BARNSLEY FOOTBALL CLUB

The Reds welcome managerless Burton Albion to Oakwell on Saturday afternoon for the FA Cup first round.

Despite sitting comfortably in the League Two play-off places, boss Gary Rowett departed the Pirelli Stadium in late October in favour of a move to his former Club Birmingham City.

Head of Academy Mike Whitlow was in charge for the Brewers 1-1 draw against Plymouth last weekend and the former Leeds United defender will be in the dugout again as the Staffordshire Club meet Barnsley for the first time.

Following a fine start to the season the fourth tier outfit have struggled for consistency of late – picking up seven points from the last 15 available - but with two wins in their last three away games, the Tykes will have to be wary of an upset.

Danny Wilson’s side go into the game full of confidence however, after last weekend’s narrow South Yorkshire derby victory against Sheffield United.

That triumph followed on from the Reds impressive outing against league leaders Bristol City and with three wins in six, Wilson’s men look to have turned the tide.

To continue that mini revival, the Tykes will have to improve on their Oakwell record of late, having won just three times in the nine encounters played in front of their home faithful this season.

Saturday’s FA Cup clash will see the Reds and the Brewers do battle for the first time in their current formats.

Back in the early 20th century meetings between the two sides were a regular occurrence however, with the Brewers playing under the name of Burton United.

From 1898 until February 1907 the Club’s faced each other 18 times with the Reds winning 10 and Burton sealing four victories.

Nine of those 10 Barnsley triumphs came at Oakwell including a 7-0 success in 1905 and a 6-1 thrashing a year later as the Reds turned South Yorkshire into an unhappy hunting ground for the Staffordshire side.

Striker Marcello Trotta could be in line to make his Reds debut this weekend after joining on loan from Fulham last Saturday.

The Italian was an unused substitute at Bramall Lane but will be desperate to get his temporary stay at Oakwell underway against the Brewers if made available by parent club Fulham.

Fellow new signing Mike Phenix is still waiting to make his first Barnsley appearance, as he continues to get up to speed with the Football League following his move from Conference outfit AFC Telford last month.

Winger Dale Jennings will be pushing for his first start since mid-September after featuring for the Reserves once again in their 2-1 win over Coventry on Monday afternoon.

Burton will be without experienced midfielder John Mousinho for the trip to South Yorkshire, with the former Preston midfielder currently recovering from a torn calf.

Joining Mousinho on the Brewers injury table is ex-York City defender George Taft who suffered a torn hamstring in the Club’s recent win at Carlisle, and on-loan Sheffield United man Callum McFadzean who broke his foot just minutes into Burton’s home defeat against Cambridge in early October.

David Webb is the man in charge for the FA Cup clash at Oakwell, having refereed five Barnsley games in the past. Webb’s last visit to Oakwell came last season as the Reds went down to a 1-0 defeat against rivals Leeds United.

The Lancashire-based official will also be a familiar face to the Brewers, having taken charge of six Burton games including their 3-0 defeat at Wycombe in November 2012.

Webb was an unpopular man on that occasion after sending off Burton defender Zander Diamond but the official has been fairly lenient this season, handing out only 23 cautions and one red card in 12 games.

Scottish winger Alex MacDonald has quickly established himself as one of Burton Albion’s key men, despite only joining the Club from Burnley last summer.

The former Scotland U21 international made 41 appearances in his maiden Brewers season and has been a regular fixture once again this term, scoring four times in the process.

Three of those four strikes have come in Burton’s last four games, including winners at Northampton and Carlisle and the opening goal in last weekend’s draw against Plymouth.

The in-form 24-year-old made only two senior starts in five years at Burnley, which included loan spells at Falkirk, Inverness, Plymouth and Burton, before the winger turned his move to the Pirelli Stadium into a permanent one in May 2013.

In July 2008 the Reds beat off competition from several clubs to complete the signing of ‘larger than life’ character Darren Moore from Derby County following the Rams relegation from the Premier League.

The former Jamaica international penned a two-year deal at Oakwell and went on to be a regular in a Barnsley shirt for two seasons, making 76 appearances and scoring twice before he was released at the end of the 2009-10 campaign.

Fresh from his spell in South Yorkshire, Moore joined this weekend’s opponents Burton Albion, teaming up with his former Derby team-mate Paul Peschisolido.

The close link between the pair saw Moore named as Burton’s new club captain and the defender made an instant impact, as the Brewers kept back-to-back clean sheets in their opening two fixtures.

The former Bradford centre-half went onto feature 37 times at the Pirelli Stadium as the Staffordshire outfit finished the season in 19th place, keeping 10 clean sheets on the way.

Despite that, Moore was rarely used in the following 2011-12 campaign and in February 2012 the former Tyke left the Club and called time on his 20-year career at the age of 37.

Moore made his Barnsley debut in an away defeat at QPR and went onto make 39 appearances in his first campaign at Oakwell, scoring one goal as his header added gloss to a 3-1 win at Charlton.

The much-travelled defender was a permanent figure in the Barnsley defence in his second season with the Club, playing 37 times and finding the back of the net once. The current West Brom youth coach helped the Reds keep six clean sheets in the 2009-10 campaign but as the season came to a close Moore was released and his Brewers adventure began.

Matchday Admission Prices:

£15 for Adults

£10 for all Concessions