BARNSLEY FOOTBALL CLUB

The Reds travel south on Saturday afternoon hoping to make it three league wins on the bounce as they face promotion-chasers Peterborough.

Back-to-back victories for the first time this season has seen Danny Wilson’s side climb to 13th in League One, where they sit just three points outside the division’s top seven.

A third consecutive triumph would be Barnsley’s third on the road this campaign, having lost just once away from Oakwell, but with the Posh currently occupying an automatic promotion spot it will be far from easy for Wilson’s men.

After securing 15 points from the first 18 available, Darren Ferguson’s side have slumped slightly with just two wins in their last six games but an impressive 4-1 rout at Crawley last weekend has quickly restored them as one of the favourites to go up this term.

That victory was the Club’s seventh of the campaign, three of which have come at London Road, where the Posh are unbeaten in four games, losing just once which came back in mid-August.

The Reds go into the game looking to build on their run of good form at London Road in recent years.

Despite losing on their last visit there in January 2013, when goals from Michael Bostwick and Tommy Rowe made Marlon Harewood’s strike insignificant, Barnsley have tasted victory on five of the previous six clashes between the sides at London Road.

There was no meeting between the two Clubs last season following the Posh’s relegation to League One in 2013, but Saturday’s hosts did complete the double over the Tykes in the 2012-13 campaign with a 2-0 win at Oakwell adding to their 2-1 home success.

Things were very different in the previous campaign however, with Barnsley taking six points from the two meetings, the first of which was a thriller, as Peterborough fought back from 3-0 down to level the scores before Craig Davies struck 12 minutes from time to earn the Reds victory.

In the reverse fixture in South Yorkshire David Cotterill’s first-half effort claimed a narrow 1-0 triumph for 10-man Barnsley, after midfielder Nathan Doyle was dismissed just after the half-hour mark.

Danny Wilson has close to a full strength squad at his disposal this weekend, as the Reds attempt to continue their recent revival.

One player who has missed the Club’s last two victories is winger Dale Jennings but the former Bayern Munich youngster is hoping to shake off an ankle problem which saw him absent for the games against both Rochdale and Bradford.

The Posh, meanwhile, are still without top goal scorer Kyle Vassell who suffered a broken foot in training last month.

On a positive note for boss Ferguson winger Nathaniel Mendez-Laing returned from a thigh injury in a development game on Tuesday, lasting an hour as the Posh defeated Leyton Orient 3-0.

On-loan Tottenham youngster Kenny McEvoy was the star of the show, netting twice against the O’s and he will be pushing for a starting berth at London Road.

The Reds will be up against some familiar faces on Saturday afternoon with two former Tykes amongst the Peterborough squad.

Goalkeeper Ben Alnwick spent one season with the Club back in 2012 and following spells at Charlton and Leyton Orient, the shot stopper agreed a three-year deal with the Posh in July.

Peterborough player-coach Grant McCann will also face his former side this weekend, having enjoyed two spells with the Reds, one on loan and one on a permanent basis back in 2007, before departing the club to join Scunthorpe in January 2008.

Surrey-based referee Charles Breakspear takes charge of his first Barnsley game this weekend. The official – who is beginning just his second season in the Football League – is no stranger to football fans up and down the country however, having handed out 27 yellow cards and five red in nine games this season. 

The last of those dismissals came just last weekend when he gave Coventry’s Jack Finch his marching orders in the Sky Blues’ 2-1 loss at Crewe. The young referee has certainly showed he is no pushover in the last two campaigns, after dishing out nine red cards and 96 yellows in his maiden season last year. 

Powerhouse Michael Bostwick made a welcome return to action two weeks ago following a long-lay off with a calf injury. The 26-year-old made an instant impact after netting Peterborough’s first equaliser in a 2-2 draw against Oldham with a long-range thunderbolt. The versatile defender has featured just five times so far this term but his return hands boss Darren Ferguson a massive boost with his leadership and presence at the back proving invaluable for the Posh in recent seasons. Signed primarily from Stevenage as a combative midfielder just over two years ago, Bostwick has played in a number of positions for the Posh in his 104 starts for the Club, but now regularly finds himself at the heart of the Peterborough defence, scoring four times in 57 appearances last season. 

Mutual Man

Goalkeeper Luke Steele departed Oakwell in the summer following six years with the Reds. The former Peterborough youngster made 209 league appearances for the Tykes and was named the Club’s player of the year at the end of the 2011-12 campaign. Steele signed a new two-year deal with Barnsley just over a year ago but a clause in the contract stated that the shot stopper would be able to move on if the Reds were to be relegated at the end of the season. Following the Club’s demotion to League One in May the ‘keeper agreed a move to Greece and signed on the dotted line with 20 time Greek champions Panathinaikos.

Steele was in fact born in Peterborough and began his footballing career with his hometown club. In 2001, at the age of 17 and yet to make his Posh debut, the goalkeeper went on trial with Manchester United and featured in various youth and reserve team games for Sir Alex Ferguson’s side. Further trial periods followed which led to the former England U20 international making his maiden Peterborough appearance in a 2-2 draw at Reading. Steele started once again a week later in the Club’s 2-1 home win over Bury but just a month later and he agreed a four-year deal to join Manchester United for a fee in the region of £500,000.

The Panathinaikos stopper arrived at Oakwell from West Bromwich Albion on an emergency loan deal in 2008. Steele made an instant impact on the Barnsley faithful after a magnificent man-of-the-match winning performance on his debut, as the Tykes beat five-time European Champions Liverpool 2-1 at Anfield in the FA Cup. The ‘keeper then kept a clean sheet as Barnsley defeated Chelsea to reach the semi-finals and despite losing against Cardiff at Wembley, Steele had done more than enough to earn a permanent move to Oakwell. After making just 11 appearances in his first full campaign with the Reds, the ex-Coventry loanee soon became a regular between the sticks, making some extraordinary saves in his six seasons with the club before choosing to move on for pastures new in May.

Going to the match?

Peterborough play at London Road, its full address is as follows:

London Road Stadium

London Road

Peterborough

PE2 8AL

From the South (A1):

Look for signs for 'Football Car Parks'. Two miles after the Norman Cross junction, exit A1 and follow signs to Peterborough (A1139) onto the A1139 Fletton Parkway. Exit the Fletton Parkway at junction 3. At roundabout turn left onto the A1260 Nene Parkway. Take first exit and at roundabout turn right into Shrewsbury Avenue. At T-junction after half a mile by Longueville Autos, turn right into the A605 Oundle Road. Fair Meadow car park is on the left hand side after one mile and the stadium is opposite. 

Exit the A1 at signpost 'Leicester, Peterborough North A47'. Turn left at T-junction onto the A47. Exit the A47 after 5 miles, at junction 15. At the roundabout turn right onto the A1260 Nene Parkway. Exit the Nene Parkway after 1 mile. At the mini-roundabout by the 'Gordon Arms' turn left onto the A605 Oundle Road. Fair Meadow car park is on the left-hand side after one and a half miles. 

Pass through the village of Eye following signs to Peterborough A47. At the roundabout turn left and at the next roundabout turn right. At the following roundabout take the 2nd exit. Then as from North. 

Due to the ground redevelopment, there is no public car parking at the stadium. However, there is parking for cars in the Pleasure Fair Meadow council and Railworld car parks opposite the stadium (adjacent to the Town Bridge on Oundle Road). 

Peterborough train station is about three-quarters of mile from the stadium.

Turn right out of station and head towards the main road (Bourges Boulevard). Turn right and head towards the big roundabout. Go under the Railway Bridge and walk up the path or steps to main road. Use the pedestrian underpass and pass the Evening Telegraph on the left-hand side. At the traffic lights, turn right and the ground is situated on the left hand side over the town bridge. There are of course plenty of taxi cabs available from the Railway Station if you don't fancy the 10 minute walk.

No buses run from the station itself, but the bus station is just across Bourges Boulevard. On foot, turn right out of station and then left - take footbridge over the main road to bus station.

Adult: £23.00

OAP (Over 60): £14.00

Young Adult (Aged 18-21): £14.00

Juvenile (Under 18): £10.00

Online sales for this fixture closed at 3pm on Tuesday 14th October. For those who choose to pay on the day at Peterborough there is a £3 increase on the prices above.

For those who can't make it to London Road, you can listen to full match commentary on Barnsley Player. Join Matt and Adam in the Posh commentary box from 2:50pm for all of the action live. What's more, Barnsley Player will have a full match replay of the game just like every other game!