this season.
Six players who started the 2-1 win against Derby County in February - the last time the Reds won back to back home games - have left Oakwell.
Only the back three and Adam Phillips started the 3-0 win against Crawley and the Derby fixture.
Since that game Oakwell has been a tough place for the Reds, but those who remain at the club will be determined to not go 11 months without back to back home wins again.
The home form has been their kryptonite so far this season but it's looking more and more likely that Oakwell may finally become the fortress head coach Darrell Clarke is wanting it to be.
A first half goal by Jon Russell, followed by strikes from Max Watters and Davis Keillor-Dunn in the second half gave the Reds all three points.
Barnsley were excellent for 70 minutes of the game but did switch off in the last 20, with Ben Killip being called into action towards the end of the match far more often than he'd have liked.
But after four games in ten games, with four wins in that time, it's fair that Clarke said he won't be too hard on his team for their 'sloppiness'.
The Reds are now 5th in League One and have a week until they face Northampton Town next Saturday.
They've earned their break and having already signed Shamrock Rovers' Neil Farrugia, there's some time for those off the pitch to add even more players to the squad.
This month will be crucial as to whether the Reds continue their push for promotion, or if their season ends before it really gets started.
BACK TO BACK HOME WINS
The last time the Reds registered back to back home wins was in February.
Two 2-1 wins against Leyton Orient and Derby County left Barnsley on the hunt for an automatic promotion place at that time.
The Reds' form would eventually drop off the edge of a cliff and they subsequently lost in the play-offs.
Eleven months later and Barnsley have finally won back to back home games again.
Their away form has been nothing short of amazing this year but it's their home form that has seen them outside of the play-off places for much of the season.
But they're now sitting in 5th and with two wins from two in 2025 at home it looks like Darrell Clarke's side may finally be moving in the right direction.
He's said before that he's hoping to turn Oakwell into a fortress.
That's a long way off but if they can continue this form then they've certainly got a chance of improving the atmosphere around the club.
BUSY SCHEDULE A REWARDING ONE FOR REDS
After Barnsley lost 4-0 at home to Leyton Orient many fans were worried about the busy Christmas schedule.
But it turns out they had nothing to be worried about.
Barnsley played Bolton, Peterborough and Wrexham - three teams you would expect to be towards to the top of the table, although Posh have had a fairly poor season so far.
But they've won four games in ten days.
Fans have seen a different side to their beloved Reds.
They've been resolute at the back and are showing that cutting edge going forward.
Clarke said after the game that he doesn't quite understand why they've had to play so many games in quick succession, but is obviously happy with how his team have responded to it.
It's in part down to squad depth.
Players like Conor McCarthy have come into the team and played well - and even when star players such as Luca Connell and Stephen Humphrys have been in on the bench, their replacements Kelechi Nwakali and Max Watters have been impressive.
The Reds now have a week-long break away from a game until they travel to Northampton Town on Saturday.
It's a deserved break and a chance to regroup before the busy schedule starts once again.
CLEAN SHEET AND BEN KILLIP MASTERCLASS
The Barnsley 'keeper has really made the number one spot his own recently.
He made his 18th appearance for the Reds on Saturday, already beating his appearance tally for last season.
There were some sceptics when he was brought in after the injury of Gabriel Slonina - who last week returned to Chelsea - and he's generally been very impressive.
Barring the 4-0 defeat at home to Leyton Orient last month - in which Killip admits himself his performance wasn't good enough - he's been assured in between the sticks.
And Saturday was no difference.
The 3-0 scoreline doesn't really tell the whole story.
Crawley could have had a handful of goals in the last 20 minutes had it not been for Killip's saves.
He was on his toes on a number of occasions and in the 94th minute he saved a deflected effort from the away side and turned it behind for a corner.
It was a save any 'keeper would have been proud of.
And it shows just how far he's come in recent weeks.
Gone are the days fans may have been worried to see his name on the team sheet - even though he's always been a fairly safe pair of hands in net and a lot of the criticism he has faced has been unfair.
But he's got to be one of the first names on the team sheet from now on.
There's no secret that the Reds would like to bring in another goalie this transfer window - but they'll have quite the job on their hands to get in ahead of the 29-year-old.
COREY O'KEEFFE'S ASSISTS
When the season started many fans would have chosen Barry Cotter to start in the right-wing-back position for the Reds.
And he did for many games, and was generally impressive.
But Corey O'Keeffe has managed to tie down that position in recent weeks - and he's showing no signs of losing his place any time soon.
He registered his sixth assist in League One in Saturday's 3-0 win at home to Crawley Town.
Going forward there can't be many better full backs in the league, and week in week out he's proving his worth.
He's a key part of what the Reds do in terms of attacking - and Georgie Gent on the left hand side is just as impressive.
Together they're forming a great partnership and the assists just keep on coming.
O'Keeffe has proved his doubters wrong and as the season's gone on his importance is becoming more and more clear.
But it's not just his attacking play that needs to be admired, defensively he has been strong as well.
Anything the Reds do well generally involves him and if Barnsley are going to continue on their upward spiral then he's bound to be at the heart of it.
DAVIS KEILLOR DUNN'S SCORING RECORD
Barnsley's attacking maestro scored his tenth goal in a Reds shirt on Saturday and his 11th of the season having scored once in the league for Mansfield before his deadline day move.
The powerful 20-yard strike on Saturday was his fourth goal in as many games and his fifth in six games.
He'd been playing well before his goalscoring run but was missing some simple chances.
But he's certainly turned it round in recent weeks.
He's been a huge part of the turnaround since the 4-0 loss to Leyton Orient and his form is nothing short of impressive.
His goal tally last year in League Two was something to be marvelled at and if he continues his current form this year then he'll be on course to do it yet again, but this time in the division above.
It seems as though every time he shoots he's scoring at the minute.
This incredible scoring run will come to an end at some point in the near future, but if he can continue his work ethic then he'll be so important for the club moving forward.
Max Watters also managed to score on Saturday against his old club.
It's his first goal since October but he has been injured since then.
His work rate is second to none and he ran the channels and held up the ball incredibly on Saturday.
He's turning into the striker many Reds fans were hoping he'd be - if he can add more goals to his game then he'll become even more of a fan favourite.
Barnsley (3-5-2): Killip 8; O'Keeffe 8, de Gevigney 7, Pines 7 (Roberts 68), Earl 7 (McCarthy 59) , Gent 7; Nwakali 8, Phillips 8, Russell 7 (Connell 68); Keillor-Dunn 8 (Cosgrove 81), Watters 8 (Humphrys 81).
Yellow cards: Gent, Cosgrove, McCarthy.
Unused subs: Smith, Lofthouse.
Goals: Russell 11, Watters 51, Keillor-Dunn 54.
Crawley (3-5-2): Wollacott; Barker, Conroy, Mullarkey; Quitirna, Anderson (Radcliffe 61), Kelly (Papadopoulos 78), John-Jules (Hepburn-Murphy 60), Camara; Swan (Ibrahim 61), Showunmi.
Yellow cards: John-Jules, Barker.
Unused subs: Roles, Beach, Mukena.
Referee: Gavin Ward (Surrey).
Attendance: 11,016 (193 away fans).
