Barnsley eased some fears of being dragged into the League One relegation fight with a 3-1 home win over seventh-placed Stevenage on Saturday.
David McGoldrick and Davis Keillor-Dunn put the hosts 2-0 up then, after Stevenage were gifted a goal back, Keillor-Dunn got a second early in the second half.
It was a deserved win for the Reds who caused major problems for the visitors who had the best defensive record in the division before the game. They now have more league wins at Oakwell this season than the whole of last season, with 11 matches to play.
The Reds remain 15th but the gap from them to the relegation zone grew from three to five points.
Adam Phillips was out ill so Scott Banks came in for his debut while McGoldrick came back from injury with Jono Bland on bench. The Reds played 4-4-2 with McGoldrick joining Keillor-Dunn up front while Corey O’Keeffe was right-back and Tennai Watson left-back. Reyes Cleary was fit to play but speculation over the future of him and Keillor-Dunn remains.
Barnsley were excellent in the first half an hour. They almost took the lead when, after Patrick Kelly touched a Cleary pass into his path, McGoldrick shot high and wide from 12 yards.
McGoldrick did give the hosts the lead soon after when, after a poor backpass by visiting captain Carl Piergianni, the veteran striker was clean through and found a fine finish into the bottom right corner.
It should have been 2-0 when a clever set piece routine saw O’Keeffe’s low corner from the left flicked by Keillor-Dunn to Luca Connell in plenty of space 15 yards out but he shot wide of the left post.
O’Keeffe missed another big chance when he was put clean through by Keillor-Dunn but hesitated instead of shooting and was tackled.
Keillor-Dunn was the next to come close when, after a superb run and pass by Kelly, he was played through on the left of the box but hit the side netting.
Keillor-Dunn eventually got the second goal when, after Cleary slipped him in on the left wing about 35 yards out, he charged towards goal and his 20-yard shot hit the right post and bounced in.
Barnsley let their opponents back in the game when Connell – having made several bad errors for goals in midweek – tried to pass to Jack Shepherd just outside his box but underhit it so Jamie Reid could set up Dan Kemp for a simple finish. It was totally against the run of play after Stevenage had been dominated.
Banks’ cross from the right of the box hit McGoldrick from close-range and bounced wide.
Barnsley went 3-1 up just after the break when visiting goalkeeper Filip Marschall raced out of his area to meet a Banks pass and was beaten by Keillor-Dunn who then rolled the shot into an empty net.
Banks almost made it 4-1 minutes later when Kelly robbed Lewis Freestone of the ball and put him clean through but Marschall made a fine block.
Two players on each side were booked after Shepherd and a visiting player pushed each other into the back of the Barnsley net. The Reds almost made it 4-1 when Cleary beat a man and put Kelly through on the left but, after he skipped around a defender, his shot was easily saved.
Stevenage nearly pulled one back when Lewis Freestone headed a corner just wide of the bottom right corner. Harry Cornick then touched the ball wide a few yards out after a corner was headed towards goal.
Barnsley (4-4-2): Goodman; O’Keeffe, O’Connell, Shepherd, Watson; Banks, Connell, Kelly (Yoganathan 72), Cleary (Chirewa 82); McGoldrick, Keillor-Dunn (Bland 82).
Unused: Flavell, Roberts, de Gevigney, Ogbeta.
Yellow cards: Watson, Goodman, Shepherd.
Goals: McGoldrick 14, Keillor-Dunn 31, 48.
Stevenage (4-2-3-1): Marschall; Sweeney, Piergianni, Freestone; Pattenden (Patterson 11mins), Phillips (Thompson 61), White (Houghton HT), Earley; Kemp (Campbell 61); Roberts (Lubala 61), Reid (Cornick 61).
Unused: Ashby-Hammond.
Yellow cards: Lubala, Cornick.
Goals: Kemp 37.
