Red Army march through the Valley with ease

THE REDS came, saw and conquered London for the first time in over six years with a tremendous 3-1 victory over Charlton Athletic at the Valley.

Barnsley’s last victory in the capital was a 2-1 win over Brentford back in 2002, but how this match was worth the wait.

Simon Davey and his men managed to silence the doubters after a Jon Macken brace and a header from Darren Moore sealed the Red’s second away win of the season.

An unchaged starting XI for the fourth consecutive match lined up against under-fire boss Alan Pardew’s Addicks.

It was a dream start for the Reds with just over two minutes on the watch, Iain Hume’s free-kick eventually fell to Macken, who slammed home from twelve-yards past Weaver.

The early goal did indeed shock the home side but things got worse for the London outfit on 18 minutes.

Jon Macken pounced on a parried Anderson strike to squeeze home for his third goal in two games.

By now the home fans were calling for Pardew’s head, Barnsley keeping the ball well in the middle of the park with some neat passing did much do anger the Addick’s faithful.

The game was pretty much over on 38 minutes, Darren Moore rose highest in a crowded box to head home off the post for his first of the season. Moore had come under some criticism earlier in the season, but his recent form has been none other than phenomenal.

Alan Pardew’s half-time teamtalk hardly did much to inspire his team. The Reds were relatively comfortable for the remainder of the game, despite Mark Hudson’s 75th minute consolation header.

Despite how ITV may have spun their report on the pressure being on Pardew – credit where credit’s due for Simon Davey and how he organised his team for what was still a very difficult trip to Charlton.