BARNSLEY FOOTBALL CLUB

Barnsley will be aiming to bounce back from last weekend’s derby defeat at Huddersfield when they take on Rotherham in another Yorkshire derby.

The Reds’ last minute loss at the John Smith’s Stadium was the Club’s second defeat on the road this season but despite that Paul Heckingbottom’s men have fared better at Oakwell.

Wins against both Derby and QPR leaves the Tykes looking for a third triumph in a row at home, as they also look to build on their current ninth placed position.

Visitors Rotherham go into the game buoyed by their first win of the campaign after edging past Brentford last weekend.

Following an opening day draw against Wolves, the Millers suffered three defeats on the bounce but Saturday’s vital win will have breathed renewed confidence into Alan Stubbs’ side ahead of the game.

The meeting between the Tykes and the Millers is the first between the two Clubs in nearly 11 years.

The sides last met all the way back in November 2005 when Steven Watt’s 90th minute effort rescued a point for Barnsley at Oakwell.

A month prior to that and the Reds secured their 21st victory in this fixture after Martin Devaney struck a second-half winner in Rotherham.

Those two results extended Barnsley’s unbeaten run against the Millers to seven games – four wins and three draws - and with the visitors last tasting success against the Tykes back in October 1982, they will certainly be looking to change things.

Paul Heckingbottom may opt to freshen things up after naming the same XI for the Club’s last three games.

Both Andy Yiadom and Stefan Payne are pushing for starts after coming on against Huddersfield last weekend.

Two players who will not be involved however are Sessi D'Almeida and Ryan Williams, with the duo both out through injury.

For the visiting Millers, Alan Stubbs may opt to stick with the same side which picked up the Club’s first win of the season last weekend.

That would see new signings Tom Adeyemi and Isaiah Brown start for a second time, while Celtic loanee Scott Allan could provide support for Danny Ward in attack once again.

If Stubbs does decide to make changes however, Kirk Broadfoot is set to return from a hamstring problem, while Lee Frecklington, Joe Newell and Aimen Belaid are all closing in on comebacks.

The Tykes will be looking for an improved afternoon in the company of Graham Scott. The Reds have lost all three of their previous meetings with the official including their most recent meeting which came in April 2014 when the Reds suffered a 2-1 loss at Derby.

Unlike Barnsley, the visitors Rotherham have tasted victory in the Oxfordshire-based referee’s company; beating Aldershot 3-0 back in October 2012.

That success was the Millers’ only win with Scott in charge however, with two draws and a defeat also coming their way. That loss was Rotherham’s most recent meeting with the official as they went down 2-1 at home to Rochdale in December 2013.

Despite not taking charge of either side last season, Scott did run the rule over 20 games; handing out 79 yellow cards and two reds.

Earlier this month Rotherham completed the signing of dynamic winger Jon Taylor for a club-record transfer fee from Peterborough. 

The former Wigan Athletic trainee penned a three-year deal with the Millers after impressing for the Posh last season; scoring 13 goals in 51 appearances.

Those goals included a double against Millwall and a hat-trick against Blackpool on the final day of the League One season.

Versatile wide man Taylor netted 16 times in total for Peterborough after moving from Shrewsbury in June 2014 and he made his Rotherham debut in the Club’s 2-2 draw against Wolves on the opening day of the campaign.

The 24-year-old may not have scored for his new Club yet but he does have one assist to his name already and after assisting five last term as well as his 13 goals, he is sure to be a big player for the Millers this season as he settles into life at the New York Stadium.

In April 2004 a young Dale Tonge made his Barnsley debut in a 2-0 home defeat against Brentford. The 18-year-old was introduced as a 64th minute substitute for Peter Handyside and helped keep the score at two for the remaining 26 minutes.

That outing was the first of 55 appearances that the Barnsley-born defender/midfielder made during his time at Oakwell after progressing through the Club’s academy.

All but 18 of them were starts for the homegrown talent; the first of which came in October 2004 when he played the full 90 minutes of Barnsley’s 2-2 draw at home to Swindon.

Tonge featured in midfield in that game and during his time in the Tykes’ first team he became both a versatile defender and midfielder.

His more defensive-based duties meant he never scored for the Reds but his greatest achievement in a Barnsley shirt came in the 2005-06 season as he helped the Club clinch promotion to the Championship with a play-off final victory against Swansea.

Despite that, Tonge made only six appearances in the second tier and in March 2007 he joined Gillingham on loan. Following that brief stint, he completed a switch to visitors Rotherham on a permanent deal in May 2007.

After helping his new side keep a clean sheet on his debut, Tonge went onto make 185 appearances over six seasons; scoring two goals. Both of those strikes came in the 2008-09 campaign as he netted against Macclesfield in League Two and Leicester City in the Football League Trophy.

His final season with the club saw the Millers promoted to League One but despite that he joined Torquay in July 2013 and following spells with Chester and Stockport, the ex-Tyke penned a deal with FC United of Manchester earlier this year.

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