CHRISTMAS may have been a day earlier but Barnsley gifted Mansfield three points as they let a two goal lead slip to lose 3-2 at Oakwell.

Cleary opened the scoring for Barnsley in the opening two minutes, latching on to a Patrick Kelly through ball before calmly putting it through the legs of Mansfield 'keeper Liam Roberts who had tried to close the angle at the near post.

It was the fifth goal of an already impressive season for the tricky winger who has lit up League One this campaign.

Keillor-Dunn made it 2-0 on 13 minutes as he combined well with a neat flick from Caylan Vickers - both former Stags' players - before firing in from 20 yards.

He held his hands up to the travelling Mansfield fans before the Barnsley players jumped on him to celebrate.

It was the forward's 11th goal of the campaign so far.

The Stags halved the deficit on 25 minutes as Louis Reed - from Penistone in Barnsley - scored from the penalty spot after Cleary was adjudged to have handled the ball in the box.

Stephen McLaughlin managed to bundle the ball into the net to equalise for the away side in the 58th minute after a huge scramble in the Barnsley box.

And Lewis delivered a late Christmas gift for the travelling Stags with seven minutes to go as he fired past Cooper to give his side the win.

Barnsley have now conceded six goals in their last two games, both against sides who were in the relegation zone.

The result leaves Barnsley in ninth, seven points off the play-offs and just four points above the relegation zone.

The transfer window is about to open and the Reds need some reinforcements if they’re going to have any chance of moving up the League One table.

Can’t keep conceding at this rate

Barnsley score goals - and a lot of them.

Only a handful of teams have scored more than the Reds in League One this season, and Barnsley have played fewer games than them.

But the issue is the amount of goals they seem to be shipping.

They have one of the worst defensive records in the league, conceding 30 goals in just 19 games.

That’s certainly not promotion form.

Hourihane’s side have managed to pick up points due to the fact they have a number of attacking talents at their disposal.

But they can’t keep relying on them as much as they have been.

They need to start becoming a better defensive unit and if they don’t they’ll start to slowly move down the table.

The January transfer window is just around the corner and the Reds desperately need at least some back up in the backline.

Seemingly a lack of communication at the back

The amount of goals Barnsley are conceding is worrying enough, what’s worse is the manner in which they are conceding them.

The penalty in this match was unfortunate and there’s nothing really that Cleary could have done to avoid the decision.

But just minutes later there was a mix-up at the back between Cooper and Jack Shepherd and it could have been disastrous had the referee pointed to the spot again.
And he probably should have.

But the same situation - with one of the defenders and Cooper not talking to each other and getting one another into trouble - continued to happen throughout the second half.

It’s frustrating for fans and they need to do something to fix it.

Fans frustration clear to see

Expectation for fans at this level is always going to be promotion - or at the very least it’s fighting at the right end of the table.

But the Reds now face a real challenge for the rest of the season.

There was an exodus as soon as the third goal went in for Mansfield but in truth as soon as the penalty went in the fans started to turn, despite being 2-1 up at the time.

Hourihane said after the game that he understands fans’ frustrations but they need to understand it will take a little bit of time.

He said it’s not just the team, but the fans as well.

But football’s an unforgiving game and time isn’t something managers these days are blessed with.

Kelly man of the match

The Northern Irishman was fantastic in the middle of the park and was by far and away Barnsley’s best player.

On a number of occasions he waltzed through the Mansfield midfield and created some great opportunities for both Keillor-Dunn and Cleary.

Since he was moved further up the pitch his game has improved massively and he looks like a great player.

He’s certainly someone who can excite fans and was a deserved man of the match.

Cleary also had a good first half and was unlucky to not add to his already impressive tally after his first goal.

But Barnsley cannot keep relying on the same players to pull themselves out of bad situations.