Analysis of Barnsley's 2-1 loss to Shrewsbury Town. The visitors went 2-0 up then Jon Russell pulled one back.

SCALE OF HOURIHANE JOB SINKING IN

‘Ladies and gentlemen, just to make you aware the team will not be coming back onto the pitch’ was the PA announcement to the roughly 50 fans left in Oakwell about five minutes after full-time.

‘They haven’t been on the pitch all season’ scoffed one of them as the stadium finally closed its doors on one of the worst ever campaigns to be a match-goer there.

Straight after final whistle, Conor Hourihane had led his players - who were about 30 yards behind him - on a grim and sombre march around an almost empty Oakwell, clapping the maybe 1,000 supporters who remained until the end of the game and getting a chorus of boos back.

The atmosphere was not particularly toxic during the game - just very flat with the massive gaps in the home stands at kick-off growing during the inept performance. The usual annoying final game pitch invasion did not happen, such is the apathy in the fanbase.

It was a humbling moment for Hourihane who has now won one in nine and said he would be using it as motivation as he tries to rebuild the club.

The last time Shrewsbury won at Oakwell was in September 2015 during an eight-match losing run when Hourihane was a player, albeit injured for most of that sorry sequence. That was followed by a remarkable turnaround to promotion but this looks like a far bigger job and he well knows it - hinting at a major clear-out of players in the summer and a mountain of work to do. It is a squad with some good League One players who are underperforming or going stale, plus many who are either bang average for the level or worse. There is a chronic lack of game management, leadership and character in tough situations. In this fixture last season, the Reds won 3-0 with goals by Herbie Kane, Callum Styles and Devante Cole - players who had their critics but were proven at this level or above unlike many of their replacements. This club has bounced back many times and can do so again but a promotion challenge feels a long way off.

The promise that was there after the win over Bolton, which helped get Hourihane the full-time job, has been eroded by the comeback loss at Leyton Orient and this game which he admitted was ‘embarrassing’.

Barnsley have won one in 11 and have taken 16 points from their last 20 games, the fourth worst form in the division in that time. They now face a very hard final match at promotion-chasing Reading so are quite likely to record their lowest finish in the EFL since 2003.

WORST EVER THIRD TIER HOME RECORD

Barnsley posted their lowest ever home points tally in a third tier season.

They finished with 26 points from 23 games at Oakwell with six wins.

As of Saturday, they had conceded the most home goals in the division and had the 20th best record overall on their home turf. The last 29 Oakwell league games have brought them 30 points.

There will surely be a drop-off of thousands in next season’s season ticket sales.

It was a meaningless game for the table but it was at least a chance to finish on a mini high after thrashing Bolton and drawing with Peterborough, but they were humiliated by the bottom club.

BOTTOM CLUB DESERVE FIRST WIN IN 15

It could not have been an easier game for the Reds in theory.

The Shrews had been relegated over the Easter weekend and were guaranteed to finish last while they were on a 15-game winless run, with just four draws in that, and they had only scored five goals in their last 13 games. They were the only side in the division to have kept fewer clean sheets than Barnsley.

Their last win was in South Yorkshire at Rotherham United on February 8.

Shrewsbury played far better than a team in their situation would be expected to. The moves for their goals and other chances were slick, albeit helped by poor Reds defending, while they defended solidly in a deep back five.

The Reds had 69 per cent possession and more than 300 each of passes and touches compared to their hosts, but struggled to create clear-cut chances and were easy to pass through when Shrewsbury did attack. Barnsley had 25 of the 30 shots but all of Shrewsbury’s were on target compared to seven for their hosts.

It was a lacklustre, error-strewn, nothing performance by the Reds who looked a shell of a football team. They conceded two poor goals, replied with ten minutes left but never looked like levelling.

The lopsided and messy nature of this Barnsley squad was shown in them having a teenage midfielder and a centre-back as full-backs with two right-backs on the wing. They had three strikers on the bench but neither January transfer window flop Clement Rodrigues or 17-year-old Kieran Graham came on. The one they did bring on - half-time substitute Max Watters - looked set to nod in a leveller a few yards out into an empty goal but headed it backwards after mistiming his jump.

REDS CONCEDE 87TH AND 88TH GOALS OF SEASON

Barnsley conceded their 87th and 88th goals of the season in all competitions.

They were both netted by veteran striker Jon Marquis who is now on 100 League One goals.

Just before the first goal, Jonathan Bland won the ball then immediately gave it away on the left wing which did not lead directly to the goal but was indicative of their sloppy, lacklustre performance. Toto Nsiala brilliantly switched it to the right wing where Luca Hoole powered past Josh Earl into the box and whipped in a low cross which turned in by Marquis.

For the second goal, Marc Roberts headed out a corner but was static as Hoole played a good pass behind him to Callum Stewart. The January signing from Leamington was in yards of space on the right of the box and crossed low for Marquis to backheel in from close range.

Shrewsbury could have scored more if it had not been for good goalkeeping by Joe Gauci.

RUSSELL INTO DOUBLE FIGURES

Barnsley’s goal saw Phillips receive a backheel by Josh Earl and send in a cross which took a deflection then was headed to Jon Russell who found the bottom left corner from about 12 yards.

That took the midfielder onto ten goals for the season, an impressive tally especially considering he did not start any of the first ten games. He had a fairly quiet match overall, with many of his colleagues underperforming.

With Stephen Humphrys and Fabio Jalo injured, Barry Cotter was the only home player who looked capable of beating a man and injecting energy into the team. He often lacks end product but created big chances in this game.

Luca Connell made several chances for others then was taken off just after the hour and clapped the fans pointedly. His last goal contribution was at Shrewsbury on October 26 - exactly six months before this game.

The likes of Phillips, especially, and Davis Keillor-Dunn tried to make things happen but were often let down by their team-mates.

Jonathan Bland – who is originally from Shrewsbury – replaced the injured Fabio Jalo in the starting line-up in the only change from Monday’s draw with Peterborough. Bland played at right-back with Dexter Lembikisa ahead of him on the right wing before the latter was taken off at half-time.