Barnsley continued their fine run of form with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Millwall on Saturday afternoon.
Michał Helik struck a second half winner to seal all three points for the Reds, who had taken an early lead through Cauley Woodrow prior to Mason Bennett’s equaliser.
The result sees Valérien Ismaël’s side surpass the 50-point tally that he targeted upon his arrival at Oakwell in October with 14 Sky Bet Championship fixtures remaining.
Much like on Wednesday evening against Stoke City, Barnsley came flying out of the blocks and opened the scoring inside two minutes when Woodrow swivelled and finished from close range.
It was the perfect start, but Millwall were level within a matter of moments as Bennett latched onto a through ball and fired low into Brad Collins’ far corner.
The game rather mellowed after that, but it was the visitors who appeared to have more of a foothold in the contest as they dictated the tempo and sought out opportunities of their own.
Having weathered a slight storm, Barnsley began to impose themselves on the encounter once more and, after Alex Mowatt saw his effort deflect behind for a corner, our skipper whipped in the resulting set-piece and Carlton Morris glanced a header narrowly wide.
From a skewed Collins kick, the Reds almost edged in front once more as Mowatt and Daryl Dike combined to release Morris, who saw his shot blocked by a scrambling Shaun Hutchinson.
Callum Styles, fresh from his howitzer against the Potters in midweek, was next to try his luck from distance but he dragged his effort beyond the upright as Barnsley ended the half strongly.
HALF-TIME: Barnsley 1-1 Millwall
Shortly after the restart, Millwall had a glorious chance to take the lead, but Jed Wallace headed straight at Collins after being picked out by Scott Malone.
Meanwhile, at the other end, Mowatt forced Bartosz Białkowski into a fine save with a free-kick from 20-yards that threatened to sneak under the crossbar.
The Reds continued to forge forward and, when Hutchinson only half-cleared a long ball, Woodrow stung the palms of Białkowski before Callum Brittain saw his shot blocked.
But, just before the hour mark, Barnsley regained their slender advantage when Mowatt swung a ball towards the edge of the box, it was flicked on by Mads Andersen for fellow centre-back Helik to rifle home his fifth goal of the season.
Set-pieces proved to be a source of danger for the Reds and Mowatt curled in another delightful free-kick that was met by Morris, but Białkowski flung himself to his right to claw it out of the corner.
The visitors pushed forward in search of a late equaliser, but Barnsley held strong to record a fifth consecutive victory and climb to seventh in the table.
FULL-TIME: Barnsley 2-1 Millwall
Collins, Sollbauer (Sibbick), Helik, Andersen, Brittain, Palmer (Halme), Mowatt, Styles (J Williams), Woodrow (Frieser), Dike (Adeboyejo), Morris.
Unused: Walton, Oduor, Kane, Chaplin.