Analysis of Barnsley's 1-1 draw at home to Wigan Athletic on Tuesday. Charlie Lennon scored a 95th-minute leveller after the visitors opened the scoring in the first half.

LENNON’S DREAM DEBUT SALVAGES POINT

THE ONLY time Barnsley have won at home to Wigan, in the FA Cup in 1954, Prime Minister Winston Churchill was about to turn 80, radio comedy Hancock’s Half Hour had just aired for the first time and the Roy of the Rovers comics had first hit newsstands weeks earlier.

Although this was not a win, and a frustrating game for most of the evening, it felt like a Roy of the Rovers storyline for a teenager who had stepped up three divisions to come on for his debut and equalise in the 95th minute.

Charlie Lennon hadn’t played since December 30 and his previous goals had been against Curzon Ashton and Worksop Town during a loan to National League North Darlington from Middlesbrough before his move to the Reds.

He had been an unused substitute eight times before finally being given a chance, with Conor Hourihane often reluctant to use young players until they have had plenty of time on the training pitch. He looked lively straight away and took his goal well, surely earning him more opportunities in the last ten games.

The goal came from David McGoldrick, who is literally twice Lennon’s age and suddenly found a burst of energy in injury-time having looked tired throughout the second half. He saw a 25-yard strike saved by Sam Tickle but Lennon turned in the rebound from close range to join Kevin Betsy and Devante Cole as the only players to score for Barnsley against Wigan at Oakwell in nine league fixtures, none of which have been home wins.

DREADFUL FIRST HALF CAPPED BY DAFT GOAL

Barnsley were very poor in the first half. They were sloppy on the ball and easy for Wigan to open up either with long balls or crosses from the flanks.

The Latics are in the thick of a relegation battle while no side in the division has fewer away wins than their two from 19 games.

But the visitors just had more energy and drive against a listless and insipid home side who were booed off at the interval.

Only bottom three sides Rotherham and Port Vale had scored fewer goals than Wigan’s 38 from 36 games, but they could have been several ahead at the break.

The Wigan goal was really bad from a Barnsley perspective.

After a Barnsley corner was gathered by goalkeeper Tickle, he punted the ball downfield to pacy striker Joe Taylor. Last man Luca Connell tried to barge into him with a powderpuff off-the-ball challenge which only succeeded in giving the Wigan player a head start. Owen Goodman was caught in no man’s land, not coming to close Taylor down or staying on his line, so the striker could lob the ball over the stranded goalkeeper and into the net.

Both players were at fault but, whereas Goodman had a decent game overall with some saves to keep the score down, captain Connell was abysmal in the first half.

He lost the ball for three of Wigan’s chances and seemed totally panicked by the Latics’ harassing, but he was better after the break, on and off the ball, then saw a free-kick tipped onto the crossbar.

Connell collected a ninth yellow card of the season and now must, like Jono Bland, avoid a tenth in the next two games or they will be banned for two.

Patrick Kelly, who played alongside Connell in central midfield, had one of his worst games while Scott Banks and Vimal Yoganathan were taken off early in the second half having done very little.

Reyes Cleary returned to the starting line-up in place of Tom Bradshaw who dropped to the bench. He posed some problems on the left but was not the force he was earlier in the season. McGoldrick could have played him clean through in the first half but was tackled.

FIVE SUBS USED FOR FIRST TIME IN 23 GAMES, AND IT WORKS

Hourihane used his full allocation of five substitutes for the first time in 23 games since the 5-0 EFL Trophy loss at Port Vale in December.

The only other times he has done so in the league this season were the 5-0 home win over Luton in November and the August defeat at Wimbledon.

He has seemed unwilling to trust his full squad at times, relying on a core of 13 or 14 players who play the majority of the minutes, with question marks over the depth in some positions after patchy recruitment.

But he used 16 this time and it paid off as the introduced players contributed heavily to an improvement in performance in the second half of a sixth game in 18 days.

Experienced duo Bradshaw and Adam Phillips came on after 52 minutes and added more of a threat, with Barnsley returning to two up front. Nathanael Ogbeta, who came on alongside Lennon, and final change Jono Bland both added fresh legs and energy.

Ogbeta went to left-back with Jack Shepherd moving inside to centre-back having struggled to contribute in attack, as expected, and being sloppy in possession at times. Hourihane has a big decision to make about whether to match Shepherd or Ogbeta against Doncaster’s flying winger Luke Molyneux on Saturday.

REDS BETTER AFTER BREAK AND FINISH WELL AFTER RED CARD

Hourihane said he was ‘pretty annoyed’ at half-time and that his team ‘weren’t there’ before the break.

The Reds were better in the second period and had a lot of the ball while creating a few half-chances.

They were definitely helped by Callum Wright’s red card on 88 minutes, but they were building some slight momentum before then.

He was booked early in the second half for pulling back Kelly then again for a lunge on Corey O’Keeffe.

That seemed to give the Reds and their fans a lift then they hit the frame of the goal twice before eventually levelling.

The supporters, despite even larger than usual gaps in the home stands to the naked eye, seemed to get behind their team especially late on.

BARNSLEY ONTO 50 POINTS WITH TEN TO PLAY

This result took Barnsley to 50 points, with ten games to play. That would have been a relief a few weeks ago when it looked vaguely possible that they could be dragged into a relegation fight, but it is still well below expectations in the third tier.

They have now gone 22 games without a clean sheet and have conceded 85 goals in all competitions this season, just five fewer than their tally from last season.

Only the top two have scored more but Barnsley cannot seem to put two solid halves together in the same game, this time stronger after the break having wilted late on at Mansfield on Saturday.

Conor said they needed a ‘big week’ if they were to have a chance of challenging for the top six and so far they have two points from two games. Based on the points per game of the teams currently fighting for sixth place, a total of about 75 will likely be needed – so they would need eight wins from ten having won eight of 29, which is extremely unlikely. They at least need a victory over neighbours Doncaster on Saturday for a boost going into the international break then the final nine games in 29 days. They are unbeaten in four but the last three have been draws.