Our young Reds drew 0-0 with Sheffield United in Professional Development League action at Oakwell on Tuesday night.
On a windy night in South Yorkshire, a youthful Barnsley side battled well against table-topping United on the Showcase pitch despite having the ball in the back of the net in the second half, only to be ruled out by the assistant's flag.
A cagey start, typical of the occasion, was halted in the 30th minute when the game was brought to life by an error in the Blades' backline. Luke Faxon would have liked a little more time than he was permitted and passed the ball straight to Trialist C who attempted to lob the backtracking 'keeper, but Paxon recovered well to claim the effort.
The Reds were finding some joy by pressing United high up the pitch, and almost capitalised on a loose pass from the visitors just before the break, but Paxon was equal to Trialist B's curling effort that was searching for the bottom right corner of the goal.
HALF TIME: REDS 0-0 BLADES
The game resumed with action, as the Blades were left feeling thankful for the upright twice in three minutes.
The first scare came after the ball fell to Charlie Hickingbottom from a corner in the box, the centre-half smashing a volley goalwards that left the bar shaking long after it had cannonned to safety.
Trialist A then picked up the ball centrally on the edge of the area, shifted the ball out of his feet and hit a rasping strike which connected with the underside of the crossbar and was eventually hooked to safety by Sheffield United who found themselves on the back foot in the opening stages of the second period.
Fresh from his first-team debut and goalscoring exploits on Tuesday evening, Emmaisa Nzondo was on hand to pounce and poke home an effort that was spilled into his path by Paxon with ten minutes to go, but he was adjudged to have been offside by the assistant, prematurely ending the home celebrations.
The Blades grew into the half and threatened to steal the points late on, yet for a smart parry from Kieren Flavell to ensure the spoils were shared.
FULL TIME: REDS 0-0 BLADES
REDS XI: Flavell (GK), Mckay, Benjamin, Doyle, James, Hickingbottom, Trialist A (Yoganathan, 75), Makiessi, Dyer, Trialist B (Bland, 86), Trialist C (Nzondo, 75)
Unused subs: Ravenhill (GK), McCann.
