A WONDER GOAL from Iain Hume and a thunderous header from Stephen Foster sealed Barnsley’s first win of the season at a sunny Oakwell this afternoon.
Both sides went into this game searching for their first win of the season.
The Reds looked solid from the off as Simon Davey`s men were searching for their first win of the season against an under pressure Derby side. Both teams were battling for every ball with some full-on challenges.
There were no real chances as the Reds tried to probe the Derby defence in the opening stages.
Miles Addison roamed freely through the midfield and fired over from 25 yards after Diego Leon gave the ball away in the centre circle.
The referee gave a ridiculous free-kick as Kris Commons fell under the presence of Darren Moore. Commons was always looking for the free-kick 20 yards out, but he himself fired it over.
A phenomenal fifty-yard ball from Kozluk found Devaney on the right wing. A left footed cross then dropped for Macken whose turn and shot was blocked by Stewart.
Neat play between Macken and Howard on the left wing but it was Derby who had the next effort. Paul Green missed from six yards after Moore gave the ball away when he was under no pressure whatsoever.
Paul Green then had another shot blocked by Kozluk after The Rams broke quickly on 15 minutes. It looked as though that was to be the game plan for the rest of the afternoon from the Rams.
Derby found their feet with some great one-touch play in the middle between Leacock and Commons as the Rams kept possession well in the middle of the park.
El Haimour whipped a ball in that teased the Derby defence and Macken was inches away from connecting. The ball was immediately at the other end as Paul Green was quick down the right-hand side and curled in a neat cross but Howard turned away the dangerous ball.
Ironic cheers from the Reds fans echoed around Oakwell as the referee eventually gave a free-kick in favour of the home side.
Luke Steele`s first movement of the game came when a Kazmierczak effort sailed just wide of Steele`s left-hand post.
The clocked ticked past half an hour when Leacock was lucky to escape a booking as the referee adjudged him to have brought down Hume when the Canadian was almost in on goal.
Villa did well to win a corner off Rob Kozluk after Paul Green cheekily fed the forward in on the right hand side.
El Haimour`s shot went well over as the ball simply wouldn`t drop for the Frenchman, whilst Macken was appealing for a penalty.
Paul Green was at it again as he tested Luke Steele from 22 yards, Steele had to get down well to his left and then jumped on the loose ball.
Miles Addison then found himself in the referee`s notebook; it was his late challenge on Mounir EL Haimour after the left-winger had cleared the ball.
Neat trickery from Devaney cut through the Derby defence, his cross eventually fell to Leon, but the little Spaniard`s left-footed volley was sliced wide.
One additional minute of time was added with neither side breaking the deadlock at the break.
SECOND HALF
Both teams emerged from the tunnel with no changes. Derby forced a corner straight away and Miles Addison nodded over from 6 yards.
Paul Green nearly connected with an intelligent looping cross from Rob Hulse but the former Donny man`s leg was just inches away.
The Reds were becoming ever more frustrated but showed no confidence when they had the chance to break. Howard then fired over from a tight angle after the Reds worked well to swing a cross over from the right.
Howard took matters into his own hands again and drove forward 20 yards with the ball and was bundled over by Jordan Stewart on the edge of the box. Diego Leon fired the resulting 22 yard free kick over Roy Carroll`s cross bar.
Just over an hour on the clock and neither side had managed to settle into the second half with no real rhythm.
Hulse`s tight-angled shot went across the face of Steele`s goal after a well fed pass from Commons.
El Haimour was replaced by Kayode Odejayi with 27 minutes remaining, as Simon Davey opted for three up-front.
Derby should have been in front when Hulse forced an unorthodox stop from Luke Steele.
Steele was at it again with super double stop, Hulse`s 20 yard drive. Kazmierczak`s follow up with a gaping goal somehow was blocked by Steele`s legs.
Foster was booked for a bad tackle as the game really opened up with both sets of fans finding their voices.
Odejayi broke down the right wing but his cross couldn`t find Macken or Howard in the box, at the other end Steele made another smart stop when Villa fired low from the edge of the box.
Hume produced an absolute scorcher with 18 minutes to go. Howard`s cross found the head of a Derby defender. Hume struck a ferocious half-volley giving Roy Carroll no chance as the ball sailed into his top-right corner.
Nathan Ellington was introduced at the expense of Rob Hulse with 15 minutes remaining.
The Reds were really fired up in the last ten minutes and Odejayi was up for every header, almost nodding down for Macken. The resulting corner was whipped in by Hume and Stephen Foster`s bullet header nearly ripped through Roy Carroll`s net as the Reds doubled their lead.
Barazite came on for Hulse as the song “sacked in the morning” reverberated around Oakwell, with Paul Jewell looking desperate on the touchline.
Howard was booked for a shove on Albrechsten; it was a harsh decision on the Tykes Captain.
Stephen Davies headed wide from six yards after Macken was bundled over on the halfway line with the referee taking no action.
Phenomenal football from the Reds, Kozluk turned well to find Hume whose Cruyff flick pass found Macken, he then found Howard whose first time shot was tipped over by Carroll.
Mostto was introduced in the closing stages as Jon Macken’s hard shift came to an end against his former club.
Three minutes were added on at the end of the ninety, but it wasn`t enough for Derby to even scrape a consolation goal as the Super Reds bagged their first three points of the season.
It was a very long walk for Derby manager Paul Jewell from the dugout to the tunnel. Derby fans shouldn`t be too disheartened with their side`s performance, although it is understandable as the Rams have gone so long without a League win.
Player Ratings
Luke Steele
Man of the match. Made a few magnificent stops that did no damage to his claim to the number one spot as Heinz Muller made his first appearance on the bench.
Stephen Foster
Solid all game playing at his unfavoured right-back position. Smashed in a wonderful header in front of the ponty end.
Dennis Souza
Great battling with Rob Hulse, won his fair share of headers. Steady performance.
Darren Moore
Helped the Reds to their first clean sheet of the season. Won nearly every header and made some great last-ditch blocks.
Rob Kozluk
Steady performance though the little man didn’t have that much to do on his weaker left side.
Martin Devaney
Nothing special from the winger, but as ever it was a committed performance, Devaney clearly loves playing for Barnsley.
Brian Howard
Another brilliant battling performance from Howard. Was unlucky not to score as Carroll denied his first-time strike.
Diego Leon
Went close with a free-kick but Leon was restrained by an unbalanced midfield. Was disappointed to be subbed off.
Mounir El Haimour
Quiet game from the Frenchman. Didn’t see as muc of the ball as he would hae hoped.
Jon Macken
Brilliant work rate from Macken against his former club. Nearly scored in the first half with a turn and shot.
Iain Hume
Hume was a little quiet as service was rather restricted from a solid Derby midfield. But then he took his goal superbly, a world class strike.
Kayode Odejayi
Changed the game when introduced with just less than half an hour remaining. Derby couldn’t handle the big Nigerian. Nodded down for Hume’s strike, and Derby were too busy marking the striker as Foster steamed in to head in Barnsley’s second.
Bobby Hassell
Steadied the midfield when introduced.
Cameo appearance.
