Barnsley were crushed 4-0 at League One leaders Cardiff City on Tuesday evening.
The hosts went 2-0 up at the break, both after the Reds gave the ball away in their half, then added two more after the break.
The Reds created chances in the first half and some refereeing decisions went against them but they were very sloppy at the back and looked broken in the final half an hour.
They remain 15th, three points clear of the relegation zone.
Davis Keillor-Dunn returned to the 11 with David McGoldrick having picked up a knock. Captain Luca Connell was back after suspension with Nathanael Ogbeta dropping to the bench. New signing Scott Banks was not signed in time to play.
The Reds played a back four with Jack Shepherd at left-back.
The hosts took the lead in the third minute when Connell lost the ball and Cardiff worked it to the right of the box with Ollie Tanner playing in Perry Ng who smashed into the top right corner from a tight angle.
Tanner should have made it 2-0 but volleyed wide six yards out after meeting a Chris Willock cross from the left.
Reyes Cleary had to come off after half an hour with an injury and was replaced by Ogbeta. Barnsley looked better after the change and created some chances. Keillor-Dunn saw a 25-yard shot brilliantly tipped out of the top right corner by Nathan Trott. From the resulting Connell corner, Adam Phillips headed across goal and O’Connell nodded just wide.
Cardiff’s Alex Robertson should have been off as, having already been booked, he pulled Phillips back on the counter-attack.
Barnsley conceded against the run of play in first half injury-time as Connell again lost the ball just inside his half, after a powerful pass to him by Shepherd, and Omari Kellyman played Willock through to shoot through goalkeeper Owen Goodman’s grasp.
Early in the second half, Corey O’Keeffe appeared to be tripped by Willock on the right of the box but no penalty was given. Jono Bland then saw a long-range shot saved easily by Trott.
Patrick Kelly cut in from the right of the box and his weak shot towards the bottom left corner was easily saved by Trott.
It was 3–0 when Willock was played into space on the left on the left and slipped in the unmarked Kellyman to finish one-on-one.
The fourth goal saw Connell again lose the ball, gifting it to Willock who went clean through then beat Goodman.
Ng could have made it five but shot over in the box after substitute Callum Robinson had a shot blocked.
Goodman tipped Robinson’s 20-yard shot onto the crossbar late on.
Barnsley (4–2-3-1): Goodman; O’Keeffe, Watson (de Gevigney 73 mins), O’Connell, Shepherd; Bland (Yoganathan 61), Connell, Phillips (Farrell 73, Kelly, Cleary (Ogbeta 31); Keillor-Dunn.
Unused: Flavell, Roberts,, Lennon.
Yellow cards: O’Connell, O’Keeffe.
Cardiff (4-3-3): Trott, Ng, Chambers, Fish, Bagan (Kpakio 79); Wintle, Robertson (Turnbull HT); J Colwill (Davies 71); Willock, Kellyman (Robinson 71), Tanner (Ashford 71).
Unused: Tyrer, Osho.
Goals: Ng 3, Willock 45+3, 69; Kellyman 63.
