BARNSLEY are in the hat for the second round though it was a less than convincing performance against National League side York City - but a win's a win.

Marc Roberts added to Davis Keillor-Dunn's double after York, who had earlier led through Josh Stones, thought Mark Kitching had forced extra time.

Stones gave the Minstermen a deserved lead in the 23rd minute as his header looped over Murphy Cooper in the Barnsley goal, sending the away end wild.

The hosts levelled seven minutes later as Jamaica international Jon Russell found space in the box before laying off to Keillor-Dunn who made no mistake to score his seventh goal of the campaign.

Keillor-Dunn gave Barnsley the lead in the 77th minute as he smartly turned home from inside the area after being found by Neil Farrugia.

Kitching blasted the ball into the roof of the net to level for York in the 87th minute after Alex Newby's free-kick was parried away by the Barnsley goalkeeper.

But the National League side were denied extra time in the first minute of added-on time after Roberts climbed highest to head in a Luca Connell corner.

It’s a win that puts Barnsley into the second round of the FA Cup but it’s not one that will fill fans with confidence going forward.

Despite the 44-place difference in the footballing pyramid, you wouldn’t have been able to tell which side was in League One.

It must now be hoped that they can use this victory moving forward as a confidence-booster.

It’s not all negative, though.

Barnsley showed real character to come from behind and then eventually win it in added time.

If they can show character that in the league then they’ll be one step closer to being the side the fans saw at the start of thee season.

A win’s a win

Despite being second best in the first half the Reds went in level thanks to Keillor-Dunn.

And then they pushed on in the second half, even if they weren’t at their best.

Cup competitions are about winning - and they did that.

The history books will only show that Barnsley won 3-2.

Not that they weren’t the best side.
And it’s a win that will hopefully breed confidence within the group.

They’re without a win in the league since the start of September but they’ll be hoping to change that away at Doncaster Rovers next weekend.

Overall it’s been a half-decent few derby games for Barnsley.

They picked up a good point away at Bradford City and beat York in this game.

They deserved to win at Rotherham last week but ultimately lost.

It’s something for Hourihane to build on.

And if he can do that with a win in the next game, some of the moans and groans from the crowd - although they re justified - will start to disappear.

York faster to every second ball in first half

The Minstermen were backed by an almost 3,000-strong contingent who had travelled down from North Yorkshire while the Reds, who had only opened the East Stand for this fixture, were not able to create the same atmosphere from the sidelines.

And it certainly helped the away side early on.

York were quicker to every second ball.
They just looked like they wanted it more.

And they deserved their lead.

It’s difficult to pinpoint what the issue for Barnsley was in the opening half an hour.

But a neutral watching this game would not have been able to tell these two sides were two leagues apart.

In fact they’d almost certainly think York were higher up the footballing pyramid. 


The Reds did start to gain some more control of the game following the equaliser but that should have been the case from the start.

As the game went on Barnsley did grow into it and did well to grind out the result.

That's certainly a positive.

Josh Stones all over centre-backs

The young striker proved a real handful for Barnsley’s backline in this game. 
He bullied both Jack Shepherd and Marc Roberts at the back and deservedly opened the scoring for the hosts.

He’s the type of player the Reds defence has been struggling against all season.


A striker who’s willing to run in behind but also be selfless and hold the ball up for his teammates.

He opened the scoring on 23 minutes after combining with Ollie Banks on the right and looping his header over the helpless Murphy Cooper. 
But he should have scored ten minutes before that.

He had been played through by Banks and looked to have the easiest job of just sliding the ball into the back of the net but Cooper rushed out to smother the ball.

But that didn’t dampen his spirits and the York number nine could have had a handful of goals in this game had it not been for Cooper.

He was taken off on 71 minutes to a wonderful reception from the travelling fans and he deserved that having ran his socks off the entire game.

He’s the sort of player that Barnsley are desperately missing.

Yes they have Keillor-Dunn who, on his day, is the best striker in the league and the experienced David McGoldrick.

But they don’t have a player like Stones.

They’ve probably not had that type of player since they let James Norwood go to Oldham.

You’d think that they’ll be looking for someone of his ilk in January.

Early substitute sign of the way game was going

Hourihane was planning to take off Nathanael Ogbeta before Keillor-Dunn levelled on the half-hour mark.

The left-back was replaced by Tennai Watson as the Reds went from a 4-2-3-1 formation to three-at-the-back.

And it certainly helped.

Beforehand the Reds just couldn’t keep hold of the ball and they were struggling to create any real chances.

But following the goal, and the subsequent substitution, Barnsley looked like a much better side.

Watson, Roberts and Shepherd commanded their area well and the wing-backs Bland and Farrugia looked a lot strong than before.

Managers and head coaches in the past at Oakwell may have just sat back and waited for half-time.

If Hourihane had done that then his side would more than likely have gone in at the break behind.

So he should be given credit for his decision.

Farrugia performs well after being given start

It’s not been easy for the Irishman since joining the Reds from Shamrock Rovers.

He’s never really cemented himself in the side and has been forced to take minutes as and when they come.

He was given a rare start in this game and was one of Barnsley’s only bright sparks in the first half.

In a rare moment of magic for Hourihane’s side he nutmegged one defender in the box before taking it round another, only to see his cross miss Russell on the edge of the box by an inch.

He worked well on the right, both going forward and in defence, and deserved his assist for Keillor-Dunn’s second.

His performance will give the head coach something to think about going into the Doncaster game next week.

The other Reds winger, Reyes Cleary, was not his usual self on the left and struggled to make an impact.

Barring an excellent curling effort which was tipped wide on the stroke of half time, he had a quiet game but his performances recently mean he has a bit more breathing space.

Reds can’t keep a clean sheet

Barnsley conceded two goals again and had it not been for Murphy Cooper in between the sticks then it would have been more.

Stones did so well against Shepherd and Roberts, then substitute Jake Rooney, and was unlucky to not add to his tally.

Ollie Banks tormented the Reds midfield and was also unfortunate to not score having had some good chances in front of goals.

It was the cup and anything can happen.

Barnsley are obviously a better side than York and on another day they could have walked through that game unscathed.

But York were up for it, as were their fans.

Their manager Stuart Maynard said after the game that his side could have scored six goals and he’s probably right - and Barnsley couldn’t have grumbled had they won that game.

One thing’s for sure - if they play like that in the league they almost certainly wouldn’t have had the same result.

Barnsley won’t be able to score three goals every week.

They need to be better defensively as a group.

If they can keep up their attacking prowess and couple that with being better at the back, Hourihane might be able to push his side up the league table.