Huddersfield vs Barnsley
Saturday 1st March 2014
Kick-off 3.00pm
Last Saturday’s 1-0 win over Millwall courtesy of a fourth minute Jim O’Brien goal sees the Reds move ever closer to escaping the relegation zone.
Danny Wilson’s team will be looking to build on that result this weekend and secure back to back wins for the first time this season as they visit Yorkshire rivals Huddersfield.
Now only two points from climbing out of the drop zone, Wilson’s team will be wary of the challenge that Huddersfield pose.
After their result last weekend, Huddersfield will be hoping for a win this Saturday to make up for their 2-0 loss at home to Sheffield Wednesday.
Record
This will be the 64th time that this fixture has been played in the Football League.
Barnsley wins over Huddersfield: 23
Huddersfield wins over Barnsley: 28
Draws: 12
Memory Lane
The last time that the Reds travelled to the John Smiths Stadium was a tense affair to say the least. It was the final fixture of the last campaign and relegation loomed.
To the delight of everyone associated with Barnsley, the Reds pulled of their ‘great escape’ by salvaging a 2-2 draw and avoiding relegation by a point.
The good fortunes against Huddersfield carried on into this season and when this fixture was played at Oakwell in August, Barnsley recorded their first win of the season.
Another meeting between these sides that would be worth a mention is Barnsley’s 7-1 home victory over Huddersfield in the 1998/99 season. A result similar to that one this weekend would seem unlikely, however all Barnsley will be doing is looking to take three points back to Oakwell.
Hopefully the Reds will be able to continue their good fortune against their Yorkshire neighbours this time around as a win for Wilson’s team would really go a long way in the fight for survival.
Players to watch
Jim O’Brien netted the winner for the Reds last weekend and his goal could prove to be crucial come the end of the season.
Since joining in 2010, O’Brien has become a firm favourite at Barnsley making more than 100 appearances for the side.
Before moving to the Reds, O’Brien spent time playing in Scotland. Starting out at Celtic, he had spells with Dunfermline Athletic and Dundee Utd on loan before making a permanent switch to Motherwell.
The 2009/10 season was O’Brien’s most successful in Scotland, seeing him named in PFA Scotland Team of the Year at the end of the season.
Despite being born in Scotland, O’Brien has represented the Republic of Ireland at both U19 and U21 level. Since this, O’Brien has opted to return to making himself eligible to play for the country of his birth once again.
Huddersfield’s Martin Paterson is an experienced striker across the length of the Football League despite still being only 26 years old.
Paterson’s former clubs include Stoke, Grimsby, Scunthorpe and Burnley. During his time with Burnley, Paterson got a taste of the Premier League when the side won in the Championship play-off final at Wembley.
Despite making some impact in the Premier League, Paterson’s time in the top flight was interrupted all too often by injuries and it wasn’t long before he found himself as a free agent.
Paterson also has 21 caps for Northern Ireland and has scored three times for his country.
Team News
Barnsley have several players looking to get their names on the team sheet, the likes of Brek Shea and Liam Lawrence amongst them.
Still with Bobby Hassell the only out through injury, Danny Wilson has a near enough a full strength squad to pick from for Saturday’s game.
Huddersfield’s top scorer James Vaughan is still out injured for another two weeks, his goal scoring exploits have been missed for the two previous games also.
Joe Lolley joined Huddersfield from Kidderminster in January and the youngster is hoping that this weekend will see him make his first start.
League Form
Barnsley
W- (H) Millwall 1-0
L- (A) Wigan 2-0
D - (A) Doncaster 2-2
D - (H) Ipswich 2-2
L - (A) Sheffield Wednesday 1-0
Huddersfield
L- (H) Sheffield Wednesday 2-0
W- (A) Birmingham 2-1
L- (H) Nottingham Forest 3-0
W- (H) Wigan 1-0
L- (A) Leeds Utd 5-1
Betting
Barnsley win: 3/1
Huddersfield win: 10/11
Draw: 12/5
1st goal scorer
Nahki Wells - 4/1
Chris O’Grady- 13/2
Officials
Referee- David Coote
Assistant Referees- Paul Curry & Edward Smart
Fourth Official- James Adcock
David Coote has been selected as the referee for Saturday’s match at the John Smith’s Stadium when Barnsley take on Huddersfield Town.
So far this season he has officiated on 27 games handing out 82 yellow cards and just three red cards. David Coote’s last game in charge was the QPR v Reading fixture on Sunday 16th February.
He has been in charge of a Huddersfield Town game once this season already when they visited Burnley on New Year’s Day. That day the Clarets enjoyed a 3-2 win over the Terriers with just the three yellow cards produced.
David Coote has only ever refereed one game involving Barnsley, that coming in November 2012 away to Derby County at Pride Park. James O’Connor and Nathan Tyson were on target for the Rams as the Reds clocked up four bookings.
