Analysis of Barnsley's 3-0 home loss to Plymouth Argyle on Monday.

THE BOOS that rang around Oakwell after this defeat weren’t as loud as they were after they were beaten by Doncaster before the international break – but that’s only because there were far fewer fans in the stands at full-time.

Barnsley were toothless in this defeat, registering just one shot on target all game and, after the Pilgrims scored their second, the hosts never really looked like they had what it took to come back into the game.

They started slowly as they have done in recent weeks and were punished when the impressive Lorent Tolaj flicked the ball over the top of Jack Shepherd and Mael de Gevigney to Owen Oseni who made no mistake and volleyed home from close range.

They did grow into the game from that point but some poor defending cost them again.

Oseni easily muscled Shepherd off the ball in the box and laid it on a plate to Tolaj who dropped a shoulder – fooling both de Gevigney and Eoghan O’Connell – before firing past Owen Goodman in the box.

And from that point onwards there was only going to be one winner and the three points were sealed for the Pilgrims after Shepherd brought down Oseni in the box when trying to make up for his own mistake.

The referee pointed to the spot and, although Oseni’s spot-kick was weak, so was Goodman’s attempt to save it.

The Reds are now without a win in six and after Exeter’s shock victory over fellow strugglers Doncaster Rovers, they are now looking over their shoulder.

What was once a season of mid-table security looks to have rapidly turned into a battle for survival.

REDS EQUAL UNWANTED CLUB RECORD

When Barnsley beat Luton 5-0 at Oakwell back in November, few would have thought that they would still be waiting for their next clean sheet in April.

But they have been defensively woeful at times.

Whether it be personal mistakes, like in this game through Shepherd, or just a generally poor display – the Reds are struggling to keep the ball out of the back of their net.

By conceding in this game, they equalled a club record that was set in 1952/53 when the club was in turmoil due to the illness then death of long-serving war hero manager Angus Seed - then equalled in 2002/03 when it was in danger of going out of business.

Head coach Conor Hourihane said after the game that they work week-in, week-out to try and get better defensively.

While not all the blame can be placed on the head coach due to the players making their own mistakes, some responsibility must be taken by the coaching staff.

Goodman returned to the side following illness and Kieren Flavell, who played well in Good Friday’s draw with Burton Albion, dropped to the bench.

Many will say it was harsh to drop the young ‘keeper, especially given Goodman’s lacklustre performances since signing in January.

Surely this is the time for Hourihane to play his own players, rather than progressing the careers of those who will be gone in the summer.

REYES CLEARY LACKING CONFIDENCE

This was by no means Cleary’s worst game in a Reds shirt.

In fact, he was one of the brighter players in red on Easter Monday.

But in recent weeks he has gone off the boil, dropping to the bench and struggling to find the form which garnered so much attention from teams higher up the football pyramid.

He’s still young and should not have to be the one to constantly pull the Reds through games but his performances as of late have not been what fans have come to expect.

It looks like he has lost some confidence, rarely taking on players and instead opting to cross the ball – often when there are few options in the box.

If he can recover the mid-season form which made him one of the hottest prospects in the division then the Reds have a real player on their hands.

In recent weeks he has not been that, though many of his attacking colleagues have also seen their form drop.

REDS CAN NO LONGER RELY ON ATTACK

Hourihane admitted after this game that one of the main reasons for Barnsley’s downfall has been their lack of creativity up top.

Since the sale of Davis Keillor-Dunn in January, they have relied on veteran forward David McGoldrick far too often.

He has been a sensation, scoring 15 league goals this season.

But the issue is nobody else seems to be chipping in with the goals.

The Reds have been poor defensively all season, but at least when they were shipping in two goals every week they were able to score three in return. That’s no longer the case.

Barnsley have scored seven goals in their last eight games and are often registering just one shot on target.

Tom Bradshaw, despite his impressive running, is certainly not a DKD replacement and young Leo Farrell simply does not have enough experience in the third tier to cause defences any real problems.

It’s a big summer for the club and, despite their defensive frailties, bringing in a couple of good forwards has to be high up on the club’s priorities.

BARNSLEY LOOKING OVER SHOULDER

For most of the season, fans and the club have tried to be as positive as possible and with their many games in hand the top six has never looked to far out of reach.

But those games in hand which once saw them in a good position for the top six, are now looking important for another reason – to avoid dropping into League Two.

It seems ridiculous to think that a side that just five years ago were in the Championship play-offs are now potentially in a relegation battle.

However that is what the Reds are facing.

After years of constant regression, they are now just five points above the drop zone with seven games remaining.

They have to face Stevenage, Bradford, Stockport and Luton – all sides battling for promotion – as well as strugglers Port Vale, Rotherham and Northampton.

Each of those sides currently have something to play for.

If they do not pick up points – and quickly – they could be in real trouble this season.

LINE-UPS:

Barnsley (4-4-2): mark out of ten: Goodman 5; Bland 5 (Banks 67), de Gevigney 4, O’Connell 4, Shepherd 3; Connell 6, Yoganathan 5 (Farrell 78), Cleary 5, Kelly; Bradshaw 5v(Phillips 46), McGoldrick 5.

Unused: Flavell, Lennon, Roberts, Watson. Yellow cards: Shepherd.

Plymouth (4-4-2): Hazard; Edwards (Galloway 85), Ross, Mitchell, Harding; Curtis, Boateng, Paterson (Roberts 63), Dale; Oseni (Amaechi 81), Tolaj (Watts 63). Unused: Ashby-Hammond, MacKenzie, Benarous. Yellow cards: Ross. Goals: Oseni 16, 79 (p), Tolaj 57.

Referee: Tom Reeves (Warwickshire).

Attendance: 10,722 (1,242 away).