Analysis of Barnsley's 6-2 loss at Birmingham City. Mael de Gevigney was sent off in the third minute then the hosts scored a penalty. Davis Keillor-Dunn levelled but the Reds conceded five in the second half with Stephen Humphrys also netting.
GUTSY FIRST HALF FOLLOWED BY SECOND HALF COLLAPSE
THE LAST time the Reds played at St Andrew’s, their fans sang ‘we want our Barnsley back’ as they were hurtling out of the Championship in 2022.
Supporters will have had similar feelings this season but, in the first half despite a third-minute red card, they had their Barnsley back as the players produced a gutsy display while arguably outplaying the champions elect with ten men.
After the break, though, they reverted to the porous, broken side they have been for most of the recent months - being hit for six thanks to some sloppy defending.
You can’t read too much into a match in which they played for more than 90 minutes with ten men against the champions elect, but it was another bad day in this agonising season.
The Blues were well clear in first place, the division’s top-scorers with the best defensive record, while they were unbeaten at home this season with 17 wins and three draws, and they had won their last nine in a row at St Andrew’s.
They were always likely to win the title after spending more than £30million this season and this win took them to within a of securing promotion while they could still break the EFL points record of 106.
In contrast, Barnsley are winless in seven games, losing five, and have collected just 12 points from the last 48 available in 16 games. Taking a quarter of the points available across more than a third of the season at third tier level is awful from Barnsley – it is bottom of the league form.
DE GEVIGNEY’S NIGHTMARE WEEK COMPLETED
It is difficult to think of a Barnsley player who has ever had a worse week than the one completed by Mael de Gevigney in Birmingham.
The Frenchman, who has generally been a reliable player for the Reds, made big errors for goals against Wigan and Exeter then was sent off three minutes into this match.
After he defended a long ball poorly, he made slight contact with Keshi Anderson who went to ground.
The referee Sam Purkiss – officiating Barnsley for the first time – brandished a red card which was controversial as Marc Roberts was level with them so de Gevigney was not the last man. But interim boss Conor Hourihane thought it was a red card, only complaining about inconsistency since Wigan did not have a man dismissed for a similar incident a week earlier.
It was de Gevigney’s second red card in five games after his late tackle at Northampton in February, and Barnsley’s sixth of the season with two against Birmingham after Adam Phillips was sent off at Oakwell.
De Gevigney will be banned for the Bolton game on Saturday then could potentially struggle to get back into the team with Josh Earl likely to be fit when he returns.
The red card meant Max Watters was taken off in the first ten minutes for the third time this season after being injured at Crawley and Cambridge. The striker was replaced by Jonathan Bland who went to right-back.
The referee also awarded a penalty to Birmingham when Kieren Flavell was judged to have tripped Anderson after a good move involving a Kieran Dowell dummy. Stansfield did not strike it cleanly but found the bottom left corner just away from Flavell’s grasp.
DKD HITS 15 AND HUMPHRYS BACK IN FORM
Birmingham had only conceded nine goals at home in the league this season but let in two in this game.
Davis Keillor-Dunn levelled with a back post header which bounced in off Tomoki Iwata, following a Marc Roberts long throw which was headed on by Conor McCarthy.
He now has 15 goals for the season, which include some close-range striker’s finishes like that as well as his series of long-range stunners.
He has a chance of surpassing the 18 goals Devante Cole netted last season.
Stephen Humphrys is suddenly back in form with two goals in two games after a 23-match wait to net until the previous game against Exeter.
He was a very lively presence throughout, winning the most headers, leading counter-attacks and testing the goalkeeper from distance.
He made it 3-2 with a shot from the right of the box which was fumbled in by Ryan Allsop. It came after Humphrys swapped several passes with Adam Phillips who, along with Luca Connell, started off well on their return to the 11 before being overwhelmed like all the visitors.
AWAY FORM NOW FALTERING
The Reds’ away form is the reason they are not going into the last few weeks of the campaign battling relegation.
Even after this loss, they still had the joint most wins on the road in the division with ten - double their number of home victories.
But their last nine away matches have brought just seven points, a total which looks unlikely to increase much at top six hopefuls Leyton Orient and Reading in their final two away matches.
They have conceded 17 goals in the first half of games - just two more than the best such record in the division - and 46 after the break, which is the most in League One.
Barnsley’s record in their ten games this season against the top five – who are clear of the rest – is six defeats, three draws and a narrow win over Wrexham at Oakwell. They have lost all five away games at those teams, who are just much better than Barnsley currently.
BLUES GIFTED VERY SLOPPY GOALS
Barnsley, as so often this season, conceded silly goals due to individual mistakes.
The two goals just after the break put the hosts in total control and, even after Humphrys pulled one back, it was a case of how many will Barnsley concede?
Birmingham could easily have threatened double figures if they were more clinical.
The Reds could not cope with home strikers Stansfield - the £15million signing who has six goals in four games against them - and Alfie May plus midfielder Dowell who ran the game.
They have conceded 63 league goals, the fifth most in the division.
For the second goal, Marc Roberts headed a corner straight to Ben Davies to volley home.
McCarthy missed an Alex Cochrane cross before Alfie May headed in the third then the fourth saw him win a tackle but the ball went straight to Dowell who, via May, set up substitute Luke Harris to finish off a counter-attack.
The last two goals saw Bland lose the ball on halfway before Dowell fired in from the edge of the box then Kelechi Nwakali fell over so Dowell could set up Lukas Jutkiewicz to beat Flavell at the second attempt.
