Barnsley two good for Plymouth

Jon and Jamal jumped for joy as the Reds ravaged a really poor Plymouth outfit at Oakwell.

The Reds made two changes to the side that lost at Wolves last weekend. Rob Kozluk and Darren Moore came back into the starting line-up at the expense of the suspended Hugo Colace and the injured Dennis Souza.

It was a scrappy opening to the match but Barnsley were edging the posession stats.

It was the visitors who had the first attempt on goal but Paul Gallagher couldn’t fire through the Reds defence.

Diego Leon saw his long range effort comfortably dealt with by Larrieu on eight minutes as Barnsley started to take control of the game.

A real opportunity then came the Red’s way after great play down the right from Van Homoet and Leon. The Dutchman found Leon on the corner of the box, the little Spaniard floated a neat cross onto the head of Anderson, but the Brazilian somehow nodded wide with the goal at his mercy.

Just before the half hour mark, Argyle were reduced to ten men after a moment of madness from Simon Walton. The midfielder was angry he had lost out in a tough 50/50 battle with Anderson and so decided to kick out at the former Everton man.

The referee, rightfully gave Walton his marching orders, and what was proving to be a tough match for Sturrock’s men, got even tougher.

From the resulting free kick, Leon again found Anderson in the box, the midfielder’s header rattled the crossbar. After the ball bounced loose, Bobby Hassell produced a wonderful stop from Larrieu with a clever half-volley.

The Reds were producing some neat crosses but lacked that killer touch, as Jon Macken saw his header sail wide on 36 minutes.

Diego Leon dusted himself down from a terrible Paterson challenge to create his side’s opener.

Anderson thought he had opened his account when he connected with the little Spaniard’s wicked cross, but Anderson’s header took a litle nick off Jon Macken before beating Larrieu.

The second half proved to be mch of the same for Barnsley, with Campbell-Ryce on song as the Jamaican lived up to the recent claims of him being in the form of his career.

The closest the Pilgrims came to an equaliser was when Steve MacLean’s over-head-kick was blocked by the bright-haired Bobby Hassell.

Anderson was in the thick of the action yet again on fifty minutes, the midfielder’s 25-yard drive stung the palms of Larrieu who tipped the ball out for a corner.

The resulting corner causd havoc as Craig Cathcart nearly put through his own goal, the substitute’s stray header bounced off his own crossbar.

The only time Heinz Muller was tested came thanks to a 25-yard effort from Gallagher.

The referee surprisingly allowed a tussle between Van Homoet and Gallagher to boil over. Gallagher clearly shoved the Dutchman as the referee did nothing to calm the situation down.

Substitute Maceo Rigters who replaced Jamie Cureton, brought a good save from Larrieu, the on-loan Blackburn man’s effort appeared destined for the top corner.

Rigters was at it again as he danced through the Pilgrim’s defence but just couldn’t carve out a decent effort on goal.

After a few half chances for both sides, the Tykes were finally able to put the game to bed in the closing stages. Diego Leon’s neat trickery in the box saw him brought down by David McNamee in the area.

The referee pointed to the spot allowing Jamal Campbell-Ryce to double his side’s lead and secure the precious three points.

Full Time: Barnsley 2 Plymouth Argyle 0

Line-ups:

Barnsley: Muller, Van Homoet, Foster, Moore, Kozluk, Campbell-Ryce (El-Haimour 90), Anderson, Hassell, Leon, Macken (Odejayi 90), Cureton (Rigters 70).
Subs not used: Mostto, Coulson.

Plymouth Argyle: Larrieu, Paterson (Noone 78), Walton, Timar, Clarke (Cathcart 45), Maclean, Gallagher, Barker, Seip, Summerfield, Mackie (McNamee 31).
Subs not used: Marin, Folly.

Attendance: 10,944