Analysis from Barnsley's 2-1 loss at Wycombe Wanderers on Tuesday. Jon Russell put the Reds in front but the hosts levelled with a penalty then Marc Roberts was sent off before Wycombe netted a 95th-minute winner.

MORE POINTS THROWN AWAY IN THIRD STRAIGHT LOSS

LEE JOHNSON has been linked with the vacant manager’s position at Wycombe, who made sure on Tuesday that Barnsley were on the longest losing run of League One matches since he lost eight consecutive fixtures as Reds boss in 2015.

There were reminders of that special season almost a decade ago all around Adams Park as Josh Scowen helped dominate in midfield for the hosts, Marc Roberts was sent off for the Reds and Conor Hourihane shouted frustratedly from the sidelines as a visiting coach.

The Oakwell club went up that season despite being bottom in December and, although they have nowhere near as much ground to make up this time, they are not currently looking much like a promotion contender.

A strong end to the January transfer window will help them, and they have proved they can suddenly go on runs of wins out of nowhere. But they are wildly inconsistent – four wins followed by three defeats – other than their propensity to miss big chances while also giving away silly and usually late goals.

It looked like they might spring a surprise when they took an early lead at the title contenders but the defeat means they have now lost 14 points from winning positions – with only bottom four clubs Burton and Shrewsbury throwing away more in League One this season. That had only previously been an issue at bogey ground Oakwell but their impressive away record has now slightly diminished with back to back losses.

When asked before the game if Wycombe and the other sides in the top two race were catchable, head coach Darrell Clarke said ‘anything can happen’. But the gap is 16 points now, with 18 games left, which is surely impossible to bridge, while they slipped down three positions from sixth to ninth and need to quickly arrest this slump to keep pace with the congested mass of teams jostling for the lower play-off places. There is a long way to go and we cannot rule out another promotion push, but there are so many issues that it is difficult to feel confident.

PENALTY AND RED CARD WITHIN MINUTES HELP TO TURN GAME

Darren Drysdale was the referee who did not give a foul when Sam Cosgrove made contact with the Wycombe goalkeeper at Oakwell last season who inexplicably dropped the ball for a last-minute winner.

This time the very experienced official - who has taken charge of more than 500 EFL matches including 17 Reds games since 2004 – gave a penalty then red card against Barnsley within minutes just after the hour-mark which changed the game.

The penalty came after Richard Kone took a quick throw into the box and Fred Onyedinma was allowed to run between Luca Connell, who clearly tugged his shirt, and Donovan Pines who then tackled him and appeared to get some of the ball but the referee gave a spot-kick. Clarke said it was a ‘clumsy’ challenge, while Kone sent Ben Killip the wrong way to level.

Just minutes later, Roberts flew into a strong tackle on Kone on the byline on Wycombe’s left wing and was shown a straight red card.

It was not a two-footed nasty challenge, and he got the ball, but he left the ground and went in with force which always risks a red card these days. For the most experienced player in the side, who was brought in to add leadership, to do that in such a harmless area of the pitch was a mistake for which he apologised afterwards in the dressing room according to Clarke. He left his side with a huge task to hold on against the top-scorers in the league, with ten men for half an hour, which they could not quite do.

Roberts has played well for most of the season but has had a tough time since coming back from injury, while Barnsley have lost the last five games he has started and won none of the last nine.

Pines and Roberts had bad nights before the penalty and red card. Wycombe’s tactics of hitting long balls over the duo, who lack pace, created chance after chance in the first half but they were not clinical while Killip was in top form again.

Pines started on the right of the back three, a role which he is nowhere near mobile enough to play, especially against tricky strikers like Dan Udoh and Kone – a poor selection decision which Clarke must take responsibility for.

Roberts and Pines swapped in the second half, with the American much more comfortable in the middle of the back three but, although he made 11 clearances and blocked four shots, he conceded the penalty and was partly at fault for the winner in a really disappointing personal performance.

The Reds badly missed the steady presence on the right of the back three of the injured Mael de Gevigney who, while not perfect, adds more mobility and is in the top five in the division for interceptions and blocking shots this season in League One.

SLOPPY WINNER YET ANOTHER LATE GOAL CONCEDED

In the 95th minute, substitute Conor McCarthy passed the ball to Garath McCleary who rounded him on the halfway line. The veteran winger sprinted down the right wing and crossed for Kone to head home, after the striker’s movement totally bamboozled Pines who let the Ivorian run around him before leaving him totally free.

It was the second time in four days the Reds had conceded an injury-time winner – and it was reminiscent of Stevenage’s goal in that a substitute lost the ball on the left near halfway then a cross was headed in by an unmarked player.

The scenes of total desolation after that goal went in, with prone or slumped red-shirted bodies littering the breached goalmouth, contrasted wildly with the celebrations in the home stand behind them, and backed up Clarke’s description of a ‘very low’ changing room.

It was a 16th goal against Barnsley after the 75th minute this season, the most in England from the Premier League to the National League North and South. So 41 per cent of the goals they have conceded have been in the final 15 minutes or stoppage time. Their goal difference in the first half is plus nine but in the second half it is minus seven.

McCarthy, who had been dropped for Pines but came on after the red card, has had very poor week having impressed in his previous spell in the team over Christmas. He also picked up a fifth league booking of the season, despite starting just six games and coming on in three.

Suddenly the defensive options, which Clarke had seemed so happy with days ago, look thin.

REDS SHOW CHARACTER WITH TEN MEN BUT 2ND BEST OVERALL

Wycombe were second but their form had dipped recently with four wins in 11 while they drew 0-0 at home to lowly Northampton on Saturday and manager Matt Bloomfield had moved to Luton with Matt Grace the caretaker. But they are an experienced, savvy side with a strong budget and some real quality – especially Kone who netted twice to move onto 16 league goals this season amid speculation of a move to the Championship.

Barnsley began quite brightly and took the lead through Jon Russell’s fifth goal of the season, after he replaced Kelechi Nwakali in the 11. The hosts responded very well with the Reds barely able to get on the ball after scoring and conceded a slew of chances.

Clarke wanted a ‘siege mentality’ but his defence was more like a sieve. Wycombe had 23 touches in the penalty box before the break compared to three for Barnsley.

The Reds did create chances either side of half-time, and Josh Earl should have made it 2-0, but then the hosts gained control again and, after the penalty leveller and red card within minutes, looked certain to win and eventually did so deep in stoppage time.

Although they deserved to lose on the balance of the game, it was devastating for the Reds who had shown a lot of character with ten men and been the better side for the final quarter of the match when they should have gone 2-1 up. It was also a sickener for the roughly 250 fans who made a very long journey in midweek and backed their side well.

There weren't many stand-out performers. With Adam Phillips – who came on and missed a massive chance – only well enough for the bench after illness, a midfield three of Connell, Nwakali and Russell would be very defensive. So the Reds started with a formation to 3-4-3 but the midfield two of Russell and Connell were often overrun as the visitors could rarely get any control of the ball or the game. The front three of Stephen Humphrys – starting for the first time since the 4-0 loss to Leyton Orient and winning seven headers – Max Watters and Davis Keillor-Dunn all worked hard and had a few good moments but did not get enough of the ball. Corey O’Keeffe made the most tackles and was unlucky not to register another assist.

BIG NEXT FEW DAYS

The next few days feel massive for a Barnsley season which appears to be flagging.

They desperately need more signings before Monday’s deadline – possibly even more so after strikers Watters and Humphrys limped off in the second half with the extent of the injuries unknown so far.

Those two will be added to a growing list of ‘doubts’ for Saturday’s match which includes de Gevigney while Roberts will be banned for the matches against Burton, Stockport and Huddersfield.

In the worst case scenario in which they are all out, Barnsley will be down to the bare bones in the back three and up front where they may have to play either Sam Cosgrove, who does not seem to be trusted by Clarke, or converted right-back Kyran Lofthouse alongside Keillor-Dunn.

Burton have been the whipping boys of the division but are suddenly one of the form sides with three straight wins, so the lunchtime kick-off after a long midweek trip is not an easy fixture for a depleted and confidence-sapped Reds team whose home form continues to frustrate.

There could be more absences on their way in the coming weeks as Connell collected his ninth booking of the season and O’Keeffe his seventh, with both needing to avoid reaching ten by 38 games – ten more from now – which would hand them a two-game ban.

But at least, by Tuesday morning, they should know their full squad for the remainder of the season and will have three weeks with no midweek match to work hard on the training pitch to prepare for some big Saturday games against possible promotion rivals.