Barnsley ended a three-game losing run with a frustrating 0-0 draw at home to relegation-battling Burton Albion.

The Reds dominated possession and had by far more shots but both sides missed good chances.

They stayed ninth and cut the gap to the play-offs to a point but it could increase after the 3pm kick-offs.

Darrell Clarke made five changes from the side that lost at Wycombe on Tuesday. New goalkeeper Joe Gauci, Mael de Gevigney, who was captain, Kelechi Nwakali, Adam Phillips, and Kyran Lofthouse come in for Ben Killip, the suspended Marc Roberts, the injured Max Watters, Luca Connell and Georgie Gent. Josh Benson and Josiah Dyer were on the bench.

Barnsley dominated possession in the first half but it was a fairly dull and low-quality contest overall.

Very little happened in the first quarter of the game as Adam Phillips’ 30-yard shot was easily saved then both Davis Keillor-Dunn and Nwakali shot just wide from 20 yards.

Jon Russell was slipped in by Keillor-Dunn on the edge of the box on 26 minutes and his shot was well-saved by Max Crocombe diving down to his left.

Burton should have taken the lead when Josh Earl lost the ball near his box and Rumarn Burrell was free in plenty of space but his pass to Jon Dadi Bodvarrson was poor and the striker miscontrolled a few yards out then Gauci pounced on it.

Barnsley then had a big chance when Keillor-Dunn headed down a long ball to Stephen Humphrys who played through Lofthouse on the left of the box but he shot high and wide of the top right corner.

Phillips saw another long-range effort held by Crocombe just before half-time.

In the second half, Russell volleyed wide just inside the box after a good run down the left by Lofthouse whose cross was deflected.

Russell then won the ball in the Burton half and, after swapping passes with Keillor-Dunn, was through in the box on the left but his shot was beaten away by Crocombe.

Burton came close just after the hour-mark when, after a clever Burrell back heel, JJ McKiernan got to the byline of the left of the box and his low cross was well intercepted by Nwakali a few yards out when Bodvarsson looked likely to tap in.

Phillips then saw a third well-hit long-range shot pushed away by Crocombe before Donovan Pines headed a Corey O’Keeffe corner which was headed off the line by McKiernan.

Humphrys then saw a low long-range shot pushed away by Crocombe after beating Jack Armer. Crocombe also blocked from very close range when a deflected Phillips cross fell for Keillor-Dunn a few yards out but he was very close to the goalkeeper. He then shot straight at Crocombe from the left of the box after a good Phillips run.

Pines almost gifted Burton the lead on 80 minutes when he lost the ball just outside his box and it was passed to substitute Fabio Tavares who was denied one-on-one by Gauci.

Keillor-Dunn saw a free-kick easily saved then he also had a shot blocked in the box by a defender in injury-time.

Barnsley (3-5-2): Gauci; de Gevigney, Pines, Earl; O’Keeffe, Phillips, Nwakali (Connell 86mins), Russell, Lofthouse (Gent 76); Humphrys, Keillor-Dunn.

Unused: Killip, McCarthy, Benson, Cosgrove, Dyer.

Yellow card: de Gevigney.

Burton (3-5-2): Crocombe; Sweeney, Vancooten, Armer; Godwin-Malife, McKiernan, Webster (Jones 72mins), Chauke (Kalinauskas 87), Dodgson; Bodvarsson (Orsi 87), Burrell (Tavares 72). Unused: Kean, Williams, Delap.

Yellow cards: Jones, McKiernan.