Barnsley earned a tremendous 4-1 win over fellow top six rivals Derby County at a raucous Oakwell on Saturday afternoon.
Cheered on by a vociferous home crowd, two goals from Devante Cole were added to by Adam Phillips and Luke Thomas, with David McGoldrick’s strike proving to be little more than a footnote in a stunning Reds victory.
We started much the brighter side and had an opportunity open the scoring inside six minutes when Phillips fired a low ball across the face of goal that James Norwood almost latched onto at the back post.
Shortly after, it was Bobby Thomas who came agonisingly close as he perfectly met Luca Connell’s free-kick but could only head narrowly wide of the upright.
Midway through the half, though, Barnsley eventually broke the deadlock to a cacophony of noise as Oakwell erupted. After Norwood intercepted a loose pass, the ball broke to Phillips and eventually Cole, who stabbed it in from close range.
Initially, the linesman ruled it out for offside, but after discussions with the referee, the goal was awarded.
Within moments, we had a chance to double our lead, but Norwood saw his fierce drive parried by Joe Wildsmith before Derby raced up the other end and rattled the crossbar through Tom Barkhuizen.
A fine flowing move resulted in the next goal of the encounter, and it was started by Herbie Kane’s stunning cross-field ball. Norwood expertly brought it under control before laying it back for Jordan Williams, who teed it up for Phillips to sweep into the far corner from 20-yards.
The Rams hit back almost immediately, however, when McGoldrick raced onto Conor Hourihane’s through ball and deftly lofted home over Harry Isted.
Another marvellous move in injury time brought about our third of the afternoon as Cole embarked on a mazy run, which ended up with our number 44 lashing into the bottom corner after Norwood’s initial effort had been blocked.
HALF-TIME: Barnsley 3-1 Derby County
If the first half had been enthralling and end-to-end, the second half – by comparison – was anything but.
Both sides struggled to retain possession or create gilt-edged opportunities, with the game often breaking down in midfield.
There were a couple of heart in mouth moments for the Reds, most notably when Hourihane’s wicked free-kick delivery drifted across the face of goal and when Lewis Dobbin forced an excellent save from Isted in the closing stages before prodding the rebound wide from six-yards.
As time ticked away, three sides of Oakwell twirled their scarves through the air and chanted the Reds home to a superb victory over their play-off rivals, which was sealed in style when Thomas’ fired into an empty net with the last kick of the game after intercepting a loose ball.
The Ponty exploded, and the jubilant scenes at the final whistle were lapped up by staff and players alike, with the Barnsley faithful in full voice for Michael Duff and his side.
FULL-TIME: Barnsley 4-1 Derby County
REDS XI: Isted (GK), Williams, Thomas, Andersen (C), Kitching, Cadden, Phillips (Russell, 81), Connell, Kane (Martin, 81), Norwood (Tedić, 73), Cole (Thomas, 73).
Not used: Searle (GK), Cotter, Larkeche.
RAMS XI: Wildsmith (GK), Forsyth (C), Hourihane (Springett, 78), Cashin, Barkhuizen (Dobbin, 61), McGoldrick, Mendez-Laing, Smith, Sibley (Roberts, 78), White (Collins, 61), Knight.
Not used: McGee (GK), Thompson, Davies.
