Analysis from Barnsley's 2-1 defeat at Notts County in the EFL Trophy. The Reds conceded an eighth-minute goal then levelled through Davis Keillor Dunn early in the second half but had Jono Bland sent off minutes later. The hosts won it in the 89th minute.
TOUGH RUN GOES ON
CONOR Hourihane knows about losing runs with Barnsley, and how to recover from them.
Ten years ago almost to the day, he played in a defeat at Doncaster Rovers which started an eight-game sequence of defeats in League One after which he still lifted the trophy at the Wembley play-off final.
They are nowhere near that level of crisis but the last couple of weeks have been troubling.
This was a fourth successive loss for the Reds in all competitions, scoring just once and having two shots on target in those games while they have conceded after 85 minutes in four consecutive matches for the first time ever.
No one saw this coming at half-time in Blackpool less than a fortnight ago after Barnsley had played attractive football in the first half and were on a fine run of form. But, since then, they have not performed well at all – losing there in the last seconds following a poor second half, going down 6-0 to Premier League Brighton, which was always a mismatch, putting in an abject performance against Port Vale then being beaten at a mid-table League Two side in the EFL Trophy.
The league table is nothing like what it was a decade ago when they sank into the relegation zone but, having lost to his friend and former assistant Martin Paterson’s Magpies, another defeat to Michael Duff’s lowly Wycombe on Saturday would send them into the international break on a downer.
RED CARD CHANGES GAME
Barnsley started the second half well, scored a fine equaliser and had another chance.
But suddenly they were down to ten men on 53 minutes.
Jono Bland - who had been booked after seven minutes for taking down Jayden Luker on the counter-attack - reacted to a throw-in not going his way by chucking the ball into the ground and it bounced up then landed on a home player’s head.
Referee Peter Wright appears to be a stickler for dissent, having given Sam Cosgrove a second yellow at Leyton Orient in 2023.
While it may seem a trivial incident to lead to a match-changing dismissal, it was a petulant mistake by Bland.
Hourihane called it a ‘complete moment of madness’ and revealed Bland knew he would be taken off two minutes later to save his legs for Saturday.
It is easy to forget, given the maturity he usually plays and talks with, that Bland is still a teenager and has plenty of learning to do. He will surely bounce back from this but he cost his team on the night.
Barnsley have had a lot of red cards in the trophy in recent years - James Norwood and Corey O’Keeffe for elbows as well as Donovan Pines and Jack Shepherd for last man challenges.
Bland’s was their third dismissal of this season, all for two bookings, following Shepherd’s disputed sending off on the opening day at Plymouth and a red for Bland’s fellow teenager Vimal Yoganathan against Bolton in a similar learning experience.
COUNTY DESERVED WINNERS
These trophy games are always strange events. Everyone knows, even if they try to put it to the back of their minds, that the match is nowhere near as important as any of the league fixtures that come thick and fast, while the thousands of empty seats in a big ground like Meadow Lane reinforce that.
Barnsley began very slowly, with County having several chances and taking one of them.
The Reds then took some control of the game, had 69 per cent possession in the first half then eventually started to create chances, scoring one just after half-time.
They had come out for the second half several minutes before their hosts and looked the more intense and alert side but the red card totally ruined that momentum. That was their only strong spell of a game they deserved to lose overall.
Bland played at left back out of possession but, when Barnsley had the ball, he inverted into midfield and the Reds played with a back three. That was starting to give them a bit more dominance in the game before the dismissal.
Not long after the red card, Hourihane took off his other regular league starters as he did not want another 40 minutes of constant defending with ten men in their legs going to Wycombe.
The Reds played out the rest of the game in a 4-4-1. They never got a foothold back in it and County should have secured the win well before they did in the 89th minute.
The hosts started to create much better chances when they brought on Will Jarvis who constantly had the beating of Reds replacement Josh Earl who played at left-back – with Georgie Gent still injured and Nathanael Ogbeta rested – but was far slower than his opponent and had little support from those around him.
STRONG TEAM FOR TROPHY
The Reds have now lost their last six EFL Trophy games. They were beaten 5-1 at Bradford in 2023 then knocked out at Blackpool that season and lost all three group games last season.
That is despite Hourihane taking the competition more seriously than some of his predecessors who gave out plenty of professional debuts to under 21s players, many of whom they then released. When he was Barnsley’s star man ten years ago, Hourihane started nearly every trophy match, but the competition has been further devalued since then by the addition of under 21s sides and the group stage.
Hourihane made eight changes from the last league game but all of those who came in were members of the senior squad, while star men like Luca Connell and Adam Phillips came off the bench.
He clearly has a first team squad of players he trusts and does not want to promote youngsters into it unless they have earned first team action with their performances in training – such as Leo Farrell, who came on, and Kieran Graham who was on the bench.
The downside to not just plugging gaps with youngsters is that, due to a lack of options in forward areas after a disappointing end to the transfer window, players like Davis Keillor-Dunn and Caylan Vickers have to start every game, which the head coach admits is not ideal.
By contrast, County made six changes but kept their front three from the league games.
Barnsley now host Manchester United under 21s on October 21 and Lincoln City on November 11, which could be during an international break.
Lincoln are well clear at the top of the group after two 3-0 wins.
CLEARY AGAIN IMPRESSES
‘Let’s see what they’ve got’ was Hourihane’s message to his players who have been on the bench in league games but were given rare starts in this match.
After two disappointing league losses, this was a chance for them to impress and put themselves in the thinking for Saturday.
Only a few of them did so.
Reyes Cleary showed his ability to beat players on either foot and that he has end product – teeing up a golden chance that Keillor-Dunn put wide just before half-time then whipping in a good low cross from the left, after a nice run, which the striker smashed into the top left corner for 1-1 on 49 minutes. His last couple of cup performances have certainly seen him push for a first league start for the Reds.
Mael de Gevigney, like against Brighton last week, produced a solid individual performance in defence as did Connor Barratt and Jake Rooney, who mainly played at right-back.
Jon Russell struggled to make an impact while Yoganathan, although he played some good passes, looked uncomfortable as the holding midfielder having had success in his short career in a more attacking role. Vickers was slightly less impactful in a more central role.
Neil Farrugia was beaten easily for the opener but later showed great skill to skip past two men on the right before having a shot blocked.
Goalkeeper Kieren Flavell was solid on his first start of the season with a series of decent saves.
