Analysis of Barnsley's 2-2 draw at Bradford City. The hosts took the lead twice but Reyes Cleary scored from 70 yards and Patrick Kelly netted his first Reds goal.

UNFORGETTABLE CLEARY GOAL

‘HAVE you told them it was a clearance?’ said Bradford captain Max Power as he cheekily interrupted Reyes Cleary’s post-match interview in the Valley Parade stands.

He then congratulated the Barnsley man on his 70-yard strike, exemplifying not only the good-natured Yorkshire derby but also that it was a special moment which everyone will remember no matter which side they were on.

After collecting the ball deep in his half, it looked as though Cleary’s only option was to pass to Davis Keillor-Dunn but instead he hit a shot from just outside the centre circle in his half. The wonderstrike swerved from right to left before dipping between the crossbar and the flailing arm of goalkeeper Sam Walker who had stumbled towards his goal in panic then ended up tangled in the back of his net. The goal was scored right in front of the away end who seemed to watch in fascination and disbelief, like everyone else in the stadium, before erupting when the ball dropped in.

You can’t score a better goal than that.

It was an inch-perfect combination of power, technique, accuracy and outside the box thinking - way outside the box.

It can sometimes feel as if those of us who have watched hundreds or even thousands of football matches have seen everything the sport has to offer, then something like that happens.

That was just Cleary’s second start in the EFL, having also scored on his first, and he is a phenomenally exciting talent who has revolutionised Barnsley’s attacking threat.

The assist went to Luca Connell for a good tackle on Alex Pattison who had to come off injured as a result. That meant there was a delay of several minutes after the goal in which everyone seemed dazed by what they had just witnessed.

ENTERTAINING YORKSHIRE DERBY

This was a pulsating and enthralling Yorkshire derby, with both sides enjoying periods of dominance.

It was played in front of a crowd of more than 22,000 with almost 3,000 in the away end.

Newly-promoted Bradford were second, no side had scored more than them in the division and they had won all seven games at Valley Parade this season.

After 55 minutes, the Bantams should have been about 4-0 up but were let down by their finishing and had conceded Cleary’s miraculous goal. They were stunned briefly by that super strike but eventually got back on top and created regular chances.

They played with a very high intensity, putting plenty of crosses into the Reds box - which their sloppy visitors could not cope with for long spells.

But Hourihane had identified that his team could find space on the counter-attack and did so effectively between 55 and 75 minutes.

They were much better in the second half and showed character to get back into the game, making it 2-2 before Adam Phillips hit the bar - both after fine moves.

Bradford then finished the stronger, missing some good late chances while Reds substitute Vimal Yoganathan could have conceded a penalty.

The Reds avoided another of the late goals that have been plaguing them, with Hourihane purposefully not putting fit-again Marc Roberts on to head everything away in injury-time because he wanted to see if his other players could put into practice what they had worked on in training. It was a risky strategy which would have brought criticism if the hosts had found a winner.

Overall, Bradford will feel they had enough opportunities to win comfortably but Barnsley also had the chance to go in front and showed real guts to come back twice.

EIGHTEEN POINTS FROM FIRST QUARTER

The result meant Barnsley’s winless run stretched to six games in all competitions, although it was a much more positive 2-2 draw than the collapse at Wycombe in the previous game two weeks earlier.

They are winless in five away games since winning their first two of the season.

Eighteen points is a reasonable tally for the first quarter of the season but they must look to close the six-point gap to sixth quickly even if they have a game in hand.

This was certainly an encouraging point from the first and, in theory, hardest leg of their series of Yorkshire derbies.

At least four points are now required from the next two derbies against Rotherham - who they have dominated for decades - and Doncaster who are also off-form.

POOR GOALS CONCEDED

Barnsley are still not keeping enough clean sheets and conceding too many goals, many of them soft.

Bradford’s first goal saw Tennai Watson and Phillips get in each other’s way when trying to head a right-wing cross then Pattison crossed low from the left. After Calum Kavanagh was denied at point blank range by Murphy Cooper, Antoni Sarcevic turned into the empty net.

For the second goal, it was as if the defenders still thought Stephen Humphrys played for Barnsley as they left him totally unmarked so Power could pass him a right-wing free-kick and he brilliantly backheeled into the bottom right corner from about ten yards.

Nathanael Ogbeta made one fine headed clearance but he gifted Bradford the ball from a throw-in in the build-up to the opener then conceded the free-kick for their second. He was often beaten by Bradford’s dangerous Josh Neufville.

The defence was put in trouble by loose passing from Connell who lost the ball often including three times in the first five minutes.

Although they were exposed at times, centre-backs Josh Earl and Jack Shepherd made 14 and 13 clearances respectively, out of a huge 58 in total by the Reds. They each made some vital blocks and clearances. Shepherd was particularly solid at the club he helped to promotion last season, clearing off the line. Goalkeeper Cooper made a series of fine saves.

SUBSTITUTES MAKE BIG IMPACT

No Barnsley substitute had scored or assisted a goal in the opening ten league games of the season.

That is not particularly unusual - it also happened in the 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons - but it added to a sense that the squad is shallow in attacking areas.

But the half-time replacements combined for the 2–2 goal when, after a nice team move, Mael de Gevigney’s low cross from the right was deftly finished by Patrick Kelly at the near post for his first Reds goal. Cleary, Kelly, Phillips and Keillor-Dunn were all involved in the build-up.

Hourihane had been criticised for his changes at Wycombe but deserves credit for this savvy switch.

Kelly replaced Caylan Vickers - who has gone off the boil slightly after a bright start with Barnsley - adding extra physicality and an ability to drive with the ball. De Gevigney came on for the injured Watson at right-back, making his first league appearance since August. Like in his cup appearances, the French defender did well, and was singled out for praise by Hourihane.