Barnsley were held to a 0-0 draw with Peterborough United in the Sky Bet Championship on Saturday afternoon.
It is the first point under new Head Coach, Poya Asbaghi, who made four changes from the midweek defeat against Swansea City, with Mads Andersen and Liam Kitching returning in a three-man defence alongside Michał Helik, while Claudio Gomes and Carlton Morris also featured from the off.
Neat build-up play from the Reds created the first opportunity of the game after 10 minutes as Cauley Woodrow cushioned it into the path of Devante Cole, who surged forward and cut in from the right but dragged his effort wide of the post.
Our skipper was involved again midway through the opening period as he collected Kitching’s pass before letting fly from distance and forcing David Cornell into a fine save.
Moments later, as the encounter sparked into life, Morris whipped a cross in from the left that evaded everyone and, again, Cornell had to be alert to parry the ball to safety.
In a flash, the hosts raced up the other end and Jonson Clarke-Harris broke the offside trap and fired a low cross towards the onrushing Kai Corbett, who couldn’t extend his leg enough to poke in at the far post.
Peterborough threatened once more towards the end of the half, this time from the left as Harrison Burrows drove forward and found Corbett, but he prodded his effort wide of the target from close range under pressure from Andersen.
HALF-TIME: Peterborough United 0-0 Barnsley
Four minutes after the interval, a wind-assisted Conor Coventry corner threatened to wreak havoc as it swirled dangerously towards the near post, but Helik was able to get the feintest touch to head it behind for another set-piece.
The ever-dangerous Morris then did well to work the space by cutting in onto his right foot and bending an attempt narrowly wide with Cornell stranded.
At the other end, Siriki Dembélé played an inch-perfect pass through for Clarke-Harris, but Brad Collins made a good block to deny the Posh forward as the game gradually began to open up.
Barnsley continued to create openings and Morris found Callum Styles on the overlap, but our diminutive midfielder couldn’t keep his shot down as it fizzed over the bar from 20-yards.
A power failure at the Weston Homes Stadium resulted in a 15-minute delay as we waited for the floodlights to warm-up once more so play could resume, during which time both sets of players left the pitch.
Eventually, we were back underway and Dembélé jinked his way through the middle and found Joel Randall, but he blazed high and wide when it appeared easier to hit the target.
In the blink of an eye, the Reds sped forward and Woodrow stung the hands of Cornell with a fierce strike that the Posh ‘keeper turned around the near post.
Barnsley continued to apply pressure and, as we entered four additional minutes, Morris beat his man with a few stepovers and rifled a blistering shot towards goal that Cornell was again equal to.
With time almost up, Peterborough almost snatched all three points as Dan Butler’s close-range effort was blocked by a sea of visiting bodies, but that brave defending from the Reds ensured we left with a share of the spoils.
FULL-TIME: Peterborough United 0-0 Barnsley
REDS XI: Collins (GK), Helik, Andersen, Kitching, J Williams (Hondermarck, 88), Gomes, Benson (Palmer, 67), Styles, Cole (Adeboyejo, 68), Woodrow (C), Morris.
Not used: Walton (GK), Moon, Vita, Frieser.
POSH XI: Cornell (GK), Edwards, Butler, Thompson (C), Taylor, Clarke-Harris, Dembélé, Knight, Burrows (Randall, 71), Coventry (Norburn, 59), Corbett (Szmodics, 59).
Not used: Blackmore (GK), Beevers, Grant, Tomlinson.
