Barnsley came from a goal down to beat Stevenage 2-1 on Saturday afternoon.
John McAtee’s sensational lob cancelled out Luther James-Wildin’s early opener for the Hertfordshire outfit, before Herbie Kane’s deflected strike with 20 minutes remaining sealed a hard-fought comeback.
The Reds are now unbeaten in their last five Sky Bet League Out outings and ensured the majority of supporters inside Oakwell got an early Christmas present in the process.
We got off to the worst possible start, however, as James-Wildin converted from close range inside the opening four minutes after Liam Roberts had saved Jamie Reid’s initial effort.
The Reds looked to muster a response with a flurry of efforts from inside the box, with McAtee proving to be our main attacking threat as he forced Taye Ashby-Hammond into a decent save.
Eventually, when it appeared as though we would continue to be frustrated, McAtee produced a moment of magic as he latched onto Callum Styles’ through ball before controlling expertly and lofting a sublime chip over the Boro ‘keeper into the far corner from the edge of the box.
Moments later, the Luton Town loanee almost had his second of the afternoon as he raced clear of the Stevenage backline following Devante Cole’s deft flick, but Ashby-Hammond thwarted his fierce drive.
Shortly before the interval, Kane Hemmings had the ball in the back of the net for the visitors, but his strike was ruled out for offside.
HALF-TIME: Barnsley 1-1 Stevenage
It took a while for the second half to get going, with Boro perhaps enjoying a brighter start but unable to create any real chances of note.
Barnsley gradually began to get a foothold in the contest once more and carved out a couple of decent openings that cranked up the decibels inside Oakwell a few notches, as the home faithful sensed a breakthrough might just be around the corner.
That anticipation soon turned into reality as Kane picked up the ball in a central area and drove at the Stevenage backline before letting fly from the edge of box. His attempt took a slight nick on the way through and soared into the top corner, much to the delight of a raucous Ponty End.
With time ticking away, Fabio Jalo thought he had broken the offside trap before squaring for fellow substitute Sam Cosgrove to rifle into the roof of the net, but the official’s flag meant there would still be a few nervy minutes to endure.
The visitors pushed for an equaliser, flashing a header narrowly wide, while Maël de Gevigney’s superb defensive header ensured the Reds held on for three crucial points.
FULL-TIME: Barnsley 2-1 Stevenage
REDS XI: Roberts (GK), O’Keeffe (Cotter, 59), Williams (C), de Gevigney, McCart, Styles, Phillips (Cosgrove, 59), Connell (Russell, 75), Kane, McAtee (Jalo, 85), Cole (Cadden, 85)).
Not used: Killip (GK), Łopata.
STEVENAGE XI: Ashby-Hammond (GK), James-Wildin, Butler, Piergianni (C), Sweeney, Forster-Caskey (White, 87), Roberts (Freeman, 77), Vancooten, Burns, Reid (List, 77), Hemmings (Pressley, 77).
Not used: Hegyi (GK), N Thompson, L Thompson.
