Analysis from Barnsley's 2-1 defeat at Stockport County on Saturday. The Reds were 2-0 down at half-time then Davis Keillor-Dunn replied late on.
BARNSLEY SLIPPING WELL OFF TOP 6 PACE
In the last two seasons, Barnsley had 56 points from 30 games. This time they have 43.
It is a significant drop-off which adds credence to the argument that the club is regressing into the mid-table League One pack - as did this game in which they were deservedly beaten by a side already in the top six.
You could say that this side was never going to replicate the 86 points Michael Duff’s team achieved two years ago and that they could possibly still match the 76 they finished on last season after a terrible final quarter.
They two need points a game for the rest of the season - form they seem nowhere near currently - to finish on 75 points which may not guarantee play-offs but would put them in the mix.
The gap to the top six grew from one point to four and they cannot afford to let it get far bigger by not winning at least one of the upcoming Yorkshire derbies against Huddersfield and Rotherham.
Barnsley have taken just a point from the last five games, alongside a transfer window which many consider a failure.
They had previously been able to fall back on a fine away record but have lost three in a row on the road.
There were chants of ‘sack the board’ and boos from some of the sold-out away end throughout.
The Reds seem maybe one more humiliation and slip down the table away from a large section of fans vehemently turning on the club from players to staff to owners.
OLAOFE NETS AGAINST CLUB HE THOUGHT HE’D JOINED
Somewhere, unless they have been deleted by a sheepish media team, are photos of Isaac Oloafe at Oakwell and a introductory media interview from the deadline day in the summer window of 2022.
The paperwork was not completed correctly and in time so the deal was cancelled and Olaofe returned to parent club Millwall. He later said he turned down five other clubs to join the Reds and added: ‘if it was another club I was joining then I feel like they would have had it done and dusted in time.’
Olaofe, now at Stockport, found that Barnsley’s defending in 2025 is as bad as their admin three years earlier as he opened the scoring.
As he chased a long ball, Donovan Pines put in a pathetic failed attempt at a tackle which allowed Olaofe to go through on goal and beat Joe Gauci with a good finish.
The idea of Pines playing in a back two before kick-off seemed risky but he had actually been excellent before that dire error which changed the game.
Four minutes later, it was 2-0 after left-back Josh Earl got on the wrong side of Kyle Knoyle after a good move down his wing and tripped the Stockport wing-back in the box. Will Collar scored the penalty and the damage was done.
Pines and Earl have some hood attributes but make alarmingly regular errors which lead to big chances and goals.
REDS CAN’T RECOVER FROM SHOCKING FIRST HALF
The Reds were awful in the first half, barely attacking and looking vulnerable at the back while making sloppy errors especially for the goals.
Corey O’Keeffe seemed to sum it up when he sliced a simple clearance over his own head for a corner.
Barnsley started in a diamond formation with Jon Russell – who was a holding midfielder not long ago – as the number ten behind the strikers, with Adam Phillips on the right and Luca Connell on the left. It did not work at all as Barnsley struggled to gain control of the game while they were regularly outflanked by Stockport’s wing-backs in a 3-5-2.
Clarke admitted he made a mistake in changing the system and apologised, saying the first half was on him, but also added Barnsley’s players were ‘not an adaptable enough group’.
Stockport, who topped League Two last season, stayed fourth with a fifth straight win in their first home game with the Reds in just over 20 years.
County were easily the better team before the break, with other chances, but barely attacked in the second half and a much-improved Barnsley could potentially have drawn had they been more clinical back in a 3-5-2.
SQUAD NOT LOOKING STRENGTHENED AFTER WINDOW
The Reds wanted a more balanced and strong squad after the transfer window but, in the first game following the deadline, it seemed more lop-sided than ever with very little depth in some areas.
Barnsley’s bench had three wing-backs on it, with Conor McCarthy, Josh Benson and Josiah Dyer the options in defence, midfield and up front respectively.
Stephen Humphrys’ illness meant they had three strikers out including injured duo Max Watters and Fabio Jalo, while they want to bring in a free agent soon. If 20-year-old academy product Dyer did not make his league debut as the only striker on the bench when losing, it is hard to imagine him ever playing. Dyer - whose father Bruce once scored a winner for the Reds against Stockport - was sent to warm up late on but never came on.
Fit-again Neil Farrugia, mainly a wing-back with some experience up front, was chosen to play as a striker in the second half with midfielder Luca Connell moving to left wing-back. Although they did play better from that point, it felt at times very chaotic and messy. Connell had returned to the 11 in place of Kyran Lofthouse who had been loaned to Burton Albion.
Farrugia came on for Clement Rodrigues who was taken off 45 minutes into his debut having signed five days earlier. The Frenchman struggled to make an impact and was outmuscled at times. While he was no worse than anyone else in a terrible first half, it was not an encouraging start for the striker on whom so much hope must be pinned having been the only attacking arrival in January.
KEILLOR-DUNN STRONG CANDIDATE FOR PLAYER OF YEAR
Davis Keillor-Dunn is making a strong case to be Barnsley’s Player of the Year.
The forward struggled in the first half of this game like everyone else on the away team, cutting a frustrated figure as he was starved of service and had to drop deep or go out to the wing to get on the ball.
But, after the break, he was lively and creative - having a couple of shots then setting up a big chance for Russell.
Keillor-Dunn eventually scored in the 90th minute, firing in off the base of the right post after swapping passes in the box with Russell.
He now has ten league goals for the Reds this season, with just five players netting more in the division, while he could get close to 20 if he stays fit and firing all season.
Russell was a goal threat in the second half, despite moving back into a deeper role, but missed two good headed chances. He also could have held the ball up better in the build-up to both home goals.
Dexter Lembikisa impressed on his debut off the bench as right wing-back, getting forward a lot and crossing well. It is easier for a substitute to catch the eye after his team has badly underperformed but he put in a good claim to start against Huddersfield.
